Honestly, I don’t know what to expect on the other side of the office door. I tap three times, turn the knob, walk inside, and just about melt at the sight of the city boy.
“Ian, what the f**k! I told you I want to be left alone! Don’t you f*****g get it?” Corey screams from behind his desk, having his head buried in a lined ledger.
I close the door behind me and whisper, “Hey, Corey.”
He doesn’t lift his head. He doesn’t move. He’s dormant behind the desk, maybe even comatose, still looking down at the ledger. The pencil in his right hand starts to shake a little bit and he begins to sniffle.
“Corey, it’s me, Gage.”
“I know who you are,” he murmurs.
“I got the birthday card you sent, and then I got a call from you two days ago. I thought…I thought we could…”
He lifts his head from
