You Worry Me

“It’s what they tell everyone, but no. Our parents were just trying to get Nate out of the whole shit he was sinking into. He was home tutored for a while after getting out of rehab, but the doctors said it would be better for him if he went back to school, even though he'd be a year older than the others.”

“He missed a whole year, right?”

“Yeah.”

I see he is struggling, at the same time he wants to talk about it. So I wait patiently. I’ll always be here for him. I know that by now. After a while, Jer begins

“I sometimes feel the older we get, the less we care about passing years. I was so excited about Christmas, or New Year's. I've always hated birthdays, but I don't care about any of that now. It'll only be worse if I grow older. I know it’s different with you and your family. But that’s how it is with ours…So yeah- only a year lost. Lost. Only. Was this year lost?

“Don’t say that. “

“But can something be "only lost?" He looks up at me and this is the first time Jeremy lets me in