Wow, when it rains, it pours. I’d sat on the floor long after Gabriel left, thinking over his words and trying to convince myself that it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. I’m always at war with myself these days when it comes to dealing with him. On the one hand, I so want to enjoy my newfound freedom; on the other, I dread how he’d react if I disobeyed him again.

How do I get him to see me as more than a kid who needs him to protect me from everything? That I have a mind of my ...