The Group
Part 91

 

Tuesday Night

 

I paused for a second, not knowing what to say. I can only imagine how I would feel if I was in her situation. Regardless, she needed to get on her feet and support her children.
"If dad were to walk in here right now, what would you do? How would you feel?" I asked out of curiosity.
"I wouldn't want him to see me crying because then he would know that he hurt me," she responded.
I was hoping she'd say that.
"Good," I said. "So let's show him that he doesn't have the power to hurt us. By you getting back on your feet, you're showing him that you never needed him in the first place."
She smiled.
"I'm going back to work tomorrow," she said happily as she stood. "And we will be okay."
As she turned to walk away, she looked over her shoulder and whispered
"Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you."
~~~~~
 

Tuesday at 12:00 midnight

 

There was a loud pounding at the front door. I awoke, startled, and carefully walked down the stairs toward the front door.
"I give you three seconds to step away from my house before I call the cops," I whispered through the crack of the door.
"Vanessa?" the person whispered back. "It's me, Danny."