Santiago kisses my forehead and heads toward the kitchen, giving me privacy for the call. I sit on the edge of his bed, wrapped in his sheet, and dial my work number.
"Season Magazine, this is Rebecca."
"Hi Rebecca, it's Violet. I need to speak with Jennifer in HR, please."
"Oh, hi Violet! Hold on, let me transfer you."
My heart pounds as I wait on hold. Jennifer is the HR manager, a no-nonsense woman in her fifties who I've only interacted with during my hiring process and annual reviews.
"Violet? This is Jennifer. What can I do for you?"
"Hi Jennifer. I'm calling because I won't be able to come in today. I've had a... a family emergency come up."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything all right?"
I close my eyes, hating that I have to lie. "It's complicated. I may need a few days to sort things out. I know this is short notice, and I'm sorry about that."
"How many days are we talking about?"
"I'm not sure yet. Hopefully just until the end of the week, but it could be longer depending on how things develop."
There's a pause. "Violet, you've been with us for over a year and you've never called in sick or taken an unscheduled day off. If you say you need time, then you need time. Do you have any urgent projects that need to be reassigned?"
Relief floods through me. "The autumn campaign posts are scheduled through next week, and I finished the influencer outreach summary yesterday. Jessie can handle any urgent social media issues if they come up."
"Okay. Take care of whatever's going on, and keep me posted on when you think you'll be back. And Violet? If you need to talk to someone—we have an employee assistance program that offers counseling services. Completely confidential."
My throat tightens. "Thank you. I'll... I'll keep that in mind."
After hanging up, I sit in silence for a few moments. The fact that Jennifer immediately offered counseling services makes me wonder if she somehow knows what kind of "family emergency" I'm dealing with. Maybe I'm not the first employee to call in after domestic violence.
"How did it go?" Santiago asks from the doorway, holding two mugs of coffee.
"Better than expected. My boss was understanding." I accept the coffee gratefully, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. "She even offered counseling services."
"Smart woman." Santiago sits beside me on the bed. "You should consider it."
I look at him in surprise. "You think I need therapy?"
"I think what Derek did to you was traumatic, and talking to someone about it might help you process everything. There's no shame in getting help, Vi."
The gentle way he says it makes tears prick at my eyes. "I just... I don't want to be defined by what he did to me. I don't want to be 'that girl' who got hit by her boyfriend."
"You're not. You're the woman who had the strength to leave him, who ripped up his prized Pokémon card on the way out, who came to me asking for help instead of hiding in shame. You're a fighter, Violet."
His words warm something inside me that I didn't even realize had gone cold. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For seeing me as strong instead of broken."
Santiago sets his coffee aside and pulls me into his arms. "You are strong. What happened to you doesn't change that."
We sit like that for a while, just holding each other as the morning light grows stronger outside his windows. Eventually, Santiago's phone buzzes, and I reluctantly let him check it.
"Club shit," he says, reading the message. "I need to go handle some things before the meeting this afternoon."
"The meeting about Derek?"
