Chapter 3
Some of it had come from my savings.
Some had come from an inheritance my grandmother had left me.
And some had been withdrawn from our joint account.
I didn't know how much of it I would ever recover.
But I knew I couldn't keep living with a man who treated every reasonable question as an attack.
The final argument happened after I discovered that Logan had opened a line of credit without telling me.
He insisted that I was overreacting.
I told him I needed time apart.
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then he smiled.
“Go ahead, Claire. See how long you last without me.”
I packed a suitcase and went to Megan's apartment that evening.
Megan was thirty-one, three years younger than me, and the person who had always been able to recognize when I was pretending to be fine.
She worked as a pediatric occupational therapist and lived in a cheerful two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.
When I arrived with my suitcase, she didn't ask whether I was sure about leaving.
She simply opened the door and hugged me.
“You can stay as long as you need.”
I cried against her shoulder.
She helped me carry my belongings inside, made tea, and sat with me until nearly two in the morning.
For the first time in months, I slept without worrying about what kind of mood Logan would be in when I woke up.
But Logan didn't accept the separation as calmly as he claimed.
He called constantly.
Sometimes he apologized.
Sometimes he threatened to ruin me financially.
And sometimes he sent messages reminding me that he still considered me his wife.
One evening, he appeared outside Megan's building and demanded that I come downstairs.
When I refused, he called me twenty-three times.
Megan wanted me to contact the police.
I told her I didn't think it was necessary.
I was still trying to convince myself that Logan was merely angry and hurt.
I didn't want to believe he was dangerous.
That denial almost cost us our lives.
The day I returned to the house for the car papers, I thought Logan was at a meeting.
He'd told me the previous evening that he'd be out until late afternoon.
I needed the title and insurance documents because I was arranging to move my vehicle to a different parking location.
The car was registered in my name, although Logan had occasionally used it during our marriage.