Chapter 27
Taking Back Control
The mask of the strong, alpha male slipped, revealing a terrified boy in its place. Sophia stood with her heart in knots and watched Dane reel, crumbling from the inside out. “We don’t have any control, do we?” she whispered. “We do what they say and be who they say and when they don’t want that anymore, who are we?”
Dane nodded. “Do your best at school. Don’t take drugs. Get good friends. Don’t end up like us, you can do better.” He parodied the chant of a billion adult parents with good intentions in their eyes and Sophia heard the sarcasm and bitterness in his voice. Dane pulled a new packet of cigarettes from inside his jacket. He ripped the crumpled cellophane away and stuffed it back in his pocket, flipped the lid open and took one. Retrieving a ligh
