Chapter 41

As soon as his lungs had enough power, he said, “I’m so sorry, Dexter. I…”

“No, Colin, it’s okay.” Dexter looked down and away. Like he was the one who needed to be ashamed or worried that he’d done something wrong. “I’m sorry. I…I didn’t know. What…what’s going on? With your mom?”

Colin’s throat went dry. “She’s…got cancer. Leukemia.”

“Fuck.” That barely even came out of Dexter ‘s mouth. “How much time?”

“Not much. Weeks if I’m a downer. Months if I’m hopeful.”

“Colin, I…why didn’t you tell me?”

He wasn’t angry, that much Colin was sure of. At first, Colin wanted to say that he didn’t know. But that wasn’t true. He did know the reason.

“I just…I thought if I didn’t say anything, then, maybe I could…maybe she’d get better? It’s…if you met her, I wanted you to meet her healthy. Not sick. Not this way. Not about to die.” Colin pulled his hat down. “I know that’s so fucking stupid.”