Chapter 2: A Secret Hidden for Years
Chapter 2: A Secret Hidden for Years
The birthday party ended early.
After everyone left, I asked my parents to sit with me in the living room.
Millie was asleep upstairs.
"I want the truth," I said.
My father looked down at his hands.
My mother couldn't meet my eyes.
Finally, Dad spoke.
"This wasn't the first time."
My stomach dropped.
"When you were six..."
He paused.
"...Linda hit you too."
I searched my memory.
There were only scattered flashes.
A broken toy.
A locked bedroom.
Being told to "stop crying."
"We thought protecting the family was the right thing," Mom whispered through tears.
"We kept asking you to apologize because that's what our parents taught us."
Dad's voice cracked.
"We failed you."
I realized why certain childhood memories had never made sense.
Why I had always felt nervous around Aunt Linda.
Why Hannah had once quietly told me,
May you like
"Your daughter never has to hug someone she doesn't want to."
She had noticed what I never understood.
