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“Hey! Nothing is wrong with me!” At first, she’d been sympathetic to Nancy’s shock and outrage, but now her friend was acting borderline rude.
“Um, your actions prove otherwise. Jesus, Brooke, what if he breaks into your house one night? What the hell are you gonna do then? Hit him with a skillet, for fuck’s sake?”
Placing her hands on her distressed friend’s shoulders, Brooke said, “Look, the notes have stopped. I haven’t received one all week. Not since Curly started staying here. Prick is just mouthing off. It’s just bluster. He’s a bully who only wants to scare me. And like a bully, as soon as someone bigger and stronger comes along, he runs away. I refuse to let him scare me away, so I’m going about my life business as usual.”
“Oh, yeah? Must be nice to be such a pillar of courage. It’s scaring me. And none of this explains why you haven’t told Curly.”
“Why would I tell him? It’s my problem, Nance. It has nothing to do with him.”
“Okay.” Nancy pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes and blew out a breath. “I’m not sure if you’re terminally stubborn or just straight-up self-destructive.”
Ouch. Who knew Nancy could be so cutting when freaked out. “Hey! You’ve been insulting me quite a bit tonight. Wanna lay off?”
“You would tell Curly because he is a man that cares about you. One you share your thoughts and feelings and body with.”
“I—”
“Nu-uh.” Nancy held out her hand. “I’m still talking. He’s a man you are close to and would want to know if someone was threatening you. He would want to help you take care of the problem. Hell, he could probably take care of the problem himself in a half hour. You know that man’s gotta have some scary connections.”
“I don’t want him to take care of it,” Brooke said. Her voice rose to a near yell. “I can take care of it by myself. Why is that so hard for everyone to understand? I don’t need a man to take care of my troubles for me. I’m a fully capable, independent, grown-ass woman, not some weakling who needs a man to do shit for me.” She stood and paced away from the lounge chairs, then spun back to face Nancy. “Shit. I’m sorry I’m yelling at you.”
Nancy walked over to her and gathered her in a hug. “Sweetie, being independent doesn’t mean refusing to accept help when it would be smart to have it. Sharing this burden with Curly wouldn’t take anything away from who you are and all you’ve fought for. You’d still be a badass bitch who escaped a toxic relationship. You’d still be the amazing woman who started her own business. You’d still be you, and you’d still be independent. No one can do it all, and no one should have to.”
Brooke’s shoulders sagged. “I’ve done it before,” she whispered. “I let someone in. I shared my weaknesses with someone and lost myself. Bit by bit, he took control of everything until I couldn’t choose what I wanted to have for breakfast. Or what socks to wear. The day I met Evan, a guy was hassling me at a party. The jackass kept hitting on me and wouldn’t leave me alone. Evan stepped in, took control, and had the guy tossed out of the party. My dependence on him started right then, the second I met him, and continued until I was a shell of myself. Only it took me years to realize what was happening. There isn’t anything in the world that will put me in that position again. Not a man who gives me earth-shaking orgasms, not pressure from my friends, and definitely not empty threats from some asshole.”
Nancy pursed her lips then said, “You realize you’re more afraid of letting Curly in than you are of a man who is threatening you?”
Nancy straight-up didn’t understand. The pity in her eyes made Brooke want to turn away, but her friend didn’t allow it. She cupped Brooke’s face between her hands. “Do you think I’m weak?” Nancy asked.
With a gasp, Brooke said, “What? No! Of course not.” She tried to shake her head, but Nance held her firm. “God, no. You’re super strong. You have an incredible job, hobbies, friends, you don’t take shit from anyone. Nothing about you is weak.”
“Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say. Did you know that I asked David to open a jar of pickles at lunch today because I couldn’t get it? And about twenty minutes after that, a wasp flew into the house. I screeched and went running into the bedroom, squawking about how he had to go kill it. How about now? Do you think I’m weak?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“And then in the afternoon, David asked me to proofread an email for him because he sucks at grammar. Then a light bulb burned out in our ceiling fan, and David asked if I’d change it because our ceilings are high, and he’s so afraid of heights he can’t even climb up a ladder. Do you get where I’m going with this?”
