Chapter 190

Brandon grew reflective and didn’t say anything for another span of lengthy seconds. “My mom is… an alcoholic.”

I really wasn’t expecting that. I’m not sure why. I think, in retrospect, all the signs were there. I just didn’t really know anyone with a serious drinking problem, so maybe I didn’t know what to look for. I definitely had no words to show I understood, so I said, “I can imagine that’s hard for both of you.”

He sort of chuckled, like he wanted to say, “To put it lightly,” or something, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “She’s been one my whole life. When my grandparents were still alive, I spent a lot of time with them. But they died when I was ten. So, after that, I had to fend for myself a lot. She’s managed to hold down a job somehow, but the rest of the time, she’s pretty dysfunctional. And sometimes… living with her has been more than uncom