Chapter 8 - Leo Thought It Was His Fault
That was the hardest part.
Not the audit.
Not the police interviews.
Not the legal meetings.
My son blamed himself.
A week after the barbecue, I found him sitting on the back steps alone with his elbows on his knees.
He looked up at me and asked, “If I didn’t look at the grill, would Javier have stayed your friend?”
Children ask the most devastating questions in the quietest voices.
I sat beside him.
“No.”
“But if I didn’t tell him I’d tell you—”
“This was not your fault.”
He stared at the lawn.
“He got mad because of me.”
“No,” I said firmly. “He got caught because of you. That’s different.”
Leo didn’t answer right away.
So I kept going.
“When adults do something wrong, that belongs to them. Not to the person who sees it. Not to the child who tells the truth.”
His eyes filled with tears again.
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
“I thought he was gonna hurt Mia too.”
I put an arm around him.
“That’s why you screamed for me.”
He nodded.
“And I heard you.”
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Sometimes that is the only answer a child really needs.
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