Chapter 14
Rowan changed faster than our parents.
Painfully.
She stopped letting Elias mentor Tyler.
At first Tyler felt lost.
No Thursday tests.
No token system.
No ring.
No adult telling him he was special because another child failed.
He did not know what to replace it with.
So Rowan found him something normal.
Baseball.
He was terrible.
I loved that.
For the first time, losing had no family meaning.
He struck out.
Nobody questioned succession.
He dropped a ball.
Nobody discussed strength.
He came home dirty and ordinary.
That was exactly what he needed.
Noah went to one game.
Tyler looked nervous when he saw him.
Then Noah shouted his name from the bleachers.
Not rival.
May you like
Cousin.
Progress can be embarrassingly simple once adults stop interfering.
