Chapter 17 - Jake’s Anger ReturnsCollege changed Jake.
Not dramatically.
Enough.
He studied kinesiology.
Played football less after a shoulder injury.
Discovered he liked coaching.
Then during sophomore year, a video about Noah’s Halloween incident resurfaced online.
An influencer reposted it.
Millions of views.
Caption:
FOOTBALL TEAM TERRIFIES CHILD ABUSER
Jake hated everything about it.
The word “terrifies.”
The framing.
Comments celebrating imagined revenge.
People wrote:
Should’ve let the boys handle her.
Jake felt the old anger return.
He made a video response.
Then deleted it before posting.
Coach Collins’s voice remained in his head.
This isn’t a game.
Jake called Noah.
“What are you doing?”
Noah’s AAC voice came through video.
BUILDING ENGINE.
“Do you know your Halloween video is everywhere?”
Pause.
NO CARE.
Jake laughed.
Of course.
“People are saying weird stuff.”
PEOPLE ALWAYS WEIRD.
Also true.
Jake did not respond publicly.
The trend died in four days.
Attention moved elsewhere.
He learned another lesson:
Not every false framing deserved his energy.
Silence could be avoidance.
May you like
Or boundary.
Context mattered.
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