Desolate

I'd finally had enough, but he was only getting started.

The man I fell in love with was handsome and charming. Every time I saw him, I felt like a teenage girl again, with the cliche butterflies flapping wildly in my stomach. Each kiss made me weak in the knees. He made me feel loved. Beautiful. Content. He wasn't someone who was lost inside his own madness and swallowed by the voices in his head that told him it was okay to dominateto claim ownership. No. That was the man I was going to marry.

I just didn't know it then.

I was strong enough to walk away. To hide. I cut my hair, dyed it. I even changed my name. I tried to become invisible to everyone around me. But I knew he would come for me, that he would find me.

Walls are too transparent. People are too transparent. Every time I'd find a different place, I could never stay hidden.

The last time he found me, I'd finally had enough. I...