•“Who the fuck do you think you are, little girl?” He spat in my face. In some fucked up parallel universe, we could have been a family. But that was a dream and this was a nightmare. No wonder I slept with nail scissors under my pillow. No wonder I became nauseous when I heard their bed springs squeaking in the middle of the night. No wonder that morning, while he was still at work, when I told her, before I knew about the beatings, that we should pack her things and go before he got home. No wonder she wanted to. But just as we stood up, the front door flew open. And all hell broke loose. He commanded her to his bedroom. The yelling was insane! I had to do something so I interrupted the weight of his rage with, “Maybe we can handle this another way?” He came at me. “WHO the FUCK do you think you ARE, little girl?” And I ran. I could hear them screaming from inside the car. She came out stumbling and dishevelled. She got in the driver seat. Shaking, I lit a cig. She looked over at me, laughed at my state, and said, “Oh, God, Tanya.” @backtothewomaniwas#tanyamarkul #mother #daughter #theshebook #domesticabuse #tellyourstory #iamhere #circle | Tanya Markul, Author