With that facebook message I knew that things had gone too far and he was in some deep trouble, he had been on bail for domestic violence but was really the victim himself. I knew that it was too much to handle, I knew he was not happy to be doing some jail time and I knew he was scared, He had been putting all his problems under his bed without telling anyone afraid to loose his girlfriend if he did go back behind bars.
"I can't m8" I replied, he understood my position but I'm unsure if he understood what it meant for our business plans.
How can we run a record label if one of the owners is running from the law? I wasn't sure and this bit of news threw all sorts of new problems to the forefront of my mind, the label had been growing and it was in the process of making its first release.
All I can do is hope for the best, life is so complex and I am so glad to nearly be out of my 20's.. To navigate early adulthood with guidance is something alot of us take for granted, some people don't have the same support and without that help life gets really difficult, the chemical street drugs that are easily available don't make things any easier.
But what if someone was to embrace these street drugs, have no support network and have to deal with social stigma and isolation? Do you think these people would still have a chance of a normal life? I don't think so, maybe his family thought they where doing the right thing by letting him grow up on his own and fight these addictions and influences himself but this is the predicament alot of the young people now find themselves in these days as a result.. a predicament where they feel they have no other option but to run because everything else seems to be working against them.
"I have found a backpackers for accommodation and will leave 6am tomorrow" he says but I cant think of what to say to reply, I only think of the pity I feel for him. I think of the problems I have been in and recall my own emotions to relate, he is scared and has nothing to loose, he is naive but courageous, he is young and stupid.
Nothing I can do, you can only change yourself and not others so I just wish my mate all the best luck with this bad decision and hope we can have a beer one day after this all cools down.