Lila was different. That was the only word I could come up with to describe the change. Over the past few days, she’d shed a lot of the crap that held her back for years. It always dwelled in the back of her mind, ever since she left her father’s house—when will he come for me?
The unsurmountable weight that pressed upon her was lifted. Chains that held her down released, shedding away the girl like a cocoon and opening up the woman inside. Adam was going to be in jail for a long time, and the judge had approved the restraining order on her father.
It was the first time in over a year I felt like my words really penetrated her. After years of suffering, others finally saw the monster that Adam was. It was validation.
Life returned to its normal pace. It was hard to believe how fast the
