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“But Cornell’s hurt over something that happened to you isn’t your fault. What happened to you hurts him because he loves you and wants to support you. Support is the foundation of any relationship. And learning to talk about things in a healthy way—learning to address them here first—will help you. If you commit to it, we can get to the point where talking about it doesn’t have to be retraumatizing for either of you. But you need to want to do it for yourself, not for him.”
Ali took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to live like this anymore,” she whispered. “I don’t want to keep living and letting what Graham did affect me so much. I can’t let him keep taking things from me.”
“Will you let me help you?” Linda asked.
Desperate, Ali nodded.
“Good. Let’s start now.” Linda leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands. “Ali, what did Graham do to you?”
Knitting her brow together in confusion, Ali shook her head. “I told… ” She clamped her mouth shut, but Linda continued to look at her with encouragement and not one ounce of judgment.
Linda was looking at her like she was a survivor.
Maybe it doesn’t matter that it wasn’t worse, that it didn’t go further. Ali thought, jumping as she recalled the sound of Graham’s belt buckle just before she was able to push him off her. Because it’s affecting me in the worst way possible. He took my choice. He reached in and took a part of my body, my mind, my soul that night. But I can’t let him keep it. I won’t.
Sitting up straight, Ali took a deep breath. “Graham raped me.”
