Chapter 12 - The Crawl Back
I didn't immediately offer him a place to stay.
"Where are you living, Marcus?" I asked.
"I'm sleeping in my car," he admitted shamefully.
"The landlord changed the locks yesterday."
I took a deep breath, knowing that true love sometimes requires tough boundaries.
"I will wire you enough money for a cheap motel room for one week."
"But I am not paying off your debts, and I am not inviting you to live at the cabin."
"Mom, please," he begged.
"You have to earn your life back, Marcus," I said firmly.
"You watched her throw me out, and you still chose her."
"You have to prove to me that you are the man I raised, not the man she created."
He was silent for a long time.
"I understand," he finally whispered.
"Thank you for the motel money."
I wired him the funds that night, feeling a terrible ache in my chest.
It went against every maternal instinct I had to leave him out there struggling.
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But I knew that handing him a soft landing would teach him absolutely nothing.
He had to rebuild his own character from the ground up.
