Then he said,
“But we wanted Brenda.”
Those words broke something inside me.
Because Ben understood what Diane had somehow failed to understand.
Yes, our lives had changed.
But Brenda wasn’t something that had happened to us.
She was someone we had wanted.
Someone we loved.
Someone who belonged in our family.
Diane looked at Ben.
“I was trying to protect you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I looked at my son.
“Ben was protecting Brenda from you.”
Daniel stood, walked to the front door, and opened it.
“Mom, you need to leave.”
Diane began crying.
“Daniel…”
“Leave.”
And she did.
Part 8 — He Could Finally Be Her Brother Again
After Diane left, I found Ben sitting on the stairs.
I sat beside him.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
Then I looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
He frowned.
“For what?”
“For not listening sooner. Every morning I kept sending you back to your bedroom. I thought you were just being silly.”
