Chapter 25 - Walking Away From Them
Three months after graduation, I made a decision.
I changed my phone number.
I also blocked my parents and Ethan on every platform. I didn’t announce it. I didn’t make a big post about it. I just quietly removed them from my life.
It wasn’t easy.
There were days when I felt guilty. Days when I wondered if I was being too harsh. But every time those thoughts came, I remembered the look on my father’s face when he slapped me.
I remembered my mother screaming that I was a failure.
I remembered the forged signatures and the stolen money.
And I remembered how alone I had felt for four years.
Then the guilt would fade.
One afternoon, I stood in front of the mirror and said the words out loud:
“I am allowed to walk away from people who hurt me. Even if they’re family.”
It felt strange at first.
But the more I said it, the more it felt true.
That night, I sat on my balcony with a cup of tea and looked out at the city lights.
For the first time since that terrible graduation day, I felt truly peaceful.
I had lost my family.
May you like
But I had gained myself.
And that was a trade I was finally willing to make.
