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She takes one last drag on her cigarette and then throws it at his feet "Sean? You think I wronged you both? I’ll have you knohen your brother got out, he caht to me I was the one who took him in, who took care of him You were too busy here to even write him or visit"

Silas freezes and his voice is softer when he asks, "Sean is out? I thought he had another year?"

She laughs bitterly "Out on parole last year"

"Last year?" For the first time, Silas sounds wounded by this conversation that’s been full of barbs from the moment he opened the door "Where is he now?"

"Back inside Decided to rob a liquor store three months into his parole"

Silas swears, and looks back at me I can’t read his expression in the dark, but I have a feeling he doesn’t want me to hear any of this This is the past he left behind, the one he refuses to talk to me about

His mother’s voice actually breaks as she says, "I know I left I’m sorry about that, baby I aot out,time before Silas answers, and the tone he uses is completely unfamiliar to me Low Hurt "Listen, I’m sorry your boyfriend is in jail and you don’t have the money to make bail," but I can’t help you You or Sean You’ll just have to learn to take care of your own problems, like I always had to"

"Don’t you look down on me Like you’re better than me when I made you A better man would take care of his mother A betterback to me when you end up like your brother, like your father, like every damn man I’ve ever known"

"Last chance" He lifts his phone in warning, but he sounds tired So tired "I don’t want to call the cops on you, but I will"

"You ungrateful--"

"Goodbye, Mother"

When he starts dialing, she walks away cursing He stands there in the yard until she starts her car and pulls away

I wait for hiid and still And even though he’s a full-grown man, tall and broad, he looks so srow up entirely too fast

I go to him And when I place my hand on his back, he tenses and jerks away froht we first ht Angry

"You should go"

Then he takes off, striding toward the door fast enough that I have to jog to catch him

"Silas, wait!"

He jerks to a stop at the top of the porch stairs, and spins around to look down at me

"You want to knohat I’ for me if I can’t make football work"