Page 58 of Doctor of the Bay

Jay wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“How long has he been gone?”

“Ten months. He has two left.” Tears burn the back of my eyes.

I miss my big brother. In his last email, he sounded so down. It’s all Rachel’s fault. Leaving him a week before he was due to deploy. What sort of woman does that?

A ruckus followed by groaning pulls me from my miserable reverie.

“I do not want to hear my parents shagging.”

I take Jay’s hand and we leave my folks drunk and safe in their home.

“They sound happy though,” he says as I shut the front door.

“Yeah, but tomorrow they’ll be at each other’s throats again and I’ll be left picking up the pieces.

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