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“What made you stop? It’s not so easy to disentangle yourself from that life.”
“I got arrested.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yep. I was charged with grand theft auto, but I was only sixteen, so it was juvie for me instead of jail. Not that juvenile detention was very much fun, but at least my record was sealed when I turned eighteen.”
“How long were you in?” Maria asked.
“Seventeen months, five days, and three hours.”
“Oh, Teag,” Maria whispered.
Teag had been street smart and a wiseass, but living with his guard up all the time, being locked in his room at night, having to eat shit food, and only getting to see his mum and sister at prescribed visiting hours on the weekends had totally sucked.
“I’m sorry, Teag. That had to be rough.”
“It was my own bloody fault. I obviously regret it, but I mostly regret what it did to my mum. She was wrecked over it. Disappointed in me, for sure, but also horrified that her son had to spend the last part of his childhood locked up. She knew I’d done it to try and help out too, so she felt some very misguided guilt.”
“You turned things around though, with her and with your life. That took courage and vision, and probably some soul-searching, I’d say.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t cut out for a life of crime,” he said, joking.
“Seriously, Teag. You corrected your course.”
“I had help,” he said. “Most of the staff at the facility were bullies. Wannabe cops or just assholes on a power trip. Some of the teachers were okay, and we all had to see a weekly counselor. I had a really good one. He encouraged me to keep playing music. To think about college when I got out. I finished high school while I was in the system, but he found me a five-week summer program at Berklee and had it lined up for me when I was released. He basically filled out all the scholarship paperwork on my behalf. My audition was pretty solid, but I was still shocked when I got in. Anyway, I fell in love with Boston and with Berklee. When I applied for real a year later, I got in.”
“Did you stay in touch with your counselor?”
Teag smiled. “Mr. Ferris. Got him tickets, a hotel room, and backstage passes to our show in Sydney when we did our first world tour.”
“That is quite the story, Teag. I’m glad you found your way. So many kids don’t.”
He nipped her ear. “I’m glad I found my way to you.”
“Teag?”
“Yeah, love?”
“Me too.”
