Chapter 8 - The Silence After
Taryn walked out of the backyard with Lula.
Neither spoke until they reached the driveway.
Then Lula looked up.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Are you mad at me?”
Taryn stopped.
She crouched.
“No.”
“Even though I made Grandma mad?”
“You didn't make Grandma do anything.”
Lula looked down.
“She said I was bad.”
Taryn gently lifted her chin.
“You are not bad.”
“Then why does she hate me?”
Taryn's eyes filled with tears.
She had spent years trying to protect Lula from the truth.
But perhaps the truth was already hurting her more.
“Sometimes adults make unfair choices,” Taryn said. “That doesn't mean the child they hurt deserves it.”
Lula leaned forward and hugged her.
Taryn held her tightly.
Behind them, the birthday party was still silent.
Inside that silence, something had changed.
May you like
The family had seen Taryn finally refuse to accept what had been happening.
And Doreen knew it.
