In the morning, I looked at him, lying there next to me, my heart feeling like it would tear in two. I was a pretty lenient guy, and I could put up with a lot of crap, but I had made it perfectly clear to Mr. Jackson Ledbetter that drugs were a line I was not prepared to cross. Not after what Kayla and I had done. That was my guilt talking, no doubt, but even so. I made coffee in the kitchen, took my cup, and went to sit on the balcony. Another beautiful day awaited. Weather wise, at least. We were looking for a high of eighty-five and not a cloud in sight. I felt like I wanted to enjoy my balcony time because it was quickly going to end. Since Mama’s house was going to be torn down, we couldn’t stay with her. Indeed, she was staying with Bill and Shelly—and we couldn’t stay with them either. I would have to go back on public housing, which meant I had to go to the housing authority office and fill out the forms again and get back on the list and wait for something to become available.
