Okay, well do what you want,
because you're going to anyway.
He only cares about himself,
I wonder where he gets that from.
Okay, well, you can come and talk to him about this.
What I'm doing wrong.
You know, I'm over here trying to deal with chaos.
As if that's gonna help him.
He's a punk!
He blames everybody else.
No responsibility.
You know, you're just like me.
I know you don't want to hear that, but you are.
I know how angry you are.
I just don't want it to be like it was
with me and Daddy, you know?
We didn't see each other much after I left the house.
I know that I-- I told you about, you know,
about him being mean, but...
it was a whole lot more than that.
When my mom got sick...
she would just go through these phases
where she would lay there in that bed.
For weeks, sometimes.
And Papaw got to where...
he treated me more like a wife than a daughter.
So when I was about 16, and I met your daddy...
he told me that he loved me, or he cared about me.
I don't even know if I believed him,
but I wanted to.
So...
The truth is...
I got myself pregnant just as quick as I could.
And I just wanted to throw it in Papaw's face
and get the hell out of there.
And it worked.
He pretty much disowned me.
And I pretty much disowned him.
I'm not carrying everything!
I said I'll get mine!
Daddy?
I think he's in there.
- You need the bathroom? - Yeah.
Try not to flush. The well's low.
All right, I won't.
- Good night. - Good night.
Good night, Christy.
Come here, you bastards, come on.
Yeah, come on.
Come here.
Get it. Come on.
Come here, get it.
That's right, little fucker.
Not as if I'm trying to ask you...
Okay.
...What your opinion is on my parenting.
I'm telling you because
he's probably gonna bring it up this summer,
and I need to know what's goin' on.
He's out, he's out partying',
he's sneaking' out at night, I--
the truth is, I don't even really know what he's doing.
Ah, he isn't really a bad kid--
Now, I didn't say he's a bad kid,
I said he's headed down a bad path,
and I have one more year with him.
You're not around him all the time,
you don't see him at home,
you're not seeing the side of him that I've seen.
Uh, you-- you've-- you've always worried
a little bit about him.
- He's 17 years old! - That--
He's barely holding' it together right now!
I don't even feel like I know who he is.
How am I supposed to help a kid
that I don't even know who he is?
Hey.
Packin' up?
Listen, Matthew, I don't know what you heard.
I'm just tryin' to ask for his help.
I'm not your father.
I've tried.
He's the only option we got.
You can stay longer, you know it.
Mmm, I know it.
I'll be back. I have to be, don't I?
Ah, he wants to stay forever, he ain't leavin'.
Mmm. Mm-hmm.
I love you, you know it.
I love you too, Daddy.
-Love you. -Love you, too.
Remember, Matthew, no drinkin', and stay out of trouble.
You're here to help Papaw and get your head clear.
-Okay? -I know.
Promise me?
- Promise. - Okay.
- Hey, what's up? - Eh, nothin' much.
Just hangin' out.
I just heard Mom talkin' shit about me.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
Heard you can't drive. That sucks, dude.
Yeah, it does.
I'm stuck at home just to her.
Fuck that, dude.
I don't even want her.
God dammit, my fuckin' ear!
- You all right there? - Jesus!
You good?
There's this girl that lives up here, um,
- right down. - Yeah, sure.
Who is she?
Just this freshman up the road.
She said she wanted to hang out.
She was a freshman, or will be a freshman?
Uh, she will be.
How'd you guys meet?
Uh, I met her at church, actually.
On her knees.
All right.
I didn't mean it like that I just, um,
didn't really expect to see you here.
Yes, good job.
We're gonna check on that, soon.
Yeah?
Um, I heard you had a game.
I've had a few, but it's just, like,
some running, so it doesn't matter.
Like, please, don't take offense to this.
Um, I don't really understand baseball.
Like, at all, so, when you said that, I got--
- Mm, really hurts. - Um, I'm sorry, I just--
but, I mean, you can explain it to me.
Um, so basically
with baseball, you have, well-- you got two teams, right?
Um, got the pitcher, you got, uh,
a few basemen, all those guys.
Um, pitcher throws the ball at them, and--
Wait, at 'em? Like, right at 'em?
Isn't that kind of, like, dangerous?
Um, okay, so.
The pitcher's supposed to throw the ball, like,
next to the batter, so he can hit the ball.
- Oh. - Sometimes he does
- hit the batter, and so-- - Oh.
- Yeah, it sucks. - Oh, yeah.
But you get a free base, you get a head start.
-Yeah, sure. -Hey, um.
You guys mind if I play video games?
Oh, uh, yeah, on my-- the controller's on that thing.
- All right. - What were you saying?
That's basically-- that's, like,
all the important stuff, I guess.
Hmm. Okay.
Yep. Good. Good.
I'll tell you somethin'.
They'll call somebody...
And they...
Well, we'll be back.
Where's Robbie off to?
Said he had practice.
- You had a good time? - Yeah.
You're awful quiet over there.
You homesick?
Nah. I'm just tired.
The truth is...
I got myself pregnant just as quick as I could.
And I just wanted to throw it in Papaw's face
and get the hell out of there.
He treated me more like a wife...
than his daughter.
-Mornin'. -Mornin'.
Felt like cookin' some eggs.
Yeah.
You know how to cook eggs, don't you?
-Yeah. -Okay, get over here. Do it.
We have a mess here.
We have a mess.
Hey! Grandpa!
Where do I put the trash?
I'll take it.
And don't forget, there's trash
- in the Fellowship Hall, too. - All right.
For Jesus since You came here as our Savior,
well, all we know, all things are possible through You, Lord.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Lo, and we believe Your mighty touch, Lord.
We believe in this touch.
Faith itself in Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah.
Why don't you go? At least let me go.
No, you can stay right there.
-Never tell him that. -How old.
-Come on, now. -Oh, the bo--
the word gonna get out.
She's talking about acting, you know--
We thank You for...
supplying our every need, Father God.
Bless us in good times
and times of trouble, Father God.
We know that you will never leave us
or forsake us, Father God.
I ask you to bless this food.
Bless our family.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Mmm.
Well?
How's school goin'?
- It's pretty boring. - Pretty boring?
Yeah, I know, as I recall,
it was pretty boring when I was in school.
Ah...
thought anything more about what you gonna do
once you-- when you finish?
Well, you must,
so you might wanna start thinkin' about it.
Gonna get here pretty quick.
Have you ever thought about, uh-- about the Army?
Army? Navy?
I found some pictures of you in the chest.
Oh, yeah? Which ones?
A couple when you're pretty little,
and some other a bit later on.
Mmm.
Well, that might be all there is.
We didn't ever take very many.
I found one of you when you were pregnant.
Oh, really?
I bet that's the one I sent to Meemaw.
You looked really young in it.
Well, I was, Matthew. I was 16.
Are you doin' okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Well, your Papaw's concerned about you.
He said he thinks you're tired of bein' around him.
If he's concerned, it's cause you told him to be.
Hello?
Hey, man.
- Hey, what's going on? - Uh, not much.
We got a request.
For what?
Uh, Emily said she's havin' a friend over.
And she wants us to come hang out.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah, I'm not sure. What do you think?
You wanna go?
Okay.
She should be asleep.
How 'bout her dad?
I've never seen him.
Uh, I don't think he's around.
We're not gonna get you in trouble, are we?
Uh, no, my mom's sleeping in her room, so.
- You sure? - No, you're fine. Yeah.
All right, um, get a snack.
Um, do you have anything to mix this with?
Uh, yeah.
Um, I'll just get the orange soda.
Here, try that.
Ugh. I don't think so.
Um, okay, do you want to put
-some more soda in that? -Yeah.
Hey, Robbie. Can we hurry this up, man?
Yeah, I'm going as fast as I can.
Right, okay, God, it just looks like we're drinking soda.
Oh, um, by the way, I don't think Nicole's coming.
Why?
Well, I'm guessing she's too afraid to sneak out.
So when are we gonna go to Nicole's?
We're not.
Phew, wait, you're trying to keep us
both for yourself, huh?
- No. - Uh-huh. Yeah.
I'm not.
It's warm.
Oh, my gosh.
Stop!
Get away!
What was that for?
For-- for my cake. You ate it!
Oh, you know what? It was good, too.
What? Oh, it was?
I don't know. Should I pray?
You know,
- I don't know. - I see.
Um, where would I go?
I might go to-- to Yale.
Ah, that one's probably good.
Cause that could be the last one.
Hey, uh, wait here.
Just-- just gotta grab somethin' real quick.
Emily?
Is that you?
Emily?
Little middle school girl.
That's--
that's sick.
Emily Stanton.
You like takin' advantage of little girls, Robbie?
No. I won't see her again.
You don't have to worry about that.
You sure as hell better not!
Better not see her, talk to her,
even look in her direction, you hear me?
Fuck off, mate!
Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?
Why you little fucking--
It's your fuckin' fault, dude.
Couldn't stay the fuck outside.
It's probably Matthew.
That jerk.
You know he's a jerk.
Not like Robbie.
- Oh. - So...
- Not good. - No. It's not good.
And I-- I-- I don't know what she was thinkin',
lettin' him into her house like that.
But I know what they were thinkin'.
I mean, what'd they think...
You okay this mornin'?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Did y'all camp?
Ah, just hung out, played some video games.
Yeah.
Paula told me more than that, you know it.
You gonna sleep the day away, know it?
There's yard work need doin'.
Rise and shine, rise and shine.
- All right. All right. - I'm the rooster.
Get out of there. Come on. Let's go!
Is your mama doin' okay?
Yeah, I guess.
Good.
You're not makin' it too hard on her, are you?
No. Did she tell you that?
Mm, I reckon not.
She said that...
she said you weren't acting like yourself.
How am I supposed to act?
The Matthew I know is a-- is a happy fella.
It's hard to get him down.
I know it's been a tough year.
What do you mean, Daddy?
What did he do?
He was drinkin', he-- what? You don't know?
Uh, Matthew didn't have a whole lot to--
uh, he didn't have a whole lo--
a whole lot to say for himself, but--
Well, what did Paula tell you?
What were they doin' with this girl, Daddy?
Uh, I don't know exactly, uh--
-Well, what do you know? -I dunno.
- My God, I told you, didn't I? - Yeah.
Told you you had to keep an eye on him.
- All right. - Put me on the phone with him.
- Let me talk to him. - Well--
Well, hold on, just a second.
Matthew!
Telephone.
- Hello? - I thought you two
might do somethin' stupid.
But I told myself to trust you again.
What do you have to say for yourself, Matthew?
Did you hear me? I know what you did.
Go on, Matthew. Talk!
I'm not doing this.
I'm comin' for you on Saturday.
So be ready.
I hope you make these last few days count, Matthew.
He may not be around much longer.
They got old grudges
that go back 50 years, family feuds, and wonder,
"Why we don't have a move of God,"
and they're always lookin' to blame the pulpit.
You will never have a move of God
until you forgive!
Unfortunately, the hatred we carry around...
till all of our enemies are dead,
will kill us first.
Revenge makes about as much sense
as biting a dog, because he bit you!
And we sit around judgmentally,
keepin' score on one another!
It's too late to keep score!
Nothing can provide...
the transforming, cleansing of God as experienced
when a soul gives and receives forgiveness.
Powering new life, new hope, new joy,
and the river of God...
...flowing again into the cold, bitter heart-- vanished!
Jesus said, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit,"
but He could not commend His spirit until he said,
"Forgive," because God does not touch
spirits of unforgiveness.
Somebody ought to make some phone calls.
Hello?
Hey, it's Matthew, Robbie's cousin.
Can you talk for a minute?
Oh, hey.
I can't talk right now, my mom's here.
Are you going tonight?
Yeah. Yeah. I'll be there.
You ready to go?
Yeah.
Okay, let's go.
Good evening, folks.
How are you doing?
- How are you doin'? - Oh, I'm awful good.
Well, it's a good evening there.
Hey, good evening, good evening!
Good to see you.
- Okay. - Good to see you.
- Doin' well? - Doin' good.
How are you? Good to see you.
With that, um--
I think it doesn't really matter where we are in life,
or where we think it's going,
we still need the prayers of our-- of our church family.
- Amen? - Amen!
Come forward to the altar, if you have that need.
Amen, amen.
Praise the Lord.
Lift up, and with the Lord--
just put Your healing touch on Matthew.
Lord, just us to...
Praise the Lord.
I know that You're gonna lead our-- our support,
and You're gonna help them.
Hallelujah!
Amen.
Praise the Lord.
Up, down, and bless...
Praise You, Lord.
He's gonna be with us,
right now and always, be with him.
Death and...
Hey, um, I just wanna say
I'm sorry for getting us caught the other day.
It's not your fault.
I'm pretty sure my mom heard me
coming in before you, so--
No, it-- it was-- I got way too crazy and out of hand.
Have you heard anything from Robbie?
Um, no, I haven't heard anything,
I'm-- I know he's in trouble with his mom,
but that's about it.
Then, um, why won't he message me?
Did he say anything?
Um, he-- he's not really supposed to talk to you.
Okay.
But, you know, it's just, like, his mom's saying that, right?
So--
Um, a-- a little bit.
What do you mean?
I don't...
He just doesn't like you in that way.
Listen, you really like him, don't you?
- Yeah. - Yeah, he--
he doesn't like you in the way that you like him.
Look, now-- he thinks you're his good friend and all,
but that's it.
Why didn't he just tell me that?
Um...
to be honest, I don't think he really cares about...
about it.
But if it makes you feel any better,
I really like you.
Why?
I think you're really cute and funny, and...
I just really like talking to you.
His heart unto his soul,
his spirit, to whatever You have for him, Father.
Be with him, as he makes amends with his--
with his family, for love and work of him...
Hey, have you-- have you ever seen what's back there?
Uh, no.
Come here, I'll show you.
Wonder why this is in here.
Um, I think a family stayed here a while ago.
-In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. -I'm here to take care of him.
- Hallelujah. - Amen.
Hallelujah with the spirit.
Be with my kids, with my grandkid...
How long have you been coming here for?
Um, about a year ago.
It's when I started, um--
started coming with my Meemaw.
And so your mom didn't come?
No.
Now, is it just the two of you,
or do you have any brothers and sisters?
Well, I have some half-brothers,
but I don't really see them that much,
because they live in another town.
Are they your dad's?
Uh, yeah.
So you don't see them?
Um, really only on holidays.
Other than that, that's pretty much it.
Yes, Lord.
Pray for uh, take the smiting burden
-from Jane for the Lord... -Lord God, I pray for--
I pray for Matthew, he's got a--
he's got some challenges in his own life.
A lot of mistakes, the way You...
It-- it should be over soon.
It'll be fine, we'll leave when they end.
Um, my Meemaw's probably looking for me anyways.
Just say you're talking to a friend.
I'm-- it's true, isn't it?
It's true, but I gotta go. I'm sorry.
Amen, amen and amen, Lord God.
Amen, and thank you, thank you.
Stop it!
No! Matthew, I've gotta go.
Oh, yeah, go on then.
Stupid bitch.
You're just a fucking slut.
You wanna tell me what was goin' on?
Church was goin' on too long,
so I just decided to go sit down there for a little bit.
Sit for a little bit?
Yeah.
What about that young girl that left the church?
I don't know, I saw her when I was walking down there,
and she said hi, but that's it.
She said hi?
That's it, huh?
Yeah.
You weren't in the back room with that girl?
No.
You lie, you lie through your teeth.
I know what you were doing.
You weren't back there sittin' down, either.
Is this the same girl as before,
or a different one?
So the same one, I guess?
Matthew, she is young!
She will follow whatever you say.
Nothing happened.
Nothing happened?
- No. - Really?
Look, I didn't do anything wrong,
and the only reason I even talked to her
is frickin' Robbie, okay?
Matthew, how dare you!
-You got caught! -I didn't get caught.
You got caught drinking three days ago,
and then you turn around and do it again,
only this time you do it at the church,
which is awesome, by the way.
I didn't do anything at the church,
I just got bored.
That's it.
How can you treat me like I'm stupid?
I'm not treating you any way.
I didn't break your trust, I didn't do anything wrong.
So you didn't make any of those choices on your own?
No!
Matthew, what is goin' on with you?
Nothing. What's goin' on with you?
What do you mean, what's goin' on with me?
This isn't about me!
I can't even stand to be in the room with you right now.
- Then go. - You know what?
You know, I'm done with you.
Just leave! No one wants you here anyway.
Dammit!
I don't even know what I was thinkin',
bringin' him here.
As if you were gonna be able to help him.
I've had him here a few days,
and look at what he's chosen to do.
I'm gonna miss you, you know it.
I'm gonna miss you, too.
You'll be all right.
The Lord answers prayers, he'll answer mine.
Long time ago, people were prayin' for me.
He answered their prayers.
I really don't wanna go.
Oh, when, uh...
When I was your age...
I wanted to leave home, too.
That's the reason I went into the army early.
But, uh,
it was because my daddy threatened my life, you know it.
One evening, I came in and he had a...
he had a knife to my mama's throat.
I-- I stopped him
from doin' something he would've regretted.
But the old drunk didn't see it that way.
So my mama got me out of there.
She was-- she was protecting me.
And that's what your mama's doin' for you.
Yeah, she-- she acts tough, but, uh,
without you?
She'd fall to pieces.
She wouldn't put one foot in front of the other.
You're the reason she keeps goin'.
You're a-- you're a blessed young man.
You just don't know it yet.
Matthew, can I-- can I pray for you before you go?
Yeah.
Father God...
I just thank You for bringing this boy into my life.
I ask for Your love and Your protection for him
during his life.
Watch over him, as he goes along.
We ask that you keep him from makin'
some of the mistakes that I made in my life.
Help him to find his way.
Help him to know what to do.
Bless him, keep him...
and bring him home.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
- Love you, know it. - I love you, too.
I love you.
We'll be okay.
I'm gonna forgive him.
I'm workin' on it.
I just need you to understand that--
I'm not okay.
I know I'm not.
And I know you're not, either.
I have passed all my--
resentment and anger
down to you.
And I want to ask for your forgiveness.