Lex sat awake for an entirely different reason, now. His heart felt like it was going to beat straight out of his chest.

He should have known Clark wasn't supposed to be out of bed in the middle of the night. Clark was six! Now the Kents were going to be upset with Lex. He didn't know what they would do to him if he messed up; he'd been hoping he would never find out.

The door to his room creaked open. "Lex?"

That was Mrs. Kent's voice. Lex shot out of bed. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about—"

"It's okay, sweetie. Clark went through a bit of a phase for awhile, where he'd get up in the middle of the night and play, then he'd be cranky the next day. We made it a rule, lights out means lights out. We should have told you."

"You're not mad at me?"

"No, you didn't know. If it happens again, though—"

"It won't, I swear!"

Mrs. Kent nodded.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Um . . . what other rules do you have?" Lex didn't want to take any chances.

"I'm sure it's not so different from your old home." Mrs. Kent pulled back the covers on the bed, and Lex climbed inside. "Do your chores and homework. Tell the truth and do as we ask. Eat what's on your plate. Be kind and respectful."

She was right, it wasn't really different from home, but it was . . . clear. Lex's dad tended to make him guess, and Lex got punished if he guessed wrong.

Mrs. Kent draped the covers over Lex. "If you're ever not sure about a rule, just ask us. We'll never get upset with you for asking. We—"

A sound from next door cut off her sentence. Lex sat straight up and listened—Clark was crying.

Lex's blood boiled. "What happened to Clark?"

Mrs. Kent frowned. "Jonathan warned him—"

"Did Mr. Kent slap him?"

"No, sweetie."

"Then why is he crying?"

"I'm sure he's upset about being in trouble."

Lex's perspective flipped in his head—he was no longer concerned about the Kents being upset with him. He couldn't let Clark get punished. "It's not his fault! I should've known better, I'm sorry!"

Just then, Mr. Kent appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?"

Lex jumped out of bed. "How could you do that to him?"

"Do what?"

"Make him cry like that!"

Mr. Kent reached toward Lex. "Son—"

"Don't call me that!" Lex flinched away.

Mr. Kent paused, then sighed. "Lex, Clark is okay. He just made a bad choice."

"No, I did! He's six, it wasn't his fault!"

"Lex—"

"No!" Lex ran past Mr. Kent out into the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door into the cool open air.