When she doesn’t respond, I open the door and take a step outside.
“When you’re ready to be my mother, not George’s messenger,” I say quietly, “you know where to find me.”
Then I turn and walk out. For the first time in my life, taller.
I sit in my car with the engine off, the silence inside heavier than the noise outside. I don’t cry. Not yet. I just stare at the wheel, hands limp in my lap, letting the conversation with my mother replay in fragments.
You’re being emotional.
Was it a secret?
You can’t just draw a line like that.
She made it sound like I was unreasonable for protecting my peace. Like loving me meant she still got to keep a window open for the man who shattered me.
I lean my forehead against the steering wheel, exhaling slowly. There’s no satisfaction in the confrontation—just a sharp ache.Like pulling out a splinter that’s been under the skin for too long. Necessary, but painful.
For years, I wanted her to stand up for me. To choose me. And now I’ve had to choose myself instead.
It hurts. But it also feels… clean. Honest.
The sky is dusky when I finally turn the key and drive.
***
By the time I get back to the apartment, I’m holding it together by a thread.
The door clicks behind me, and the weight I’ve been carrying all morning crashes over me like a wave.
Elijah looks up from the couch. The second he sees my face, he stands. “Ava.”
I shake my head. “I’m okay. Just… let me—” My voice breaks, and that’s it. The tears I’ve been holding back all morning finally fall.
He’s already closing the space between us, wrapping me in his arms so tightly I can barely breathe—and that’s exactly what I need. His chest is warm, steady. He doesn’t rush me. Just holds me like I’m not falling apart but unfolding.
“I went to see my mother,” I whisper against his shirt.
He exhales softly. “Yeah?”
“I confronted her. About telling George about us.” I pull back slightly to look at him. “She tried to brush it off like it was nothing. Like she hadn’t handed part of me to the man who made me feel so small.”
Elijah’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“I told her the truth. About the marriage. About how it felt to sleep beside someone who made me feel invisible. About how she and George convinced me I was unlovable… that my body made me less. I told her everything.”
“And?” he asks quietly.
“I told her where the line is,” I say, wiping at my face. “And that if she crosses it again, she won’t find me on the other side.”
A moment of silence passes between us before Elijah speaks.
“I’m proud of you, baby girl,” he says, brushing his fingers through my hair. “That took strength.”
“It hurts,” I admit.
“I know.” He guides us to the couch and pulls me into his lap, wrapping a blanket around both of us even though I hadn’t noticed I was cold. “But you didn’t just stand up for yourself. You reclaimed yourself. That’s power.”
I nestle closer, my head resting on his shoulder. “I’m tired.”
