I gave her a promise I could actually keep.

“Nobody is ever going to force you to pretend you aren’t afraid.”

During that time, we lived temporarily in Rachel’s two-bedroom apartment.

It wasn’t spacious.

Lily and I shared a small room with twin beds.

Lily jumped every time a door slammed down the hall.

I checked the stove burner knobs three times every night before going to bed.

During the first week, I thought those habits meant Mark still controlled our lives.