alone again

Robo left again. Gone. I don't know where. He's not happy. I'm horribly concerned but also tired of the gut-wrenching worry. I am having trouble sleeping and keep imagining awful things happening to him....and his lifeless body. I am completely impotent to help him. He won't accept my outstretched hand and I don't have much energy left to extend it. I want him to come home. But it is just so much to take right now. If he wants help, he knows where to go.
He is part of the family. He has been my emotional support and my shoulder. We take care of each other. But have I used his connection to Jeff as a bandage to protect the wound? Now that he's gone, the sore is raw, open and gooey again like it has been under a wet bandaid. It is much worse than it was when Robo was home. I miss Jeff more intensely. I feel his absence more acutely. Is it just that 'part' of Jeff that Robo brought with him or was it the comfort of his gentle presence? I don't know.
I do miss Robo intensely as well. His quiet way with the kids. His twisted sense of humour. His gentle comfort and constant companionship. The confidences he told me. His ability to listen to anything I have to say and take it in stride. His interest in the goings-on in the house.
I didn't feel so alone. I felt like someone would noticed if I 'fell'. Someone would care if I broke down. He was here and he cared.....And I felt the same for him. I cared.
But now, I'm angry. He left. He left my kids without saying good-bye. He had no real obligation to me or them but we love him and my kids have had them in their lives for longer than they can remember. I can't risk my kid's happiness as he comes and goes from their lives. The last thing Liv had said to him was "I love you, Bobo. When I get home can we start the sea monkeys you got me?" He is important to them and seems to forget how much they love him. They are asking where he is. When is he coming home? Can we wait to set up the sea-monkeys so Robo can do it too? How can he hurt them like that? How can he just leave home and not look back? What did we do?
The other night, after Robo had left, I sat crying wondering where he was and what demons in his head had caused his hasty departure. I sat in the dark with the extinguished fire until my feet got too cold. I went to my sock drawer and pulled out a pair of socks. They were the ones Jeff had put in my stocking last Christmas. Purple stripes. Soft and cozy. I pulled them on. And I remembered. Jeff loved me. I was worthwhile. I meant something to him as much as he meant the world to me. And that is all that matters, I guess.