Well, hello there. How're you feeling?" <BR><BR>"Like crap." <BR><BR>"Well, what 
the hell did you expect? Sven, if something was wrong, why didn't you come to 
us? If not Keith, you could have come to me. We've been friends for so long, how 
can you turn your back on my help now?" <BR><BR>"I was scared." <BR><BR>"That's 
no excuse, Sven. Remember what we were like when we were kids. We always shared 
everything no matter what it was. Hey, come on, we even shared the graphic 
details of our first time in the sack with a woman with each other. How can this 
be any different? Nothing could be so scary that you have to hide it form me, it 
could have killed you." <BR><BR>Sven reached up and touched Lance's face. Tears 
streaked down his cheeks. <BR><BR>"I know and I don't know why I hid it. I 
should have come to you when things were starting to go wrong but he changed the 
meds and I felt whipped out of my mind. I had to hide it cause I didn't think 
you'd believe me." <BR><BR>"It's all out in the open now, you just get some rest 
and we'll talk later." <BR><BR>Sven smiled and closed his eyes. It wasn't long 
before he drifted back off to sleep again. <BR><BR>Lance went back to the 
waiting room. Keith saw him coming and stood up. <BR><BR>"How is he?" 
<BR><BR>"Really groggy but at least he's coherent. He understands what I was 
telling him. He knew me as well." <BR><BR>"That's good." <BR><BR>"He went back 
to sleep which is a good sign, it means he's comfortable." <BR><BR>"Wanna go for 
a cup of coffee?" <BR><BR>"Yeah, I think I could use one. How about Darcy's 
Cafe?" <BR><BR>Keith arched an eyebrow, <BR><BR>"Oh? You still got something for 
her?" <BR><BR>"No, but Carly is a waitress there, she might be working?" 
<BR><BR>Keith smiled for the first time since Lance had brought Sven home. 
<BR><BR>They went to Darcy's Cafe and ordered black coffee. They sat at a booth 
in the back. When they were alone with their cups, Keith spoke. <BR><BR>"How did 
you and Sven meet?" <BR><BR>Lance took a small sip and winced at the heat. He 
shifted his gaze to look out a window. <BR><BR>"He moved in next door to me when 
I was three. He was four. There was only a small fence between the two yards and 
we used to play peek a boo. It was hilarious. Our parents would baby-sit for 
each other whenever they could. <BR><BR>"We became close friends, we even went 
to daycare together. It was like we were brothers. We might as well have been. 
In school we looked after and protected each other. Sven was quiet and quickly 
became a target for bullies, I was loud and boisterous, and I punched them out 
for him. <BR><BR>"He was very smart and I was as dumb as a post. He tutored me 
and made sure I got it right. He wouldn't leave or continue until he knew I 
could do it on my own. It wasn't long before the both of us were getting 
straight A's. I think it was high school when things all started changing." 
<BR><BR>"What happened?" Keith asked as he signalled the waitress for another 
cup and requested a plate of moist chocolate chip cookies that were almost as 
big as pancakes. <BR><BR>Lance looked around for Carly but was disappointed when 
he didn't see her. He took a cookie and thoughtfully munched on it before 
continuing. <BR><BR>"I really don't know exactly what happened. He started 
getting into fights, his marks started slipping. He didn't have time for me 
anymore. He came to me late one night and finally told me what was going on. 
<BR><BR>"His father started cheating on his wife and she found out. They were 
getting a divorce. It was quick but definitely not painless. It really tore Sven 
up. We were in grade 9, you met up with us halfway through grade 10." 
<BR><BR>"Yeah, I remember. Come to think of it, he was kind of gloomy. We really 
got close in school but not very much outside of it. Not Sven and I at first but 
you and I did." <BR><BR>"Yeah, it was right around the time that my dad got 
hurt. He was in a really bad car accident; he got better but not enough though. 
That put a really big strain on my mother to bring in money. She started 
drinking and started to hit me. <BR><BR>"Sven and his mother took me in when I 
ran away or just needed to get out of there. The night she pounded on me real 
bad was a turning point for me. That night in Sven's room, I vowed to get out of 
there and make life and myself better. I did and tried to bring Sven with me but 
he just wasn't responsive." <BR><BR>"Yeah, I really started seeing it in the 
last year of high school and the first couple of years here. I hear a lot of 
stories." <BR><BR>"So do I." <BR><BR>"But, you know, once he's better I think 
this might be a turning point for him." <BR><BR>"I hope so." <BR><BR>"It's gotta 
be, it just has to be even if we have to make it happen." 
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