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life.”
    “We all make mistakes, Devin.  But you’ve been given an opportunity not many have ever had.  You can leave this facility and become a new man.”
    “What sort of man can I be if I can’t remember anything?  Do you have any idea how crazy this is making me?” His hands began to shake as he sat down.  He could feel his chest tightening. 
    Perfect—another panic attack.  That’s all he needed.
    “Mr. Rose, I want you to consider what possibilities await you.  It is evident you didn’t make many friends when you were younger.” The doctor shrugged. “Who’s to say you cannot make friends now?”
    “Who would want to be friends with me?  I’m an infamous asshole around here, aren’t I?”
    “Devin, listen to me.” The doctor knelt before him and stared up at him, his eyes becoming kind and gentle.  “Everyone deserves redemption— Everyone.   I need you to do this.  You’re going to walk out of here and start over.  Take the life you’ve been given and make something of it.  Help people.  Help yourself.  Show them all that you can be a better man.”
    “I don’t know how to show them that,” he admitted quietly.  “I don’t even know how to show myself that.”
    “Time, my boy.” He rested a hand against his shoulder and squeezed it.  “Time.”

Chapter 3
    K elly
    Later that night as she prepared for bed, she couldn’t get those eyes out of her mind.  There was such overwhelming sadness in Devin’s eyes and it reminded her of someone.
    Herself.
    Learning to live without her husband and the father of her children had never been easy—it was never easy for anyone.  The hard times that fell on their household after Patrick’s death were a complete nightmare for her, but thankfully she’d gotten back on her feet with the help of friends.
    Maybe that’s all Devin needed, too.
    Do I want to be his friend? She ran the brush through her hair and gazed at her reflection.  Concern and hesitation stared back at her as her lips anchored into a frown.
    Everyone deserved a friend, didn’t they?  Even though she’d lost touch with hers over the years, they had come back.  What if Devin didn’t have anyone like that in his life?
    It was such a depressing thought; he was about to be released into the world and maybe he just didn’t have anyone he could turn to.
    But maybe he deserves it.
    She scoffed at the terrible things her mind could come up with and rolled her eyes.  That was most certainly no way to be thinking when the poor man was so lost.
    But why was she taking it upon herself to help him?  Why did it have to be her?
    “Mommy?”
    She placed the brush on her dresser and turned around to see the keeper of her heart standing in the doorway, dripping from head to toe as he clutched a towel around his scrawny little frame.
    “Justin.” She bit back a laugh and opened her arms to him.  He quickly ran into them and buried his sopping wet head against her nightgown, soaking it.  “What on earth are you doing?  I thought I taught you how to dry off after bath time?”
    “You did, Mommy.  But there’s a monster under the sink and he scared me.”
    Her smile instantly disappeared when she realized he’d been crying.  Protective-Mama-Bear mode went into full effect as she wrapped him up in her arms and comforted him.
    “A monster, you say? Hm.”
    “Uh huh.  It’s making the most awful noises.” He mimicked the growling noises he’d heard and try as she might, she couldn’t help but to laugh again.
    “Those noises, huh? Well, maybe I should go take a look.”
    “No! Are you crazy?” He tilted his head back to stare up at her, absolutely horrified.  “He might eat you and then I will be an Orkin.”
    “An Orkin?” She knew good and well what he meant, but knowing that her son was scared of becoming an orphan ripped her to shreds on the inside.  “No, baby.” She knelt before him and pulled him back into her arms again, squeezing gently.  “That