Chapter 2
I could not move.
Mom stood beside Dad near the parking lot.
Same dark hair.
Same green coat she used to wear.
Same face I had spent two years trying to forget.
But she looked different too.
Thinner.
Older.
Scared.
I handed the folded flag back to Luke before I dropped it.
Then I looked at Dad.
“What is she doing here?”
He took one step toward me.
“Leo—”
“You knew?”
“No.”
Mom spoke.
“I called your father this morning.”
I stared at her.
Her voice sounded exactly the way I remembered.
That made everything worse.
“You called him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled.
“I heard what happened at the airport.”
I laughed.
It came out ugly.
“So?”
“Leo.”
“So I help some stranger and suddenly you remember you have a son?”
Several teachers looked away.
Dad came closer.
“Buddy, maybe we should talk somewhere private.”
“No.”
My voice cracked.
I hated that.
I wanted to sound angry.
Instead, I sounded thirteen.
Mom stepped toward me.
I stepped back.
She stopped immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
Those words hit something inside me.
For two years, I had imagined hearing them.
I had imagined feeling better.
I didn’t.
“Sorry for what?”
Her mouth opened.
I continued.
“For leaving?”
She flinched.
“For moving to Arizona with a man you met at work?”
Dad said quietly, “Leo.”
“For missing my birthday?”
Mom started crying.
“For not calling me on Christmas?”
“I called.”
“Dad wouldn’t let me answer.”
I looked at him.
Dad’s face tightened.
“That’s not exactly what happened.”
My heart began pounding.
“What?”
Mom looked at Dad.
He looked away.
“What does she mean?”
Dad rubbed his face.
“Not here.”
“You stopped her from calling me?”
“No.”
“But?”
He exhaled.
“There were times she called when she wasn’t in a condition to talk to you.”
Mom closed her eyes.
I noticed Luke and Danny quietly moving the SEALs farther away.
The ceremony had turned into something none of us expected.
I looked at Mom again.
“What condition?”
She whispered, “I wasn’t doing well.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“I was drinking.”
The parking lot seemed to tilt.
Mom had never been a drinker when she lived with us.
At least I did not remember it.
She continued.
“After I left, things got worse.”
“So you left us and then things got worse for you?”
“I made terrible choices.”
I laughed again.
“Great.”
She wiped her face.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me today.”
“Then what do you want?”
“A chance.”
“No.”
Dad whispered my name.
I turned on him.
“You don’t get to tell me how to feel.”
“I’m not.”
“You let her come here.”
“She was already on her way.”
“You could’ve told her not to.”
“I could have.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Dad looked at me for several seconds.
“Because I thought you deserved to decide for yourself.”
That stopped me.
Mom stepped back.
“I can leave.”
“Good.”
She nodded.
Pain crossed her face.
She turned.
Then I saw something hanging from her wrist.
A blue thread bracelet.
I had made it at summer camp when I was ten.
I gave it to her because the knot was crooked and I did not want it.
She had worn it every day until she left.
Apparently she still did.
“Wait.”
Mom stopped.
I hated myself for saying it.
I hated the hope that flashed across her face.
I looked at the bracelet.
“You kept that?”
She glanced down.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you made it.”
“You left everything else.”
“I know.”
My eyes burned.
I looked away.
That was when Luke approached.
“Leo?”
I wiped my face fast.
“Yes, sir?”
“Can I tell you something?”
I nodded.
He looked toward my mother.
“When I woke up in the hospital, I was angry at everybody.”
My mother lowered her eyes.
Luke continued.
“I was angry at the teammate who dragged me out because he didn’t save the others.”
Danny stood nearby.
“I was angry at my brother because he looked at me like I was broken.”
Danny smiled sadly.
“I was angry at myself because I survived.”
I listened.
“People kept telling me to be grateful.”
Luke shook his head.
“I hated them for it.”
My stomach loosened slightly.
“What changed?”
“Nothing at first.”
He looked directly at me.
“I learned forgiveness and trust aren’t the same thing.”
Mom looked up.
“You can forgive someone someday and still make them earn your trust.”
I stared at her.
Luke continued.
“And you don’t owe anybody forgiveness on their schedule.”
For the first time since Mom appeared, I felt like someone understood exactly what I needed.
Dad nodded.
“Thank you.”
Luke looked at him.
“I was talking to Leo.”
Dad almost smiled.
“Fair.”
I took a breath.
“Mom.”
She turned fully toward me.
“I don’t want you coming home.”
Her face tightened.
“I understand.”
“I mean our house.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want you calling every day.”
“Okay.”
“And I don’t want you promising stuff.”
A tear slid down her face.
“Okay.”
I swallowed.
“But…”
My voice shook.
“You can text me.”
Her hand covered her mouth.
“One message.”
I quickly added, “Not fifty.”
She gave a tiny laugh through her tears.
“One.”
“And I might not answer.”
“That’s okay.”
I looked at Dad.
He nodded.
It was my decision.
Not his.
Not hers.
Mine.
“Okay.”
Mom whispered, “Thank you.”
I shook my head.
“This isn’t forgiveness.”
“I know.”
That mattered.
She knew.
Later, the school held the ceremony after all.
Luke stood at the microphone.
He told everyone I had missed my flight to help him.
I wanted the concrete to swallow me.
Students applauded.
Teachers cried.
Then Luke called me forward.
He gave me a small coin with the SEAL trident on one side.
On the other side were four words.
NO ONE LEFT BEHIND.
“You keep that,” he said.
“I will.”
He leaned close.
“And remember it applies to you too.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Kids like you are good at helping everyone else.”
His expression became serious.
“Sometimes you forget you’re allowed to need help.”
I put the coin in my pocket.
I would remember those words sooner than I expected.
Because after the ceremony, when I returned to my locker, someone had written across it in black marker.
HERO BOY LOVES ATTENTION.
Students slowed as they walked past.
My stomach twisted.
Then another message appeared below it.
YOUR MOM LEFT BECAUSE OF YOU.
My vision blurred.
Behind me, someone laughed.
I turned.
Caleb Holloway stood at the end of the hall.
The principal’s son.
He smiled.
May you like
Then he quietly said:
“Guess the Navy forgot to tell everyone what a loser you really are.”
