I don’t need Michael bothering me right now.
I feel cold, a chill running down my spine.
The warm water starts to make the bathroom steamy as I undress.
I take a look at myself in the fogged-up mirror. I look pale, as I usually look nowadays, almost ghostly. Dark bags circle my eyes. My skin looks sallow, like its lacking nutrients. My eyes haven’t sparkled in a long time. Dull, grey pools that look dead, lifeless, miserable.
Kim was right. I am beyond recognition of the woman that I used to be.
I stop running the water and climb into the tub, the warmth almost stinging my skin. I need to wash away the pathetic doormat that I have become.
I need to find myself again.
I need to get my friends back, not to mention my life.
I need to show Michael that I am no longer going to be a pushover.
I need to start taking control.
I need to embrace that I am a fighter, that I can do this and make him pay for all that he has done to me.
It’s always easy to put it off for another day, convince myself that I need more time to think of a plan.
I don’t need more time.
What I need is to exert some fucking self-importance.
I don’t want to be weak.
I don’t want to live in fear.
I don’t want to lose everyone that I love.
Tomorrow will just be another day to some, but for me, it’s the beginning of the end.
Tomorrow, I will embrace the woman that I used to be.
Take control.
Put me first.
Tomorrow, I will be better.
Tomorrow, I will be stronger.
Tomorrow, I start.
Chapter Six
Something Different
I am up and ready for work early. I have make-up on and Michael has said nothing. In fact, he hasn’t spoken to me since we left the office yesterday. A welcome relief for me.
I am wearing a smart suit, and I feel good. Well, maybe not good, but better than yesterday, more determined, more in control.
Yesterday made me realise that I need to act fast. I can’t wait for Michael to give me alone time because that will never happen.
I’m also starting to see that maybe I’m not the weak one here.
