endearing to her.
They walked outside and waved to the kids, who were currently trying to teach Thing One and Thing Two how to sit and roll over. The pups were just standing there looking at them, tongues hanging out to the side.
“So, your predator asshole of an ex talked you into going out with him. Then what happened?”
They both sat down on the steps. “Textbook abuse situation.”
He shook his head. “Don’t call it that. It wasn’t textbook to you.”
She shrugged. He was right. Dr. Elliott had chided her about taking too much responsibility for things that weren’t her fault. “You’re right. But there tends to be some common factors in abusive situations like mine.”
“Like what?” He looked like he truly wanted to understand.
“I suffered from low self-esteem and self-worth. I didn’t have any sort of support system. Those tend to be typical in domestic abuse situations.” She sucked in a breath, staring down at her coffee. “Maybe I thought he was justified in a slap here or a shove there for something I did wrong. Then that slowly escalated into a punch, then kicks.”
She had to close her eyes and breathe through her nose and out her mouth to keep the sound of her own bones snapping out of her mind. The sound of the kids laughing caused her to open her eyes.
“And then I got pregnant and things got better for a while, then worse. Both times. Also typical of domestic abuse situations. For years I kept waiting for things to change permanently.”
“They never did.”
She shook her head and took a sip of coffee. “Not until it was almost too late.”
Looking back now, it was easy to see that she’d stayed way too long. She should’ve left and not just because of Jared’s physical abuse. Because of the… other.
“But you made it out alive.”
“Yes. And that’s more than some.” She took another sip of coffee. “Pathological narcissist with psychotic tendencies. My therapist sat me down and showed me classic cases—the behaviors found with people diagnosed with this.”
“And your ex fits the bill?”
“Down to the letter. Not that he’s been officially diagnosed, of course. He would never think there was anything wrong with him.”
But he was definitely a psychopath. The things he’d done… allowed to be done to her while he’d watched. She could feel bile forming in her throat. Compared to those memories, thinking about the physical pain was easier.
She never told another soul about those things. The things she’d allowed. She hadn’t said no. She couldn’t blame Jared for that, could she? The violence, yes. The other… that was on her.
Maybe she needed to be officially diagnosed, too.
“And he’s in jail right now?”
“He’s awaiting trial.” She set the coffee down beside her. There was no way she could take another sip. “I tried to leave Jared a few times, but he always convinced me to come back. A few months ago, Jared found me again. He… hurt me.” Broken ribs, broken wrist, coma. “I was in the hospital. He went too far and there was enough evidence of prior trauma that he was arrested.”
Finally.
“You must sleep better at night knowing he’s behind bars where he belongs.”
The weight eased just a little bit.
“Knowing he’s in jail has given me the best nights’ sleep in a long time. I won’t even lie. I laughed outright when the judge denied him bail. His court date is not for another few months, so no matter what, I know I have that much time.”
Felony domestic assault was what he was looking at. She’d done as much research as she could, and as best she could tell, Jared would probably go to prison for five to ten years for what he had done to her.
Five to ten years. And then he would be back out. It hardly seemed fair when, in her mid-twenties, she could barely get up some mornings because she was so stiff from injuries. And Dr. Annie warned her that it would just get worse as she got older.
But Marilyn would take it. She would take every single minute she could live in peace knowing there was no way Jared could get to her. She would worry about him getting out when that happened.
She knew it would happen. And knew he would come for her. She would just have to make sure he didn’t find her. At least by then the kids would be older.
“I think you’re going to have to take one of those pups home with you sometime soon,”