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It made me hate my mom even more than I already did

If she'd been around, if she'd chosen a betterwould be as it is

The thing is, over time, I've realized that the knocks we have - the potholes on our road - make us e are There's no joy without sorrow There's no wisdo hard lessons I'll alwaystoldman who loved life, and he'd be ain andpeace with her has made me realize that there are still people in my life whom I love and who love me I may have lost my blood brother, but I have five of the best-acquired brothers a man could ever have

The only thing I can't get back is Sandy

It's not fair to ask I did ave her the most important people in my life, but it didn't work The pain in her eyes was so evident when she stared intoto do

I fling open the door to round with a loud purposeful thud Sandy has her reasons, and the best thing I can do is leave her in peace

Fro is fa since es Luna's only been gone a day Has she already relapsed in that time?

I bangto deal with it I'm not the disappointed little boy anymore I'm a man who can look at the situation without emotion

At first, there is no response I bang again, and a rumbles from inside Then I hear an expletive, and I try the handle The door swings on its hinges with too much ease and the smell from inside hits me in the face

Cigarettes, alcohol, stale bodies, and old food It smells like a dored wo around In the den, I can see a ht is the kitchen and two more steps tells me it's empty apart from the discarded beer bottles on the floor The stairs rise to the first floor, and I take theht discover or what they ed in I made a promise to my sister, and I'll handle whatever I find

There are two doors at the top Luna secured the lease on this place, and it would be nice if anyone else was living here Mo up her life to deal with chores I peek into the rooht, I find mom face down on her bed For a s too far She still has the sa about her screams addict But then her chest rises, and I know she's just sleeping

I don't go any closer Instead, I turn, jog down the stairs and out into the front yard, drawing in lungfuls of fresh air

Pulling outto explain what I need When he hangs up, I lean against my truck

I can't savein soood food to fill her fridge I can getscus I can find and spend half an hour trying to persuade Moo back to her dealer

And after that, I'll go hoet on with my life Until Luna's back, I'll check in on her weekly as I pro She'll probably outlast us all

I may not be the best son in the world, but I'll try to do what I can

36

SANDY

I don't knoho I was expecting to find standing on my doorstep in theWell, if I'd had to guess which of the six boys from Deep Repairs would have co would have been botto atmy heart inside out