What: Shane is an emotional wreck after waking from a nightmare and his father isn't home. His mother tries to soothe him.
"P-P-Pops...Pop...Pops...." his shaky breath turned into a pleading voice, as he kept shaking on the ground. His mother turned on a lamp, and lightly shook his body to wake him to try not scare him."Shane! Baby, wake up! Please, wake up!" she whispered. She could feel the dampness, attached to his shirt. He already went through the worst of it: sweating it out."Please...Pop...don't leave me...don't leave me!" he shouted, and she shook him hard."Shane!"
Shane woke up, eyes wide, searching for something as he grabbed hold of his mother's arms."Pop! Pops!" his eyes fell on his mother."Ma, is Pop back? Is he back?" She shook her head."Shane..." He pushed himself up off his feet, and watched the night, through the window."I'm gonna be right here, when he comes back." He thought he saw a car moving, outside."Pop?" Shane tried to rush to the door, but his mother wrapped her arms around him and brought him to the floor, with her."You can't stop me from seeing him!" he struggled in her arms."It's Pop! Lemme go!" She held back the tears as she held his body."Shane, that's not your father, outside." Shane stopped struggling and turned to her."Why can't it be!"
"Because he's still in prison!"
"Get him out of there, Ma! They don't need him! We do!"
She took in a breath, after what Shane said, and Shane hugged her body. She tightly wrapped her arms around him, pulling them both to their feet."Come on, Shane. Sit on the couch."
Shane sat down on the couch, with his eyes lowered. His mother sitting and staring back at him."We talked about this, Shane." The amount of times they've talked about this."When people do bad things...when people do things authority doesn't like. When they break the rules, and they get caught - the cops take them away. Your father's just...gotten caught, a lot." Shane lifted his green eyes to her."Did I do something, wrong? Did I fut-fut-fuck it up?" She grabbed hold of his jaw, leaning down towards."You don't cuss. You're too fucking young." He looked away."You do it." She sighed, pushing his jaw away from her.
"When will he be back, Ma..." he asked, leaning his body against hers. She sighed."I don't know, Shane. But you have to stop with the nightmares. You'll end up waking, Nicky, one night. How did you end up on the floor, in the first place?" Shane looked up at her, confusion across his face."I was waiting for Pop, and then you were there." She sighed again, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep."You should be in bed. You have school, today. You have friends in school, right?" Shane shook his head."I don't have friends. I have brothers. They're my friends and my family."
"Shane..." she breathed out."What?" She already knew, Shane was going to have a hard time in his future. If his father in and out of his life hurt him this much, the only way he'd be happy is if someone never left him. Which seemed impossible.
"I just want Pop home, Ma...with me." She took her hand away from his arm."You're not the only one, Shane. You want him home, but what you need is someone who will always be by your side." Shane didn't say anything."Your father and I won't be." He clenched his fist."Don't say that!" She looked him over."It's the fucking truth, Shane. You're lucky if any of your brothers will be, but I doubt that." Shane turned to her."Nicky?" She shrugged."Maybe."
"You'll be lucky if you could find somebody like that, but I don't think you will." Shane looked down at the floor."What do I do then?"
