No More Victim: Love's Dark Turn

Ethan had bought for Chloe. My parents sat in the front with me-my mother critiquing my driving from the passenger seat, my father occasionally grunting

et of a predator that has just been fed. They were content, lulled by the smo

ints start

ioning down? It' s blowing right o

just

"Now I' m hot. Ca

sted i

headache," my father grumbl

ed the

liar symphony of my family' s dysfunction. I just nodded, complied, and kept my ey

eviewed chain motel just off the highway. It was practical and sensible. In my first life, this was where my small budget had f

. Chloe peered out the window

this?" sh

l for the night,

m not sleeping in a place where they probably rent

-half-star rating onl

if it were a slum. "Ava, Chloe is pregnant. She needs c

rfectly cl

tormed over to me as I was getting my bag out of the trunk. She sho

h was sour. "You did this on purpose, didn' t you? You got us to agree to this tri

ve to intervene. This was normal. This was how

My lack of fear, of tears, of any emotional response, seemed

ut because he wanted a solution. "Ava is paying. She can pay for a better place." He turned

request. It

three of them, standing there in the fading light of the motel parking lot, their f

h subpar accommodations. Check. Endure physical and verbal ab

of emotion. "I' ll cancel this re

t impatiently. They had no idea that they weren't winning an argument. they were eagerly walking de

t about twenty minutes from here

y mother' s

k into the car as if the whole incident was forgotten, her v

mirror. My face was calm, my eyes were clear. Patience, I told myself. Their greed