It meant Leo no longer had to lie to keep the adults around him stable.
That evening, after the visit, Leo climbed into the SUV and dropped into the back seat normally.
Michael noticed immediately.
He did not mention it.
He simply started the engine.
Halfway home, Leo looked out the window and said, “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“That night at the hospital…
you really weren’t mad at me?”
Michael glanced at him in the mirror.
“Never at you.”
Leo nodded once.
Then he leaned back against the seat.
For months, Michael had carried the memory of Leo hovering above that same leather, terrified to sit and even more terrified to explain why.
Now his son rested against it without flinching.
Michael turned onto the freeway and kept driving.
He did not need a courtroom declaration to understand what had changed.
The lie Brenda told Leo to carry had depended on silence.
Leo had finally put it down.
