“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done, Mason,” I reassure him. “I didn’t want help. I thought I had it under control. If I said the right things, did what he asked, didn’t get in his way, didn’t push his buttons. As long as I didn’t piss him off, I believed he would love me. I don’t know why or how I became that person. Looking back now, that woman wasn’t me. I was trapped under his spell, and if it wasn’t for you, I have no doubt he would’ve done something to me. Something much worse than just a black eye and bruised limbs. Those I can cover up and heal from, but the emotional and mental—the invisible pain—that’s what I need to work through.”
“I get it,” he says with a small smile. “If you want me to go with you, I will.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. But this is something I need to do o
