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IV
Signs of an Abusive RelationshipImportant warning signs that you may be involved in an abusiverelationship include when someone:* Harms you physically in any way, including slapping, pushing,grabbing, shaking, smacking, kicking, and punching* Tries to control different aspects of your life, such as how youdress, who you hang out with, and what you say 
(He came up here to take you away, didn’t he?)
* Frequently humiliates you or makes you feel unworthy (forexample, if a partner puts you down but tells you that he or she lovesyou) 
(Come on babe! Let’s get going!)
* Coerces or threatens to harm you, or self-harm, if you leave therelationship 
(Babe, stop!)
* Twists the truth to make you feel you are to blame for yourpartner's actions 
(It isn’t like I don’t 
want
to be at your house with you…)
* Demands to know where you are at all times
 
 
(I don’t want to stay at your house.)
* Constantly becomes jealous or angry when you want to spendtime with your friends 
(I just want to be with my brother…) 
 James closed the pamphlet. On the front flap, a picture of afrightened woman cowered in a corner was illustrated. Her fear-struckeyes stared up at an invisible man whose shadow was shown on hersmall frame. In dripping, yet somehow professional, letters thebrochure read
“Signs of an Abusive Relationship.”
He frowned at it for amoment. Everything seemed to comply from what he had seen. Hehadn’t seen any bruises or marks on Violet, but her emotional reactionto his appearance was enough to convince him.“Is your significant other aggressive?”He turned. A nurse seemed genuinely concerned. James flasheda nervous smile. “No. My wife isn’t.” The nurse patted his back andnodded her head that exclaimed “I don’t quite believe you, butalright.” She strode away after giving him one more glance of concern.“The nurses around here…” He muttered while he placed thepamphlet back in its appropriate slot on the wall full of differentinformative brochures. James began making his way down the halltoward the elevator. He slunk through constant chattering, constantmovement. Inside the closed space, he rubbed tiredly at his eyes thatwere stained with dark circles underneath. He remembered earlier thatmorning when Colleen had rolled over and had seen him staring up atthe ceiling.“Did you not sleep last night?” She had asked.James shook his head.“Would you like me to make you some tea?” She knew he wasn’tthe biggest fan of any form of coffee. The caffeine never woke him up.It simply made him jittery and when the sugar rush crashed andburned, so did he. Ever since his college days he knew to stay with tea.
 
He slowly nodded. Colleen got up from bed, the sounds of clatteringdishes coming to his ears, and he decided then that he should at leastsit up from the mattress that attempted to suck him in as a hostage. The leg that was tattooed by the gnarled scar seemed smashedagainst the floor underneath him; his “good” leg stood tall and strong. James stood with the crutch of his cane supporting his left side. Hewandered over to the closet, his eyes scanning through the differentcolored suits, although they didn’t quite seem that different now thathe thoroughly inspected them.“I brought you your tea.” Colleen set the mug down on thenightstand. James turned and thanked her quietly in his unenthusiasticmumble. He continued to sift through his suits. Colleen’s mouthopened slightly in her thought process. She closed the space betweenthem in the narrow hallway that led to their bathroom. Her handsslithered up his bare back, leading up past his broad shoulders, herarms linking themselves around his neck loosely. James hands stoppedsearching, his finger floating in between the fabrics of two verysimilarly colored gray suits. His eyes trailed down to his feet while hishand trailed up toward hers. She pressed very small kisses on his backand shoulders before whispering very quietly, almost inaudibly,“Let’s go back to bed.”James’ eyes darted up. He couldn’t afford to miss a day of work.It was simply his way, unlike Colleen’s: being an elementary schoolteacher gave you perfect excuses to stay home at times. “Let’s take abath instead.”“Okay.”Water hit the basin of the tub. The sound of the water slappingagainst the surface slowly faded as it began to fill. Colleen took hishand, guiding him to the tub, undressing herself, undressing him,sitting in the basin with James in tow. They simply sat there for whatfelt like hours, staring, smiling, at one another. At times their lips would
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