Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Sallie, do you seriously have the nerve to call me right now? Or have you just conveniently forgotten everything that happened?"

She was furious.

Vince gritted his teeth and spat out, "Let me make myself perfectly clear: from this day on, whatever happens to Timothy-whether he lives or dies-has absolutely nothing to do with the Zimmerman family!"

With those words, he hung up.

Sallie nearly threw her phone in frustration.

This was a disaster.

Salome had always been the Zimmermans' favorite. That day, right in front of Vince, she'd called Jessica a mute and accused her of embarrassing the Lawsons just by showing up.

It was no wonder Vince had lost his temper.

But now Timothy had vanished without a trace. Where was she supposed to find him?

Timothy was on the mountain.

He'd returned to the same old abbey he'd visited once before.

He was lucky; just as he walked in, he came across Father Benedict, the abbey's head priest, whom he'd met on his previous visit.

"Father," Timothy greeted him quietly.

Father Benedict pressed his palms together and bowed his head slightly. "Peace be with you, my son."

Timothy had seen enough of the world to know the proper etiquette, and since he'd come seeking the priest's guidance on how to escape his pain, he tried to follow Father Benedict's example, bowing his head and folding his hands. "Peace be with you, Father. I visited your abbey once before, and your words about suffering left a deep impression on me. I have some questions I'd like to ask."

this way,

Father Benedict into the

the air while soft Gregorian chants played in the background. The moment Timothy stepped through the doorway,

his heart seemed to quiet, if only

floor cushions at a low table, where a pot of tea was kept warm.

are you?" the priest

who was usually so composed—almost unreadable-couldn't hide his surprise. It

you know?"

Benedict smiled, unhurried. "It's written all over your

on keeping

point hiding them. He got straight to the point: "How do I ease the pain of unfulfilled longing and

how do you think it can be

to me, if we could go back to our old life together, then the pain would stop. But she refuses. She's gone, and I fear she may

an addict is overwhelmed

drug,"

if he does, does the pain go away for

comes

satisfied. "So,

addict, the relief from pain is only temporary. Taking the

pain ebbs for a little while, and

not real joy, just the absence of pain. The deeper the suffering, the more intense the fleeting relief, but that only feeds greater pain in the end. So, the more

felt a chill run through him. He understood

couldn't do

me and we lived as we used to,

the addict truly solve his pain by taking the drug? Does someone who never started ever