Page 166 of Hooking Up
"I get that. And the dissatisfaction."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Last few years of high school until I started doing ink. I felt like my life would never go anywhere. Like I was doomed to turn into my parents. I fucked around a lot. It was a good distraction, but it never really satisfied me."
"And now?"
"I love what I do. But I want more out of life too."
"Your friends?"
He nods.
"Your sister clean?"
"Yeah. That's the main thing now. Everything else—surfing, working out, reading—feels like a distraction. I love that shit. But it's not what I really want."
"And what do you really want?"
"To help the people I love." He looks up at me. "Find the people I love." He brushes my hair behind my ear. "What do you want?"
"I'm still not sure. Not beyond school."
"You'll get there."
I nod.
Right now, I believe him.
Right now, I believe it's possible there will be an us.
