Derek came over every Saturday morning with donuts and let Noah beat him at board games without making it obvious.
Lena began supervised visits and parenting counseling, and to her credit, she did not ask me to make it easier for her than it was for Noah.
She had consequences to face.
So did I.
Because I had to live with the fact that I disliked Travis but stayed quiet to keep the peace.
Peace is not always peace.
Sometimes it is just fear wearing polite clothes.
I do not ignore second calls anymore.
Not from Noah.
Not from anyone I love.
The first buzz might be nothing.
The second one might be the whole world asking whether you are paying attention.
That afternoon, I was twenty minutes away.
My brother was fifteen.
The police were close.
But the bravest person in that story was a four-year-old boy who hid long enough to call his father and tell the truth.
