“You released him with who?” I paced my room, eyes fixed on the floor. “Oh, great. That’s just dandy. Didn’t I specifically tell you not to let him into my parents’ custody?”

“Sir, we are obligated to release a minor into the hands of his guardians. That’s the state law.”

I hung up the phone. “Looks like Fulton destroyed the guardianship papers for Matthew. He’s with my parents right now. They’re spending the night in a hotel in Manhattan,” I said.

“Fuck,” Marcus muttered.

I sat down next to Marcus and leaned back against the mattress. “Fuck is right. There’s nothing we can do now.”

“Have you tried calling him?” Marcus asked.

“Well, no, but—”

“Call him first. See what he says,” Marcus said.

Marcus washed his face in the bathroom as I dialed Matthew’s number. Placing phone on speaker, I leaned back, intently listening to each ring. Finally, he answered.

“Sawyer!”

A dazed smile formed on my face. “Matthew, I heard they let you out. Are you safe with mom and dad?” I asked.

“Yeah, they’re here. Theo is inside with them right now. You should be with us. They want to talk to you,” he said.

“I’m not sure I should speak with them right now,” I said.

“Come on. Do it for me. They want to change,” Matthew said.

Marcus turned around and walked toward the bed. “Talk to them,” Marcus whispered. “They’re your parents.”

“Okay, fine. Text me the address. We’ll be there soon,” I said, clicking the phone off. Somehow, I didn’t feel any sense of discomfort. I simply knew that this was something that I needed to do.

We drove to their hotel in Manhattan and took the elevator to their floor. Outside of the room, Theo stood waiting for us. “Hey, there you are. We need to talk.”

“What is it?” I asked. “Is everything okay in there?”

“Yeah. They’re good now. Listen, they’ve agreed to go to a ninety-day treatment center,” Theo said.

I didn’t know how to react. I had been so used to my parents letting us down that I didn’t necessarily believe it. Sometimes, they recognized their faults, but there were a thousand and one excuses not to get treatment.

“I’ll believe they have changed when I see them check out,” I said.

“Just talk to them,” Theo said.

Even if I didn’t buy it, I agreed to give them a chance. In the meantime, Matthew could stay with me in the city. “I’ll take it from here, but before you go, I want you to know that I’ve been mulling over your offer about taking over the bar,” I said.

He looked up at me and revealed a smile. “Does this mean you’re staying in the city?”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Marcus said.

“We’re staying, but since you’re getting better every day, I want to make sure that you’re going to keep your half of the business. I don’t want to do this thing without you,” I said.

Theo laughed and patted me on the back. “We’ll see how the treatment works out. The doctor is optimistic. He keeps telling me I‘ll be able to go back to work next January,” he said.

I couldn’t imagine how hard this was for him. I embraced my good friend and boss. Theo had been helping me out since the beginning, and it broke my heart that someone so good could be affected by such a tragic illness. If there was one thing that was for sure, it was that I needed him here still.

“Good. Our kid will need a godfather,” I said.

“Call me Don Theo,” he said.

We both laughed and tried to remain hopeful. When we opened the door to their hotel room, I felt my pain give way to understanding. I saw my mother sitting down with tears in her eyes. It was the first time I had seen her acknowledge what had been going on.

I turned toward my father, feeling like a child again. He looked more filled out, and he had trimmed his beard. “Matthew said you wanted to talk?” I asked.

On the couch, my mother scooted to the right and patted the cushion next to her. “Please. Sit down,” she said.

At first, I hesitated, but Marcus pushed lightly against my back, forcing me on my butt. My father was silent, but my mother leaned forward and touched my kneecap. “I want you to know that we’re five days sober,” she said.

“You want to take the test to prove it?” I muttered.

My father cleared his throat. “Please, Sawyer. Your mother doesn’t deserve that type of talk,” he said.

I squeezed my hands into fists, feeling the anger take hold of me. But as soon as I saw Matthew staring at me, I controlled myself.

It was just so damn hard knowing they had made these types of promises before. I was used to the letdown, to feeling like the ones I trusted were no longer able to make clear decisions. Again and again, they hit me with that shit growing up.

“We came here because we know how hard it has been on you,” my mother said.

“It’s been my whole life, ma,” I whispered, feeling my tears start to rise to the surface.

“We’ve been seeing a counselor to try and figure things out. She wants us both to go to separate treatment centers,” she said.

“Ninety days, son,” my dad added.

“We know that we’ve wronged you so many times before. But you have to let us fix things now,” she said.

Undecided and full of doubt, I took my mother’s hand and squeezed. Again, I was that little boy again, still waiting for his parents’ approval.

I wished I never gave them that power because once they ripped my life away, it was so hard to put back together. I was trying, though. Every day, I was working hard at it.

“Listen, Matthew will be eighteen in less than six months. He can make his own decisions now,” I said. “As for me, I’m on the fence. If you leave on the ninety-day mark, I’ll accept that things are starting to get better again.”

“We know it’s going to take some time and effort,” Matthew said.

I nodded. “It’s going to be the hardest thing you two will ever do, but if we’re worth it, you’ll get through this. Either way, Matthew is staying with me until you’re better.”

My father stood up and walked over to the couch. His breaths quickened, and he had to take in a sharp breath before continuing further. “I’m so sorry, son,” he cried. “I never meant to let you down like this. I’m just a weak person. All sorts of ideas pull me in, and it’s like I become someone else entirely. I need help, Sawyer. I… I need help.”

I felt all of my anger drift out of my body, somehow effortlessly, yet it felt so hard before. All I needed was to see my father react this way. I just wanted to feel like he cared.

I hugged them both and Matthew joined in. Sometimes, a family’s struggle can feel maddening at times, especially if it’s your own. There were going to be some growing pains moving forward, but I was ready for all of it.

“I won’t forget everything that happened. That would be asking for too much,” I said. “Having said that, we all make mistakes. I can forgive you for what happened. I have to because we’re bringing a baby into this world, and I can’t live with that type of heaviness on my conscience. Marcus is pregnant.”

“Oh, Sawyer!” My mother threw her arms around me and wept.

My father clapped his hands over his mouth, hiding his shocked expression. “God, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you smile like that, dad. It makes me feel warm inside,” I said.

He rolled his palms over his hair and laughed. “I can’t believe it. This is the best day of my life,” he said.

With caring strength, Marcus spread his arms wide and lowered his body. After my parents hugged him, we spent the next few hours talking about the past and attempting to right our wrongs. There was a lot to get through, but the night served as a reliable indicator that we were all ready for the next stages of our lives.

As my family gathered around Marcus and his small bump of a belly, we looked forward, into the promising idea that a good future was coming our way. Marcus nudged his body against mine, his arm holding me close to him.

When we left, we kissed in the elevator as passionate as we did when we first met. Marcus leaned into me, hands caressing between my thighs. He pulled away and looked into my eyes, unfaltering and proud.

“Thank you for fighting for me and being there, no matter what,” he said. “Even when I told you this couldn’t happen, you thought I was someone worth fighting for.”

“I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anybody else. And that’s just the truth,” I said.

Life with Marcus was full of possibility. For a lot of people, it can take a lifetime to find that special someone, the wild man that completes the other half of the puzzle. We found each other quicker than most, but it took a little finesse to get it right.

Marcus was honest. He was brave. He was sure as hell willing to love his man to the ends of the earth and back.

Life with him was always going to be a surprise, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

He was the love of my life. Nothing was going to change that.

Not even the NYPD itself.