“No.”
“Because you wanted your friends punished?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Travis finally looked up.
“Because if I refused, he punished all three of us.”
The psychologist nodded.
“That doesn’t mean those moments didn’t hurt Colby.”
“I know.”
“It also doesn’t mean you chose freely.”
That distinction took Travis years to accept.
The hardest moment came at Colby’s funeral.
Both families attended.
Travis nearly stayed away.
He feared Colby’s parents would blame him.
Part of him believed they should.
But Colby’s mother walked directly toward him.
Travis froze.
“I’m sorry,” he began.
She interrupted him.
“Did he ever talk about us?”
“All the time at first.”
Her face trembled.
“Later?”
“Less.”
Travis swallowed.
“But he carried you.”
She stared.
“In what way?”
“He remembered birthdays.”
A faint smile broke through his tears.
