Hendrix

by Kelsey Clayton

Reaching over, I put a hand on her knee. “It's going to be okay.” “It's not!” she snaps. “You ruined everything!” I recoil from the verbal onslaught. “I ruined everything? Saige, he was beating you!” “It was my fault!” The argument is weak, but the look on her face is what scares me. It's as if she genuinely believes that. “I made him mad, and I shouldn't have! I should have been more thoughtful of his feelings! I deserved it!” My heart twists as I watch her break down in front of me, not even half the girl I knew in college. “Will you listen to yourself?” My voice is softer now, because the last thing she needs is for me to scare her. “He has manipulated you into thinking that he has the right to put his hands on you. What if he had hit Brenna? Would you say she deserved that, too?” The mention of our daughter seems to get through to her. “Oh my God, Brenna.” Her hands cover her face as she breaks even more, and I pull her into my arms. “It's going to be okay, Saige. We'll get you through this. I promise.”