*1999* John sat at the kitchen table and stared at the things he had just pulled out of his son, Keith's bedroom. Amongst the things were syringes and small baggies of heroin. The front door opened and closed signaling his child was home. "Dad? You home?" "Yes. Come in to the kitchen." John's deep voice choked out his sentence. Keith walked in and gasped. "Where'd you find all this?" Keith tried to play it off as a surprise. "Don't lie to me son. Have you started using heroin?" "No way. You're crazy dad." John could feel tears welling up in his eyes. His son was lying to him and John knew it. John grabbed his son's arm and tried to pull the sleeve up. "What are you doing? You fucking psycho!" Keith wiggled his arm free and ran upstairs to his room. John cried hard. His son has become addicted to heroin and he had no idea how to help him. He remembered something Pete did to help him quit using cocaine. He flushed all the little baggies down the toilet and broke all the tips of the syringes. He went upstairs and laid in his bed. A couple hours later, he was awoken by a knock at the door. "Enter." He called. The door opened and closed. "Are you still awake dad?" Keith's voice shook in the darkness. "Yes son." John turned on the bedside lamp as Keith sat on the bed. "I'm so sorry I lied to you dad. I just got scared. I also didn't want you to get mad." Keith looked at his hands. "Look at me." The boy shook his head no. "Keith Dennis Entwistle, look at me." Keith picked his head up and saw his father was crying. "I'm not mad. I'm sad that you felt the need to lie to me. I love you no matter what you do, but I won't let you stumble down the same path that took your mother away from us. How do you want to handle this?" "I called uncle Pete and he agreed to let me come stay at his house while I detox. I don't want to have to relive what happened with mum. I'll leave for his place tomorrow morning. I just want my dad to be with me while this stuff starts happening." "Have you ever detoxed before?" John asked his son. Worry shone through. "No and I've only been addicted for a couple months." Keith started to sweat and John knew there was going to be little sleep for him and Keith that night. John got up and went to get a towel out of the bathroom. "Lay down and cover up." "But dad I'm hot." "Do what I say boy." John never raised his voice above his normal speaking volume. Keith climbed under his father's blanket. John set a little bucket on the floor, as close to the bed as he could manage. He laid the wet towel on Keith's forehead. "Try to sleep. You're not going to get much over the next week or so." John kissed his son's forehead and turned the light off. John sat up the whole night watching Keith. He only left to refresh the towel on the boy's head. A knock on the front door startled John. He went downstairs and opened the door. Pete engulfed him in a hug. "I'm so sorry to hear about this John. How's Keith doing?" John let Pete in. "He's sweating and shaking, but he hasn't started throwing up yet. It's just like Alice all over again." "No, Keith is getting clean and he'll live." Pete reassured his friend. "I'll go get him." John wrapped his sleeping son in his blanket and carried him down the stairs. "Hopefully he'll stay asleep the whole car ride." John smiled. "Let's get him in the car so he can get to my house and rest some more. Take care big Johnny." Pete watched as John's eyes followed the car. John knew it was for the better and Keith wanted help, but would it change anything? Who knows? John's mind tore him apart that night and every night until Keith was back home. It was a long two weeks for John, but even longer two weeks for Keith.
