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Juliana had noticed Robbie come into the room and start talking to Sydney. It made her smile to see her son chatting happily with his aunt. Robbie was very introverted, the exact opposite of his father Rob, and she felt relieved seeing him talk so openly with someone.
Sydney: I can’t believe you’re already in fifth grade and that your sister is in high school! I swear, it was like last week that we were all rushing to the hospital, waiting for your mom to have you. It’s been so long... I’ve missed so much, haven’t I? I’m so sorry Robbie, for not being there to see you grow up.
Robbie, shaking his head: Don’t say sorry Aunt Sydney. I... I know why you’re not around.
Sydney, surprised: You do? But you were too little to understand what happ--
Robbie: No one likes to be around my dad.
Robbie frowned, his gaze shifting from his aunt to the floor. He was very perceptive for a ten year old. He could tell that everyone, including his own family, despised his father. It wasn’t hard for him to see why, either. After all, he already had to bear the brunt of Rob’s anger many times in his short life.
Seeing the look of shame in her nephew’s eyes broke Sydney’s heart. She couldn’t even imagine what the boy had experienced with Rob. She knew what she went through and what her other brother went through, and she knew how messed up they both were because of it. It broke her heart thinking about how Rob’s kids, her niece and nephew, would suffer from the same fate.
