Chapter 13 - I SAW GREG AGAIN
I was fifteen.
Six years after ER.
I saw Greg at grocery store.
Accident.
No planned contact.
He looked older.
Thinner.
No metal watch.
He saw me.
Stopped.
My body reacted instantly.
Heart.
Hands.
Breath.
Then Greg did something unexpected.
Nothing.
He didn’t approach.
Didn’t say my name.
Didn’t smile.
He stepped backward.
Gave me space.
I stood beside Mom.
She whispered:
“Want to leave?”
I looked at Greg.
“No.”
We finished shopping.
He went other direction.
Outside, I started shaking.
Mom hugged me only after asking.
“You want a hug?”
“Yes.”
Then I cried.
Not because Greg threatened me.
Because he didn’t.
Part of me had been preparing six years for another fight.
None came.
Later, through appropriate channels, Greg sent one message:
I’m sorry you had to see me unexpectedly. I will avoid that store.
I told him through attorney:
You don’t have to. Just stay away from me.
He did.
That was boundary.
Not fear.
Then I realized something.
For years, Greg occupied my imagination as a monster.
But at grocery store he looked like what he actually was.
A man.
A man who made terrible choices.
That made him less powerful.
Monsters are impossible to understand.
People can be held accountable.
Then I joined wrestling at school.
Mom hated it.
“People grabbing your wrists voluntarily?”
I laughed.
“Exactly.”
First practice triggered me.
Coach noticed.
Asked permission before demonstrating holds.
I stayed.
Months later, another kid grabbed my wrist.
My body didn’t freeze.
I moved.
Technique.
Escape.
No panic.
I went home smiling.
Mom asked:
“Win?”
“No.”
“Then why happy?”
“Because someone grabbed me and I stayed here.”
She understood.
No explanation needed.
Then Dr. Reed received an invitation to my middle-school graduation.
He came.
Sarah too.
I told him:
“You were scary that day.”
He laughed.
“To you?”
“No. To Greg.”
“Good.”
Then I imitated him.
“SIT DOWN.”
Sarah nearly spit out her drink.
For years, that sentence had marked the moment Greg’s control stopped.
May you like
Now it was funny.
That was healing too.
