April 2023: Rebound - Anne Lewis
Three years since I walked out of there. Three years of freedom. Did I really spend all those years in that place? What a waste of time.
I’ve forged my own way since. Got a job; found myself a place to live; managed my own finances. I dress how I want, not according to someone else’s code. I’ve made new friends, although it took a while.
Have I learned anything?
Well, people tell me I’m really smart, so yes, I guess I have. Not about mathematics or history or science or art, but quite a lot about relationships and what to avoid. Beware of suave fellows with magnetic personalities. Silver- tongued devils who make you feel adored. Possessive men with suspicious minds and unwritten rules that change without warning – what you can and can’t do, who your friends can be, what you should eat, drink, wear, think.
It crept up so gradually, I didn’t even notice it was happening. Just a comment here and there; a sour look; a silence; an argument about something trivial. I was made to understand that my friends weren’t right for us now we were a couple; my family was too demanding of my time; my behaviour was inappropriate. Then a threat of violence, bruises on my arms, a busted lip.
The slow daily sapping of my energy and confidence while I grew smaller and smaller, always waiting for the next time.
I put up with the emotional battering and the physical damage, but when he squeezed his hands around my neck for the second time, I knew it was time to leave.
I’m with a new fellow now. He moved in with me after we met a few weeks ago. He’s no smooth talker, but I love him and he loves me.
I just heard his car drive into the garage. There’s his key in the lock. I’d better stop scribbling this now. He doesn’t like me writing.
Anne Lewis
Right Left Write’s April genre prompt was My Story, My Voice, as part of the Investing in Queensland Women fund. A selection of other entries will also be published in an upcoming anthology.
Right Left Write’s April genre prompt was My Story, My Voice.