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This kid was soht years old Talkative and kind and smart As hard as it was to sit with hio, it was now easy Relaxing, even “Not until I enty but I alanted one I do have a car and yes, I ride my bike in the cold”

“Can I ride it?” He pushed open his door and I stared into the ultimate boy’s roo swath of stars on it But his walls were an eight-year-old’s fascination with sports, the walls plastered with baseball, football and hockey posters

“I think we both know that’s up to yourshe wouldn’t want her son on the back of motorcycle And I didn’t blame her “So what do you like to play with?”

Beau showed off his shelf of Legos, then talked and talked, which explained why Moon had warned the kid to let et a feo

rds in He never ran out of breath But I liked listening to hih his asth to space and finding new planets His love of all things heels

“Do you like sci-fi? Mo me watch Star Trek on Netflix”

“Which one?” He shrugged and looked up ateyes

“Do you have a family, Mr Cross?”

“No Beau, I don’t I had a wife but she got sick and died” I hated even thinking about it and I couldn’t believe I just told that shit to a kid This hy I wasn’t fit to be around kids

His eyes went dark and I couldn’t read them, but then he said, “That sucks,” and it was like he could read my heart

Damn This kid had the soul of an oldstacks of books over there”

He sht question Besides, being around Beau and Moon, especially noith all this shit swirling around inside oftown, it made me feel a little less broken and scarred A bit more normal

For now, it was enough

Chapter Sixteen

Moon