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For what it's worth, here's the rest of the story.
I met Brian in the spring on 1995. Our bands traded shows on a regular basis, and a few years later, when his band had broken up and my band was looking for a singer, he was the guy. We played shows, dreamed dreams, wrote songs, and laughed. Then life got in the way.
Over the years, we drifted apart a little. I went to law school and got married. He got in some trouble, got some help, and got better. He cleaned up and started playing out again. I'd still go out every now and then to see him play. The last time I saw him in person was the night his band played Bob's bar on High Street on his birthday a couple of years ago in early 2008. I hadn't seen him for a while, but he called to tell me it would mean a lot for me to be there. I saw the show, sat in on one of the songs, and watched my friend sing and play. At the end of the night, he hugged me as I said goodbye.
A few months later, I started hearing rumors that he was going downhill - messed up on pills, quit his job, into some shady stuff. I got a call from him out of the blue one day. He was in trouble- caught with something he wasn't supposed to have and he wanted to know if I could be his attorney. I had just taken a job with the prosecutor's office - the enemy - and I couldn't help him. I told him not to say anything to anyone and to ask for a lawyer. He got a few days later and called me back. We talked for a little bit, said our goodbyes, and I asked him to get help.
The next time I saw Brian, another year had passed. He had been arrested after breaking into my house to help finance his heroin habit - the generalities are all in this thread. He bonded out, missed his next court date, and had a warrant issued. I spent the next few months arguing with my insurance company and discovering that Brian was in jail in another county. From there, it was a matter of waiting for my court date to come.
Today, Brian pled guilty to several felonies and was sent to prison. I saw his parents in court for the first time in seven years - I wish I could have seen them under better circumstances.
At one point during the hearing, as I was making my statement to the judge, I caught a glimpse of the guy I used to know in there somewhere. Half a year of jail time and enforced sobriety helped, I guess. He teared up when I told the court that the worst part of the crime was something that no one else in the room would probably understand - the pedalboard that he took was the one that he and I sat on his porch and built together. The guitars he took were the ones that he and I wrote songs together with. I don't know if anyone else got it, but Brian understood.
I saw Brian for what will probably be the last time today as the deputies took him back into the holding cell. Catching the guy who broke into my house and stole my stuff felt good. Sending a friend who I've known for fifteen years, however, sucked donkey balls. In the end, the only thing I could think of that could be worse would be helping to bury him.
And that's the story.
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