Fandango’s Story Starter #244

In response to Fandango’s Story Starter: https://wp.me/pfZzxd-uqM

This week’s Story Starter teaser is:
When Carol lifted her head, Ray barely recognized her due to the bruises.

The Moment He Saw Her

When Carol lifted her head, Ray barely recognized her due to the bruises.

For a second, he thought he was mistaken.

That the woman sitting across from him — quiet, still, eyes fixed somewhere beyond the room — couldn’t be the same person he had laughed with just weeks before.

But then she blinked.

And he knew.

Not because of her face.

Because of something that hadn’t changed.

The way she held herself. The small pause before she spoke. The quiet strength that had always been there, even when she tried to hide it behind humor.

“Hey,” he said, gently, as if the word itself needed to be handled with care.

She looked at him, not startled, not relieved — just… tired.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she said.

He pulled the chair closer, slowly, giving her space to decide how close he was allowed to be.

“I said I would.”

Silence settled between them, not uncomfortable, just full.

There were questions in him — too many, too loud — but he didn’t ask them. Not yet. This wasn’t the moment for explanations or timelines.

This was the moment for something simpler.

“I’m here,” he said.

She exhaled, as if she had been holding her breath longer than she realized.

It wasn’t a solution.

It wasn’t even a beginning.

But it was something.

And sometimes, after everything else has been taken,something is enough to start again.

#DomesticViolence #DVSurvivor #I’mNotAVictim

With love
— Maggie
The Afterlove Voice 💫

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