Chapter 14 - TYLER RUNS AGAIN
Tyler did not return to competitive track.
Not immediately.
He started jogging with Jason.
No watch.
No timing.
No training plan.
Just movement.
One Saturday Ella joined.
Karen did not know until later.
That was intentional.
The cousins ran two miles around Silver Lake.
Tyler stopped halfway.
Ella stopped too.
“Don’t wait.”
“I’m tired.”
“You’re lying.”
“Maybe.”
They sat on the dock.
Tyler looked at the water.
“Mom says Uncle Ben took everything.”
Ella frowned.
“Did he?”
“No.”
“You know that.”
“Yeah.”
Another silence.
Then Tyler said:
“I think she needs to believe people take things from her.”
Ella looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because then she doesn’t have to say she took stuff first.”
That was probably the most accurate diagnosis anyone in the family ever made.
Not clinical.
May you like
Moral.
Karen experienced every boundary as theft because she had built her life around unauthorized access.
