He looked to where Connor sat and saw the boy’s face crumple. Pushing his way through the throngs of people, he reached him and Con flew into his arms. “No, Dad! He can’t be dead!” Connor sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, son. Damn, I’m sorry.” He held and rocked him as people all around them cried and absorbed the shock. “I should have been there. Maybe I could have talked him out of taking whatever he did.” Wynn closed his eyes. Thank God you weren’t. It could have been him and Syd speaking with the doctor right now if his son had been at the party. He knew full well the power of peer pressure. “You can’t blame yourself, buddy. We never know how these things might have played out. Second guessing our actions just makes us feel worse.” “I really…cared about him…” Con mumbled. “We… Oh, God!” He broke down again. Wynn sighed. He’d have to talk with his son later about what he’d been going to say. Had the boys gone further with their experimentation than either of their mothers suspected?
