章 84: BOYS CRY TOO

And just like that, my best friend was gone. Ali was gone forever.

I stared at the wreckage of my room—shattered bottles of alcohol, broken picture frames, vases lying in pieces on the floor. I’d destroyed every single portrait and photo I had of him. Because how dare he? How dare he just die like that, without warning? Without a goodbye?

Despite the alcohol, sleep never came. It didn’t numb the pain or quiet the storm in my head. And the worst part? I never even saw him before they buried him. Was I already regretting it? Letting him go like that, without looking back?

No matter how much I tried to push the thoughts away, they kept coming back. Ali died because of my mom, didn’t he? He went to Brownsville for her, for that stupid necklace. And now he’s gone.

But how? How did it happen? I knew he was shot, a bullet to the forehead—but still, how? Did he take a bullet for some kid he barely knew? Did he even see it coming?