Then said, “About forcing you out of the house permanently.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your mother believed the situation had become dangerous.”
He explained slowly.
A week earlier, Richard had discovered I planned to move out in January.
I had not told him. I had told Mom.
Apparently Richard overheard us.
I had saved enough for a room in an apartment with two girls from work.
He was furious.
Not because he cared where I lived.
Because I’d been giving him $300 a month toward household expenses.
He called it rent.
Mom called it “keeping the peace.”
When he realized I was leaving, he demanded Mom stop me.
She refused.
That was unusual enough.
Then Richard found out I’d also opened a bank account he couldn’t access.
He had tried to make me deposit my paychecks into a joint account when I was 16.
Mom secretly helped me open my own as soon as I turned 18.
