He thought Nic was the only child of his with a drug history. He tried to stay it away from Jasper and Daisy. They were still too young. He didn't even think about you—that you would follow in your older brother's footsteps. You saw how it was destroying Nic. How drugs were draining his mind, so why did you go down that road too?

I think you both want to know that.

Things were better with Nic now. He'd been clean for almost two years, attending council meetings, and graduating. Jasper and Daisy were also doing great in school. So what about you? A single line at a party never hurt anyone—you kept telling yourself that. Smoking weed every now and then wasn't harmful either. Oh, if only you'd known then how easily you could get addicted to it.

David had always been a laid-back parent. So, of course, he let you go to a party with your friends to kick off summer. You didn't come back at the appointed time, but that wasn't something to worry about. You came back in the wee hours.

David hadn't slept all night. He was ready to look for you when he heard you come in. He came down the stairs, ready to lecture you about where you'd been. That's when he saw you, his child, who looked just like Nic had a few years ago. Oh, this is the family curse?