One small hand gripped his pillow as he whispered to himself.
“I won’t fall asleep tonight.”
I almost interrupted him.
Then he added something so quietly that I nearly missed it.
“I won’t let Uncle Jason do it to Grandma again.”
And suddenly, I understood that Tyler had never been sleeping outside that door because he was afraid Grandma might get sick again.
Part 2: What Tyler Had Been Watching
I froze in the doorway, trying to understand what I had just heard. The moment Tyler noticed me, he jumped so hard that his dinosaur blanket slipped from his shoulders, and his frightened reaction made my stomach tighten even more.
“Tyler?”
I hurried toward him and sat down beside him on the hallway floor. His eyes immediately filled with tears when I asked what he had just said.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
I kept my voice low because I did not want to wake Mom, but I could no longer ignore what I had heard. Tyler glanced nervously toward Grandma’s bedroom before looking back at me.
“What won’t you let Uncle Jason do again?”
“Mom, promise you won’t tell anyone.”
Every terrible possibility my mind could create seemed to arrive at once, but I forced myself to stay calm so I would not frighten him further. I moved closer and asked him directly what his uncle had done.
