I was shocked at how easily the words came once I started, beginning with the deal I’d struck with Giana and ending with the nightmarish scene at her apartment — which was the last time we’d spoken.

All three of them leaned in, listening intently, and at the end of it all, they exchanged looks before Holden shook his head and said, “So, you did all this for your mom?”

I nodded. “I know it might not make sense to you, but she’s… she’s done so much for me, given up so much…”

“I understand more than you’d think,” Holden said, his stare severe where it held mine. But he didn’t elaborate before he added, “I get it. She’s your mom. She raised you. But, man… she’s the parent. She’s supposed to do that.”

I frowned. “Okay… so?”

“So, you’re the kid. You’re her son. And as much as you love her and want to help her, she’s an adult who needs to first help herself.”

“But she can’t. Not without me.”

“Yes, she can,” Riley said. “Your mom made a lot of choices that got her here. And I know you feel like you need to fix it for her, but if she doesn’t have to do the work herself?” Riley shrugged. “How is she ever really going to learn the lesson and grow?”

“This is not your battle,” Zeke added. “We are all for you helping your mom if rehab is what she needs, and we’ll figure out a way to get her there. But this? Accepting money from Cory in exchange for giving up the girl who’s made you happier than we’ve ever seen you?” He shook his head. “That’s not the answer.”

“But what else can I do?” I asked, throwing my hands up. “I already took out a loan. I can’t just keep doing that. My dad won’t help. And I don’t want to enter the draft early.”

“That’s not happening,” Holden said, as if it wasn’t even an option to consider. Zeke’s equally stern glare told me he felt the same.

“We will figure it out. Just give us some time to think,” Riley said. “And until then, your mom is an adult. She can take care of herself — the catch is, you have to let her. You have to take the crutch away and show her that she doesn’t need it. She can walk on her own.”

“And if she doesn’t? If she falls?”

Zeke looked at Riley and then back at me. “She’ll get back up. That’s what we all do — we get back up, and we try again.”