"Thank you," he says after a moment, because it might not change the fact that he could have been kinder, that he could have tried to find a way to be more the man Sam wanted him to be, but it does mean something, coming from Nate. There isn't a single person who knew Sam better than he does and so Marcus can trust his perceptions of his brother to be the best possible ones he has access to.

Taking a sip of his beer, he rolls the bottle gently back and forth between his palms for a moment, looking down at his knees. Sometimes it's hard to be like this, to sit here and just be quiet, to calm the thoughts that are constantly raging through his head, but it's a little easier with Nate.

"I'm sorry you've lost him again," he says finally and when he glances over at Nate, he manages a thin smile, though it's genuine and he means what he says. "I know how important you two were to each other. I sometimes think if I'd had a brother like you, I might've come out of the boys' home a little more intact."