Mr. Kent gave Lex a little time to settle in to his new room. He said Mrs. Kent would call him down for dinner in a few minutes.

It was the smallest bedroom Lex had ever stayed in, but that wasn't unexpected—by the looks of it, the Kents didn't really have money. Duncan hadn't had money, either. He'd said he was happy enough without, but that didn't mean Lex had any idea how to deal with poverty. He figured that was part of the punishment.

Lex had to decide how he was going to play this. He could keep his head down, do as he was told, and get through the summer. Or he could rebel and fight, forcing the Kents to kick him out. Lex figured the punishment for getting kicked out would be worse, but he also wasn't really the type to take his father's abuse lying down. Running away would probably be the quickest way to convince the Kents he wasn't worth the trouble.

No point in unpacking, then. Lex kicked off his shoes, laid back on the bed over the covers, and tried not to think about Duncan.

The door to the guest room swung open a moment later. Lex sat up, expecting Mrs. Kent, but instead, a kid—maybe ten or eleven years old—with dark brown hair and wide green eyes stood in the doorway. "Are you Lex?" the kid asked.

"Uh, yeah." Lex hadn't realized the Kents already had a kid. "Who are you?"

"I'm Clark. My mom says to tell you there are extra blankets and pillows in the closet, and that you can put your clothes in the dresser." The boy's eyes wandered up above Lex's eyes, to his head.

Lex felt a fresh wave of embarrassment wash over him as he remembered that Mr. Kent had made him leave his baseball cap downstairs.

"Your mom lets you shave your head?"

Lex didn't address the mom issue. "No. It's . . . natural."

"Awesome!"

Whatever Lex was expecting the boy's reaction to be, it wasn't that. Lex's throat tightened, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"My parents said you're staying here this summer."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Uh, I guess." No point in letting on his plans to run away.

"Cool! I've always wanted a brother."

Lex's heart dropped. It had been four years, and yet somehow, Julian's death was still fresh. "I'm not your brother."

"Well, a friend who lives here. That's kind of like a brother. We can make s'mores and ride horses and play checkers and . . . do you know how to play basketball?" Clark bounced a little on his toes.

"Um . . . kind of?" Lex shifted uncomfortably—the poor kid was really looking forward to a lot of things that were never going to happen.

"I can teach you! This is gonna be fun!"

Lex winced. On the one hand, he couldn't remember the last time anyone had been so excited at the thought of spending time with him. On the other hand, Clark had the wrong idea about this whole thing. "Hey, listen, Clark—"

"Oh, do you not want to play basketball? It's okay, my friend Chloe doesn't like it either. What do you like to play?"

"No, it's . . ." Lex shook his head. He was gonna disappoint the kid one way or another. "Basketball is fine."

"Okay! Let's play after dinner."

"Sure." There was no point in arguing, and a game or two couldn't hurt. Lex wasn't planning to run away tonight. He had to make a plan first.

Just then, Mrs. Kent stepped into the doorway, hands on her hips. "Clark, what did I say about bothering Lex?"

"You said to just tell him about the pillows and blankets and dresser then let him unpack. But Mo-om, he wasn't even busy. And we're gonna play basketball after dinner!"

She glanced over at Lex, then back to Clark. "Okay. Go set the table."

Clark nodded and raced out of the room.

"Walk!" she called after him, then sighed and rolled her eyes. She smiled at Lex.

Lex half-smiled back, but didn't hold eye contact. His eyes dropped, and he noticed she was carrying his cap.

"You're welcome to play with him if you want, Lex, but don't feel like you have to entertain him. I know you had a long drive from Metropolis today."

He shrugged. "It's okay." He kept his eyes on his cap.

Mrs. Kent held it out to him. "I talked to Jonathan. We agreed it's okay for you to wear it inside, if it makes you feel more comfortable."

His face felt warm again, but he placed the cap over his head with gratitude.

She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Dinner is just about ready. Why don't you come get washed up?"

He nodded, and she left his room. He followed a moment after.

As soon as he was out in the hallway, the smells of dinner began to drift up to him. It was like nothing Lex had ever smelled, or at least, nothing he'd ever smelled and then been allowed to eat. It was savory and homey and slightly sweet and a little peppery. Fried food, probably. His mouth was literally watering.

He had to admit, he was tempted to stick around, if only for a week or two. But it wouldn't take them too long to figure out what type of person Lex really was, and then they'd kick him out anyway. Better to leave while the control was still in his hands.