Chapter 3: The Decision

Jeremiah had been bullied for years.

Or at least, that was what I believed.

He ate alone. He came home quiet. He told me people ignored him, mocked him, treated him like he was invisible.

And Ella, he said, had been one of the girls who never looked his way.

“She’s kind,” he once told me. “But she acts like I don’t exist.”

So when he asked if I had thought about paying her to go with him, I should have stopped everything right there.

Instead, I saw my lonely son.

I saw the boy in all those photographs.

And I let pity make the decision.

“Jeremiah, I shouldn’t have said that,” I told him.

His expression softened.

“I just don’t want to spend that night alone again.”

My heart cracked.

“You won’t,” I said quickly. “I promise.” Continue Reading ⬇️