Chapter 3 - The Safe Room
We stayed awake all night.
I brought a warm cloth,
gently cleaning her legs.
Every mark was a reminder of my failure.
I had been working,
trying to build a future,
while the threat was already inside our home.
Megan finally fell asleep near dawn,
her hand tightly gripping my shirt.
She wouldn't let go.
Even in her sleep,
she whimpered whenever I moved.
I sat on the edge of the bed,
staring at the window.
The city of Chicago was waking up outside.
The distant hum of traffic began.
But our world had shrunk to this single room.
I looked at the nursery down the hall.
The unfinished crib.
The drying paint.
It all felt mocking now.
How could I protect a child if I couldn't protect my wife?
I took out my phone,
blocking my mother's number.
Then I blocked her on Megan's phone too.
I knew it wouldn't be enough.
A woman like Linda doesn't stop just because of a blocked number.
She had keys to the building.
She knew my schedule.
She knew exactly when I was at the store.
I realized we couldn't stay here.
The apartment didn't feel like a sanctuary anymore.
It felt like a cage.
I watched the sun rise,
painting the room in pale yellow light.
Megan's breathing stabilized,
but her face remained tense.
May you like
I made a decision right then.
We had to leave.
