Chapter 8 - Toby Wasn’t the Enemy Brielle Needed Him to Be
For weeks, the siblings spent limited time together with adults nearby.
Not because Toby was dangerous.
Because trust had to be rebuilt.
One afternoon, Toby sat at the kitchen table coloring.
Brielle walked past.
He froze.
Then slid one crayon toward her.
Red.
Her favorite color when she was little.
Brielle stopped.
“Why are you giving me that?”
Toby shrugged.
“You can use it.”
“I have crayons.”
“Oh.”
He pulled it back.
Brielle stood there another moment.
Then sat down.
Not close.
Across from him.
Toby drew a dinosaur.
Brielle corrected the shape of its tail.
He told her she was wrong.
She told him he was four.
Normal sibling irritation.
No screaming.
No fear.
When Heather saw them, she almost walked over.
Then stopped herself.
Not every sibling moment needed a mother managing it.
Sometimes presence without intrusion mattered.
Brielle did not need Toby removed from the family.
May you like
She needed proof that his existence did not erase hers.
---
Related Stories
