This was when Dustin heard his father cry for the first time. Thankfully he didn’t see it. Hearing his father cry as opposed to seeing it was far less uncomfortable for Dustin, but at the same time no less upsetting. Dustin wondered if it was the darkness that allowed them to talk so openly and honestly. Dustin took a deep breath and said he wanted to use his own college fund to pay for Nicholas to go to rehab for a three-month stint at a reputable facility. He had already received a partial scholarship to MIT and he could take on a loan for the rest. The money would be better spent getting his brother the help he needed.

“He tried to steal Mom’s TV,” Dustin began, feeling relieved to share the emotions that were filling him up. He had no choice but to say what was on his mind or risk exploding. “The same TV he gave her for Mother’s Day, which I know you paid for, too, Dad. Do you get how twisted that is? She cried that night in my room after Nicholas left, but they weren’t sad tears for once. They were happy ones. You should have seen her at dinner, so happy and smiley. She actually believed he was gonna stay clean. Like she really believed it. She kept saying to me: ‘He knows how to use a power drill; he didn’t even chip the paint; he used one of those leveling things just like a professional!’ She thought he could get a job at Best Buy and be one of those guys who installed TVs in people’s homes. This was what her happy mom tears were about. Think about it, Dad, if I came home and said I got a job at Best Buy, she’d take my head off with a soup spoon. She acted like she was prouder of Nicholas’s fictional employment at the Geek Squad than when MIT called me and basically told me I was accepted before I even applied.” Dustin’s voice rose with anguish, but he didn’t care and couldn’t stop his words anyway. “And to think that dumb ass then came here tonight to steal that very TV back? Who does that? There’s no way he didn’t understand what he was doing. I mean, Mom never stays out late, so he probably came here knowing he was going to get caught. If that’s not a cry for help, then I don’t know what is.”