"I know." He thinks about George, Nina, the baby that's on the way. Annie. All of them stronger than they look and still very vulnerable.

"I still think they're better off without me. It's not--" he can feel his voice catching a little, and he steadies himself. "It's not that I don't want to be a good person. I tried, I really did. But I ended up just about ruining their lives anyway."