Yeah, it's been two months since my last update. I'm a terrible person and I apologize to anyone who is still reading this. Anyway, enjoy and comment, please! A special thanks to plumblossom for reminding my lazy ass that I had a story to update.

Augustus Ciro was nearing his mid-fifties. He felt old age creep slowly into his body. Wrinkles had begun tarnishing his complexion in the mirror and arthritis had set into his joints. He felt so much older than he was. He had always told his late wife that he wanted to go out with a bang before his hair turned white. Instead, he was going to die a sad, old man.

He sat in the enclosed veranda overlooking the elaborate gardens the former tenants had maintained over the years. Though snow covered it all, he knew that in the spring the flowers and plants would be a beautiful, welcoming sight. And they’d better be since he spent hundreds of dollars each month paying for their upkeep.

He sighed morosely as he gingerly sipped at his hot honey tea. His quiet moment of peaceful solitude was interrupted when he heard the bang of a door slamming open.

His daughter, Tina, grimaced at the gardens before taking a seat next to her father on the white sofa. With her dark hair and eyes, she looked just like her mother. Her sweet mother would have been heartbroken to discover that Tina was much more like her father in other ways.

“That deal you were so excited about was a failure,” Tina reminded him as she crossed her legs and sat back leisurely.

Augustus grunted. Though he was physically getting older, he was still very lucid and completely aware of all activities affecting his businesses. Tina was determined to nail his coffin shut before his heart stopped beating.

“I know this, Tina,” he began calmly, hiding his flaring temper. “I have everything under control.”

Before Tina could protest, the door to the veranda opened once again. Tina glared at the intruder, her younger brother and Augustus Ciro’s biggest concern.

For three generations, the oldest male headed the Ciro family. With Jacob, that tradition would end. He didn’t have the qualities needed to get ahead in the business. Tina had inherited all her father’s toughest traits. The only thing Jacob had inherited from his father was his uncontrollable temper.

“Grandma says you’re an evil bitch,” Jacob said to Tina as he leaned against the opposite wall. He took out a pack of cigarettes and fished in his pockets for a lighter.

Tina rolled her eyes in irritation and stood up abruptly. “We’ll talk later, Dad. I have some things to do now.” She glanced quickly at her cell phone screen before turning to Jacob. “I thought that hag was dead already.”

Jacob’s eyes darkened as he lit his cigarette. “I hope you get raped, you fucking whore.”

Tina snorted in amusement before swinging the door open and leaving the veranda without another word.

“Stupid cunt,” Jacob mumbled to himself as he leaned against the far wall and looked at his father with a cool, unreadable expression. Another thing he inherited from his father: a poker face.

An awkward silence descended upon them. Augustus never knew what to say to his son. He understood that Jacob loved him and often went to great lengths to impress the old man. Jacob's goal to go to business school had stemmed from his quest to please his father, after all. But, they both knew he could never measure up to his older sister’s accomplishments.

“How is Christina?” he asked, trying to break the silence. Augustus had introduced the nice, young girl to Jacob. She was the daughter of one of his most trusted business associates. He’d been pleased to hear that the two of them had gotten along well.

Jacob blew a ring of smoke. It ascended lazily before dissipating in the air. “She’s good. I’m taking her to dinner tonight.”

“You like it here?” Augustus asked. They had only moved to the city recently. Augustus had never bothered to ask Jacob how he felt about the move or his new school.

The boy shrugged. “I’ve met some people I like, I guess.”

“You like the Lexus?” Augustus asked, remembering the almost seventy-thousand-dollar car he had bought his son for Christmas.

“Oh, yeah, it’s great,” Jacob responded with a nod of his head. Augustus could hear the disillusionment in his voice.

He smiled lightly as another silence filled the air.

……………………………………

"Residency is kicking your ass, I see," Aaron commented with a grin as soon as Sebastian walked into the apartment they shared. He was lounging on their couch, reading a magazine while the TV was playing an episode of Seinfeld. Waste of electricity, Sebastian thought to himself angrily.

The hours at the hospital were long and the work was difficult and arduous. Sebastian knew that it would pay off in the end. Becoming a medical doctor had always been his dream job since he was a kid. It was a goal that his parents were more than willing to encourage.

"Are we on our own for dinner tonight?" Sebastian asked as he glanced at the empty kitchen counters. Usually some leftovers would be wrapped in foil and left there for him.

Aaron frowned. "Mary Beth wasn’t here when I got off work. The only thing I know how to cook is a TV dinner so..."

"You're useless," Sebastian muttered as he dropped his bag by the door and stomped to the kitchen. Even when he worked hard, he still had to make his own dinner, he thought bitterly.

As he was riffling through the cabinets, he heard the door open. Mary Beth silently closed the door behind her with a serious look on her face. Sebastian had known her long enough to recognize that something was troubling her.

"Are you all right?" he asked as nicely as he could. It still came out rougher than what he would have liked. Nice wasn't one of his better skills.

Mary Beth leaned against the kitchen counter, her face in thought. Aaron sat up, looking at Mary Beth with concern.

"You won't like it..." she began as she fiddled with her black purse, "but I went to that kid's apartment. I was worried. And he wasn't there."

This was a topic that Sebastian had been dreading. He didn't want his two roommates to find out that he knew exactly where "that kid" was. After all the fuss of trying to convince them that the boy was evil incarnate, there was no way he could casually tell them that he had helped the kid get into rehab, and was visiting him on top of that. Aaron would continuously harangue him for going softhearted. Mary Beth would, most likely, look at him with that triumphant smile that mothers usually wore when they were proud of their child's excellent performance in school. He was not looking forward to this conversation.

Sebastian broke the silence by closing the cabinet door and walking to the freezer. He ignored the glares he knew were focused on his back as he pulled out a box of frozen pizza.

"I know you didn't like him, Sebastian, but he's still a kid," came Mary Beth's voice from behind him. He knew that tone all too well. A soft voice that held unknown amounts of animosity. "Something bad may have happened to him."

"Nothing bad happened to him," Sebastian grumbled as he slammed the pizza box on the counter and turned the oven on. His back still faced them. He didn't want to look at them when he broke the news.

Mary Beth snorted. "And how would you know that, Great Sebastian? The kid had bottles of vicidin and valium in his bathroom. He's a druggie! He needs someone to help him!" The last two sentences came out in shouts.

Sebastian sighed deeply. He turned to face the two of them and said very calmly, "He's in rehab. I know because I took him there."

Sebastian almost faltered when he saw Mary Beth’s eyes widen in shock. Aaron looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head. Sebastian tried to keep a defiant look on his face, but he could still feel a slight blush creep up his cheeks.

Finally, after the impact of what he had said died down after several torturous seconds, Mary Beth cleared her throat and set her purse on the counter. Without speaking, she started fluttering around the kitchen, cooking dinner. Aaron, still flabbergasted, set his magazine on the coffee table and watched TV. Sometimes, Aaron understood that he needed to shut up.

It wasn’t long before Mary Beth smiled at Sebastian affectionately. Just like a mother who was proud of her son's good deed.

....................................

The following Saturday, when Sebastian paid Roman another visit, he caught a redheaded girl grinning at him furtively as he knocked on Roman's bedroom door. Before he could question the girl, Roman opened the door and smiled at him welcomingly.

"I didn't think you'd be here so early," he said sheepishly as he stood aside and made room for Sebastian's entrance. Roman was still in his pajamas, his hair was disheveled and there were black bags under his eyes. He didn't look as if he was feeling well, but Sebastian knew that Roman would pretend the opposite. That was one thing Sebastian admired about the boy, he didn't want to bother others with his problems. "So, how have you been? With your job and all that?"

"Long hours. I don't sleep much. How do you think I feel?" Sebastian bit back. He mentally cringed at his own behavior as he took a seat in his usual chair.

Roman didn't seem upset with how Sebastian treated him. In fact, Roman looked as if he were holding back a laugh. But that couldn't possibly be right.

"Have you told Mary Beth and Aaron about me, yet?" Roman asked as he sat on his bed, curling his legs and sitting on them. The look on the boy's face was almost hopeful.

Sebastian leaned his head on his hand before answering. "Yeah, I told them. They didn't seem all that surprised." That may not have been the whole truth. "It's not like they really care or anything, but the subject came up and I told them..." That was definitely a lie. "Anyway, Mary Beth wants you over for dinner the day you're out of here. She wanted me to ask you what you wanted. Anything you want."

Roman studied Sebastian closely throughout his explanation. By the end, he was beaming. Sebastian had to admit that it almost made him slightly happy knowing that the kid was happy.

"It may be too expensive, but haven't had steak in a long time..." Roman began.

12/29

Saturday, Sebastian came over. He told his roommates about me. It may be wishful thinking, but that's got to mean something.

12/30

Another session with Scot where we talked about my mother. I've been thinking a lot about her, lately.

My mother was a chain smoker. It’s strange how that’s the first thought to run through my mind when someone asks about her. I remember our apartment on the third floor and the ashes on our balcony. Ashtrays lined the banister and sat on our flimsy, plastic green lawn chairs. If I leaned over the railing, I could see her buds littering the parking lot – little white specks peppering the parking lot’s blacktop.

The smell irritated Leo's nose. He'd wake up in the middle of the night, coughing. Sometimes, the coughing fits would become so intense that he’d end up vomiting. He’d never make it to the toilet in time. He’d keel over and throw up that night’s dinner on the carpet in the hallway. That’s when she’d hit us.

My mother wasn’t a strong woman. To make up for her lack of strength, she’d use belts or sticks. What scared me most was the sound of the belt whipping through the air before it hit.

Somehow, we got used to the smoke filling our lungs. We even got used to all the men she’d bring home. Sometimes, she’d hug us and kiss us on the forehead, small moments of affection that meant more to us than she could ever realize. The next second she’d look at us with disgust, as if we were mistakes that had destroyed her life.

At these moments, she constantly reminded us that our father was a monster. She was right.

12/31

Izzy's parents and her sister came for the family session. They were all crying and hugging each other. It was really nice. January 2nd is her last day here. It's going to be weird without her. I think she'll do fine, though. She has a great family to support her.

........................................

The patients surrounded the TV in the lounge, awaiting the countdown for the ball to drop in Times Square. A new year felt like a new chance for Roman. He knew how stupid it sounded. After all, he had never made a New Year's Resolution and he had thought that the very idea of making one was childish. But this year, he felt differently. He wanted to change and a new year gave him hope.

Izzy pulled at his arm and pointed at the TV, snapping him out of his haze.

The patients started counting down the seconds. The TV camera focused in on smiles and excited faces. Couples held onto each other in the streets while confetti twirled through the air around them. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

The patients cheered in celebration. Izzy hugged Roman tightly. Even Terri, who sat in the farthest corner from the TV, had a small smile on his face.

Later, before Roman went to bed, he checked his cell phone for any messages. He was hoping for a message from one person in particular. He held his breath when he saw that he did receive a text message. He was only slightly disappointed when he found that it was from Jacob, sent at exactly 12:01: "Happy new years addict."

1/2

Earlier in the day, Izzy told me she had doubts about herself. I tried to reassure her that everything would be fine. She’s strong. When her family came, she hugged me and started crying. We exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers so we could stay in touch. I’m going to miss her.

……………..

“I took out the money for the rent. That’s paid. But now you only have fifty-two dollars left in the bank,” Sebastian informed Roman as he handed him a piece of paper detailing his account information from the bank. “You have to remember that you need to keep seeing Dr. Meyer and that bastard costs a lot. Can you still get your job back?”

Roman shrugged his shoulders. “I’m going to try. I think I can convince my boss to let me come back. I’ve never been a bad employee…”

“But have you been a good one?” Sebastian interrupted irritably.

Roman had been late, resulting in a couple write-ups. And there was a disgruntled co-worker who loved causing trouble. Roman had slept with this employee after he discovered Roman giving prescription drugs to an older worker having back problems. He had made a few passes at Roman later, all of which Roman turned down. He probably didn’t like that much.

“I don’t know,” Roman replied softly as he crumpled the paper in his fist. “I’ll go see my boss personally on Friday. Maybe I can persuade him that I’ll work harder?”

“If you can’t get your job back, I’ll help you look for another one,” Sebastian offered begrudgingly. “I can’t promise you anything good, though.”

Roman smiled shyly as he played with the crumpled paper in his hands. “Thank you.”

……………

1/6

I can’t sleep. I’ll be out of here in two days. It’s so scary to me. I don’t know if I can do it. I have to remind myself that everything will be all right. I have to stay positive. But it’s just so hard. My heart keeps hammering in my chest; I keep getting nauseous just thinking about it. What if I relapse? What if this is all for nothing? I have to do this. I can’t be like my mother. I can’t live like her and die like her. I can’t give my father the same satisfaction as her death did.

…………..

"Are you ready to go?" Sebastian asked as he slammed the trunk of the car shut.

Roman pulled his hood up, shielding his ears from the cold. He could still feel the winter wind seeping though his old coat. He had no money to replace it. He didn't have much money at all.

He nodded his head at Sebastian's question and took one final look at Sullivan's. He hoped never to return.

"Get in," Sebastian said as he opened the driver's side door and hopped inside. Roman sighed heavily before following. "Mary Beth is making steak. You're expensive."

"Sorry," Roman apologized. Though he initially wanted a steak dinner, he had later tried telling Sebastian that it was too much money. He didn't mind what they made him. The fact that they had invited him to dinner was enough. Sebastian had ignored him.

The car engine started as Roman buckled his seatbelt. He didn't turn his head to look back; he didn't need to and he certainly didn't want to. He was making a fresh start. Despite his optimism, he still felt his hands trembling. He pushed them between his thighs so Sebastian wouldn't notice.

"They'll probably treat you like a fucking prince, too," Sebastian muttered to himself indignantly. Then, at Roman, he asked, "So, if you get your job back and you get to keep your apartment, what are your plans?"

Roman had thought about this subject rigorously for the last two days. "I want to be with my family. When my friend Izzy's family came to pick her up, it made me realize how much I miss them..."

"I envy your family situation," Sebastian said with a dark laugh. "If my parents stayed away from me, I'd be thrilled. They're the perfect American family. Their only mistake was raising two imperfect sons."

"You have a brother?" Roman asked as he coolly tried digging for more information about Sebastian.

"Two brothers. The oldest is a biologist. He's their favorite. He published a book or something," Sebastian explained with distaste. "The other is some dumbass musician. He's younger than I am. My parents hate him. I don't blame them for that one."

"Well, you're a doctor. That's impressive," Roman reminded him.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I'll never give them pretty little grandbabies. Not like my older brother and his five kids." Sebastian saw the look of horror on Roman’s face and laughed. "Yeah, five. His wife is a stay-at-home mom. She's also a manipulative lunatic."

Roman smiled when he heard Sebastian’s laughter.

He could do this.