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Someone else did it for me.
“You fucking asshole,” Dad said. “Don’t you ever talk like that to my daughter.”
“Get out!” Mom yelled, pointing at the door. “Before I call the damn police.”
“Wh-what?” Trevor asked.
“Leave,” he boomed. “Now!”
“But she?—”
“OUT!”
Trevor was red in the face, but stomped out the door. Dad cursed and got out his phone.
“I’m calling HR. A man like that isn’t working for me.” He left the room in a rush, his footsteps echoing throughout the house. “And I should probably cover my ass for hitting him. Honestly, howdare he?—”
Mom grabbed my shoulders and pulled my attention from what Dad was muttering. “When did it start?”
“When did what start?”
“This behavior.”
“I ... I’m not sure. It was just a lot of little things. Comments here and there. Him always seeming to get what he wanted. Then he got bolder, and I just felt ... trapped. So, I left.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You said that it was normal to fight with your partner. I thought it was all fine. Until it wasn’t.”
“Butstill.If you said what was happening, I could have told you?—”
“When did I have a chance? He wasalwayshere when I saw you, saying the things you wanted to hear. He did it even after I was gone! And every time we’ve spoken since, you’ve pressured me to get back together with him.”
I was ready to continue to defend myself, to tell her I wasn’t in the wrong for falling victim to Trevor’s tricks. To say that I’d done my best, even if it had taken me a while to say it.
But then she let out a loud sob and started crying.
“M-Mom?” I asked slowly.
“I fuckingfellfor it!” she said, her voice thick with emotion. Another sob escaped her before she continued. “Like a fool. I thought he was soperfect.”
“Mom. He’s smart. He knows how to trick people. How could you have known?”
“Because I’veseenit! God, and to let it happen to my own daughter? What kind of a mother am I?”
“We’re all human here. We can’t help that he said what he did. What matters is that you’re on my side now.”
“How are you not more upset by this? I mean, he said such mean things?—”
“I’ve processed my pain over time. Trust me, it was messy and hard but ... I’m okay. At least with the stuff from him. Running was the best thing I ever did.”
“Oh, honey.” She pulled me into a tight hug. “You never have to run again.”
Her words washed over me, and I went stiff. She was right. I didn’t need to run.
So why had I run from Strawberry Springs?
Was it because I was unsafe?