heartbroken

My nephew, my 16-yo (17 next month) nephew...he's always been such a good kid, he IS a good kid and he's incredibly talented. Playing in a REAL band with REAL gigs all over town at 14 years old, writing his own music. Really, really good. Self-taught guitar player, lead singer. Awesome kid. This is a kid who has said I've been more of a mom to him than his own mother, a kid who I lived with and helped raise. My parents' first grandchild, my first (and one of only two) nephew. He's been making some poor choices, we caught him with alcohol and he was smoking, but he stopped the smoking. He got fired recently from his job at Pizza Hut. He said because he was late--only, he always left in plenty of time to be at work on time. A couple of weeks ago, he didn't go to school all week. Left for school in the morning-but didn't go to school. We still don't really know where he's been.

Well, Friday, he left to go to his mother's house (he lives with his father/my brother). Only, he never went there. He showed up Saturday for about an hour, then left. He didn't come back. My brother called police and reported him as a runaway last night. He showed up at my brother's this morning about 11AM. When asked where he was-he said he had been at his mother's. The cops came by because he had been reported as a runaway. They talked to him. My brother then took him over to his mother's house and they all talked to him.

He admitted he's been using cocaine and ecstasy. This is ... this is like my own child doing this. I'm heartbroken. They are going to TRY to put him into rehab tomorrow, but we don't know how much insurance will pay, and one place we've already talked to wants $7000 up front. He says he wants help with the cocaine-but says he's not sorry he used X as that's "the only time he thinks clearly." Of course, that's what addiction IS.

I never thought this kid would do this. He's been so reliable, so mature, so responsible. Of course, I'm sure that's what everybody says right? Not MY kid! Not THIS kid! I admit I've been a little worried-his attitude has been sharper--just ... disrespectful for example and he's NEVER been disrespectful to me. Not to me. To his dad, but never to me. And he's lost weight. So I was worrying and tried to get my brother to UA him and he wouldn't do it.