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Jessie let out a squeak. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Another bone-crushing hug for the morning. “I feel like I already know you with as much as the girls talk about you. They’ve been so excited for you to visit.”
I scooped a sticky-sweet roll from the tray and tried my best to ignore the ache in my chest. They’d mentioned me coming here almost every time we talked, and I turned them down. Controlling boyfriend and all.
I had to let it go. I was here now. Better late than never.
“Enough stalling. Tell us what happened.” Blake let me have one bite of my breakfast before diving right in.
“I can leave if you want me to.” Jessie started to rise, but I held my hand up and she sat down.
“You can stay.” Maybe she could even give an impartial opinion, since I knew how Grace and Blake were going to react to the news.
“I’ve wanted to call you guys for a while now, but I’ve just been too scared. Jeff had been getting worse and worse, and I just didn’t know what to do.” My shoulders dropped, and I stared at my plate. Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry. “You know how he was before—always wanting me to check in with him, making sure I did everything he asked me to, never letting me go out with classmates after class. Even thoughhecould have a boy’s night andhecould work late.”
Blake took a bite of her breakfast, her gaze never leaving mine.
Jessie’s mouth dropped into a sad frown. “That sounds awful, girl. No wonder it took you so long to get here. Please tell me you dumped that man.”
A chuckle escaped me. It wasn’t a laughing matter, but Jessie didn’t know the whole story.
“Shhh. Let her finish.” Grace smacked Jessie on the arm, then nodded for me to continue.
“Well, it was getting out of hand. To the point that even when I was in class, I had to check in with him when it was over. Then he got upset every time I wanted to visit my classmate. I had put off seeing her, making excuses for why I couldn’t for so long. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and went to see her. She was having a hard time, and I wanted to be there for her. When I came back…” I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I didn’t want the girls to know this, but I had to tell someone. Getting it out there in the open was the only way I could get over it.
“When I got back, he went ballistic and threw things around the apartment. He broke a chair and smashed the remote. That was the first time he hit me.” I exhaled.
I said it.
All three gasped and talked over each other. Arms were wrapped around me, and I fought the tears. Their words were blurred together, and I caught only bits: I could handle this. I could get over this. I’d cried enough over that stupid guy.
Taking a deep breath, I struggled to keep my voice even. “At first, I blamed myself, thinking if I hadn’t gone to see my friend, then everything would be all right. But eventually, more and more things set him off. After I graduated, he wouldn’t let me get a job. He said he wanted me to stay at home where he knew where I was. I’d always thought Jeff was just protective of me, always wanting me near, but now I see it as possessive.” My vision blurred, and I looked up at the ceiling. I didn’t want to cry again. I’d cried too much already.
“Abbey, why didn’t you tell us sooner? You know we would have come and got you.” Grace wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
After a few minutes, I realized the whole dining hall had gone silent. Looking around the room, I saw everyone had cleared out but us. I could only hope the men had left before I’d started to cry. That was all I needed—them thinking I was small and weak.
“What was it that made you drop everything and drive here on your own?” Blake leaned as far forward as her belly would allow and grasped my hand.
I reached for my mimosa and took a large gulp. I’d already told them the worst of it. This was the easy part. “I went to visit my mom but decided to come home early to surprise Jeff.”
“Oh no. I don’t like where this is going,” Grace groaned.
“Jeff was fucking another woman in our bed.”
The girls gasped collectively.
“I hightailed it out of there. I hopped in the car and headed in this direction.”
Blake’s forehead wrinkled. “You didn’t confront him? Have you spoken to him at all?”
“I left him a note saying we were over. He tried calling me on the first day when I didn’t check in, but since then, I’ve had really spotty service.” I shrugged. Ignoring him was not my best plan, but it was also hard to get in touch when my phone didn’t work. “Duke gave me the Wi-Fi password, so I was able to see he’d texted me, but I’ve been ignoring him.”
“You know he isn’t just going to go away. You need to make sure he knows it’s over.” Grace crossed her arms. “Jeff was never one to give up easily. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries everything he can to get you back.”
“Well, I’m not going back to him. And I’m staying as far away from men as possible.”
“You picked the wrong place to do that, girl.” Jessie laughed. “This place is teaming with men.”
Blake and Grace both nodded.
