MY DAUGHTER WAS THRILLED TO HOLD HER NEWBORN SISTER, UNTIL SHE WHISPERED ONE WORD THAT SHOOK ME TO MY CORE!

He nodded, eyes glistening. Then he whispered one word: “Same.”

That word said everything. The bruises. The silence. The way he clung to that hat. It wasn’t rebellion. It was armor.

I reached out to Miss Raymond, our school counselor. She was calm, steady — the kind of adult kids trust without needing to explain why. She began meeting with Jaden regularly. Slowly, he opened up. He spoke of hiding in his room. Of wishing he could disappear.

The Breaking Point

Weeks later, I was leaving school when I saw him sitting on the front steps. A duffel bag at his feet. A bruise forming under one eye.

“He hit me again,” he said quietly. “I can’t go back.”Continue reading…