“I get that. In my head, at least. Maybe not in my heart. But back then, I didn’t want to admit it to any part of myself. I’m not stupid, though; I saw the signs with Tom. There were plenty of them. Whenever Emma pointed out little red flags, I’d laugh it off. Or I’d justify it. I did that until Emma stopped pointing them out because she was afraid she would lose me if she kept doing it. But she didn’t have to point anything out. I saw them myself. The little controlling behaviors. The temper. The entitlement. He wasn’t a carbon copy of my father or anything, but he was close enough in all the ways that mattered. He was a man who would hit a woman and justify the behavior. He was a man who would hurt a woman and blame her for provoking him.”
For a moment, it’s like she knows.
For a momen
