Sunday evenings were supposed to be simple.
Pick up. Drive home. Dinner. Homework. Bed.
But the moment my nine-year-old son walked out of his mother’s house, my body knew something my brain wasn’t ready to accept.
He wasn’t limping.
He wasn’t crying.
He was walking carefully — like the ground itself might hurt him.
“Buddy,” I asked gently, “why are you moving like that?”
He smiled too fast. “I’m fine, Dad. Just tired.”
When he tried to sit in the car, his face betrayed him.
Pain — sharp, involuntary, undeniable.
