I didn't have to make any decisions for a while. I had a few cracked ribs, a fractured wrist, and some significant internal bruising. I didn't have a concussion, but my face was swollen on one side and I had two black eyes. I ended up in the hospital for three nights. Mom and Becky visited me every day, and Mom came again later at night. From the outside I'm sure we looked like any other mother and child, as she held my hand and stroked my hair, but our conversation was anything but. She told me again and again how proud she was of me, and that he'd never hurt me again. She whispered promises that made me blush, and said she loved me. The way she said it, I knew that we were basically a couple. I was happy with that.
I didn't understand at first, but I began to realize that as much as she
