Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“I went to my mom’s a couple times but she wouldn’t let me in unless I was there to stay. Unless I was ready to admit I was wrong and needed to come home. I haven’t seen her since my graduation. She and my sister got me flowers and came and hugged me and she cried and said she was so proud of me. She begged me to move home and she’d help me go to college. I said I’d like to come visit, but she said I couldn’t come back to the house if I was bringing him with me. I got mad, said I wouldn’t speak to her until she accepted I was an adult and apologized to him. I haven’t seen Mom or my little sister since then,” she broke off, cried into her hands for a minute. I put my hand on her shoulder and she just leaned over on the couch till her head was on my knee. I stroked her hair and whispered that I was sorry, that they knew she loved them and he was the problem.
“Why didn’t you call her when you left?”
“I was scared to. I thought he’d go after them if they heard from me or knew where I was. And I was so embarrassed to admit what happened. That I was with him for seven years, and five of those I was trying to leave. I even got a job in Birmingham and told him I was moving. He was mad, said he’d never let me go. Beat the shit out of me that time. I couldn’t go to the ER because he’d get in trouble, and I was more afraid to make him more mad than I was to lose the tooth he knocked out and have my wrist heal wrong. It did. I wrapped it best I could, but it still hurts sometimes. He’d be so nice after, bringing me presents and getting a job for a while and loving up on me. It would be like it was at the beginning for a while. But I was smarter that time and I waited till he was passed out drunk and I took off. All I took was my purse and a change of clothes. I went to Birmingham, took the job, got a place with a roommate. I was on my own almost two weeks, looking over my shoulder the whole time. Then he showed up at my work with flowers acting all sweet.”
“How did you finally get away from him?”
“I changed everything. Cut up my ID and my credit card, didn’t use anything that could be tracked. I don’t have social media under my own name and never post pictures of myself. I’m not in contact with anyone from my old life. When I got this job I had to give my real name and get the background check. I guess filing taxes in Virginia must’ve got me or else he just knows how to find me no matter what I do.”
“Don’t think like that. He’s not all powerful and he’s no match for us. The bastard doesn’t have a chance. But here’s what I’m thinking… you move in with us for a few weeks till we get the cops to take care of him.”
“I don’t want to—”
“I know none of this is what you want. But before you say it, you’re not an inconvenience. It’s move in with us or one of us sleeps at your place and you never get a moment’s peace. At least at our house you’ll have your own room and won’t have to step over some six-foot-four grizzly bear on your bedroom floor to get to the bathroom,” I said.
Her eyes shut, tears trailing down her cheeks. She gave a small nod, agreeing to stay.
I got on the bro chat and told them she needed to stay with us for a while. That I’d tell them everything later and just be gentle with her. They unanimously chimed in that of course she could move in, and they’d go get her stuff for her and anything she needed. When I told her, she gave a watery smile and thanked me. I never wanted to see her like that again, broken down and crying, scared and sad and grateful for any bit of decency she was shown.
5
TY
It was late before I got home. Feeling tired from a long day, it had occurred to me not for the first time to slam my fist into the thumbprint scanner that Jake put on the stupid gate. I muttered about him being paranoid, cursed the exhibitors at the security conference who had sold him on so many security measures for our home.
Granted, nobody had robbed us or vandalized anything, and no one had broken into the house thanks to his cameras and locks and security fob and thumbprint scanner and code entry pad. I asked him once if those who failed to put in the right code on the keypad went through a trapdoor never to return. He had just looked at me like I was nuts, which wasn’t exactly a no.