I checked the locks on the windows and the reinforced points on the doors.

I made sure I could communicate out if I needed to.

And I want to be honest about my intention, because it matters: I did not want a fight with Gavin.

I did not want to hurt him, and I did not want a dramatic confrontation.

What I wanted was the opposite of drama.

I wanted a clear, complete, undeniable record of whatever Gavin chose to do next, so that his choices, and not my mother’s fear, would be the thing that decided how this ended.

This is a distinction I wish more people understood about situations like ours, because the movies get it exactly backwards.