I stood at the kitchen sink, staring out the window and trying to stay calm. Gulping down a glass of water, I heard a truck door slam from the yard. I wasn't ready to be this mad.
Without a knock, the screen door was yanked open and a voice bellowed "Hullo,". I refused to turn around.
"I'm guessing you heard,"
"Yeah, I fucking did,"
Derek was my older sister's ex-boyfriend, the one we "got in the custody battle" after my mother threw her out of the house, chasing her out of town for good. He was a stocky farm boy who'd become like a brother, or a best friend - helping me cope through high school as the one obviously gay kid. We'd hang, play PS4, drink. He'd even helped my mom and I get jobs after I graduated. He was family, and he was leaving.
"Ricks, I wanted to be the one to tell you- my Uncle in Baltimore, he passed. My Aunt needs me to help run his shop. I'm leaving for the funeral tomorrow," I turned to look him in the eye and watched him near. He'd taken off his cap and was nervously fiddling with it.