Chapter 18: A Gathering of FriendsCHAPTER 18
A GATHERING OF FRIENDS
Wilmington—15 Years Ago
I stayed at Rosa’s house the first night, not wanting to be by myself. The next day, though, I went home. The furniture was still there, nothing had moved, but the house felt…empty. I shivered as I walked across the living room.
This was more than empty. Or maybe it was less than empty. It was lonely.
I noticed new things for the first time: the echoes of my shoes on the hardwood floor, how dark the rooms were when the lights went out, how deathly silent it was with the television off. I wondered what Pops must have felt like all those nights I spent at Tony’s. Pops here by himself, without mom. Loneliness must be the worst thing there was.
By two in the morning I still wasn’t sleeping, so I g
