Re: Tommy/TJ
"I know she's your sister-in-law, but you don't have to defend her. I get why she asked and that still doesn't stop me from being bitchy." There was nothing that she could have said that would have changed that. Or maybe 'I have a cure' would have worked. "You don't like comic books references? I don't know why," he said sarcastically.
Tommy sighed. "I think I wanted to delude myself. I don't have a problem, I can stop, Dad, can't you see? It was easier to justify some of the things I did, some of the people I hang out with. Big money, big doses, big time criminals. I always justified it that I wasn't a junkie. I could stop. I didn't use daily. I know better now, because as much as I said no to your hypothetical stash, my first reaction was to get high. We are not very different." He smiled. "We can share hang-ups."
He leaned back and took another sip. "Six months ago we were all different people. None of us really knew about real friendship, the kind people talk about here. Mistrust is part of our world. We are changing. Hopefully for the better new would have turned into our fathers if we had stayed home." He chuckled. "And we will agree to disagree on who can bitch more."