Chapter 28

Sylvia's POV

We were seated on one of the park's chairs, staring out as Alex processed his thoughts. He had stopped crying for some time and barely inaudible sniffs could be heard. Glancing at him, I wondered if I should say something but eventually clamped my mouth shut. He needed this moment.

"We used to be happy..." He began slowly, rubbing his hands together. I just stared at him.

"We were small, but we were happy." He continued. " We'd just moved to Oklahoma on a job transfer to restart our lives. It seemed happy till things got sour."

"What happened?" I whispered, even if I knew he was going to tell me. He glanced at me, the pain evident in his eyes.

"He made some friends... And things started to change." I held my breath. " It was subtle at first, but soon it became obvious. He'd come home late and blame it on work when he was just with friends and he lost track of time. Then he started drinking and then..." He trailed off and, taking in a deep breath continued, his voice stron