Bonus Chapter 3 - Nellie’s Story

* * * Nellie’s POV * * *

From the punch to the erosion of self-esteem over time, domestic abuse can either come fast or act as a dimmer switch. Nellie was ashamed that she had never gotten out of her situation. It had almost killed her on several occasions. She was an emotionally dependent sort and had never been on her own before.

But once you have kids, they are your priority. They have to be. You try to get out and make a new life, a better one, and become their role model. If you don't want your kids to put up with the same... neither can you... otherwise they most likely will... because people often subconsciously seek what they grew up with, even if it's harmful. That is why she had tried to escape over the years and that is why she had written for help from her parents.

There were nights when she knew Max would lie in his bed listening to the sound of fighting. Her, his mother would shout and cry, begging to be released from this living hell, his father would begin laying int