I told myself it was a small precaution, a just-in-case, nothing really.

But some part of me — some clear-eyed part that saw what the rest of me was not ready to see — already knew.

Already understood that I was living with people capable of things I did not want to name, and that if the day came when they did those things, my word alone would never be enough against theirs.

So that clear-eyed part of me built a witness in secret.

It is a strange kind of courage, that — the courage to believe your own fear enough to prepare for it, while still hoping you are wrong.