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“Everything okay?”

I hold the photo up for Adam and wipe away tears

“She had a little boy Anthony,” I murmur

“Wow He’s so tiny” He so to the hospital?” he asks

“How’s your mom?” I frown

“Tired They’ve altered her dosage, which is why she’s so vague She’s asleep We’ll come back next week”

I nod “Okay, then Let’s go meet Anthony”

“How long was she in labor?” he asks as alk outside

“I’m not sure I spoke to Mo horin

“Maybe”

I catch the flash of sadness in his eyes at the ed to repair the dae to their relationship

Julian o, to be closer to Lily and the baby, but he was still tying up loose ends over in Vegas, whichback and forth

He and Lily weren’t together, but they were deterether I respected both of thee in Lily over the last few uess having someone else to put first does that to you

I get into the car when Adam opens my door He walks around the front, then slides into the driver’s seat I keep thinking about that photo and that little boy I knew parts of the story, not really enough to be able to piece together what happened

“Itup”

He glances at e in subject, but then he nods

“It was,” he admits “I lived with my aunt, not my mom for most of my later childhood, but the earlier years, before Tom …” His voice trails off “It was hard, because ere too young to understand she wasn’t well”

He stares straight ahead, as if he’s trying to find the right words I reach over and slip my hand into his I still shiver at the feel of his touch I wish I knehat to say to him, but I don’t

“I re to Tom cry out for Mommy, who’d locked herself in the closet because the voices were back,” he htly “I took s I did whatever I had to in order to survive And then to forget”

“What happened to Tom?” I ask softly

“She killed him”