they say "i love you" and then shove a table into my gut,40Please respect copyright.PENANAHZQbKuj09D
all in the same breath with no hesitation.40Please respect copyright.PENANAH0xxSQAlPC
they apologize two hours twenty-three minutes later40Please respect copyright.PENANAlR47VkJEQl
but no "sorry" will ever hide the bruising.40Please respect copyright.PENANArEw2AZSgf4
40Please respect copyright.PENANATAcvd066Y4
they repeat the same mantra over and over,40Please respect copyright.PENANA7QymG4GKpA
sounding like a broken record of "sorry"s and "i love you"s40Please respect copyright.PENANAnNbPtSF7WA
but in the end they still withhold dinner,40Please respect copyright.PENANA0dKfXwTljk
dangling it above my head like a cat does to a mouse.40Please respect copyright.PENANAQVWJn7kUBT
40Please respect copyright.PENANANj5WghfRpi
and they wonder, two years later, why i scarf down meals40Please respect copyright.PENANAqORSrx0BGa
with all the grace of a rabid animal who hasn't seen food in months.40Please respect copyright.PENANAOpbYwhS703
and they wonder why my hands shake and i flinch40Please respect copyright.PENANAEAOM2lIVI7
every time they shout, shoulders hunched in like i can fold myself over.40Please respect copyright.PENANAo3K4hQdBHt
40Please respect copyright.PENANA56FhgIsL7h
bruises litter my skin, part of it from running into walls and desks,40Please respect copyright.PENANAiHEASeWF6v
but part of it is from running from bitter faces and angry hands.40Please respect copyright.PENANAwyWQLbT0A5
my skin is marked, iron-tipped nails ripping into flesh for relief40Please respect copyright.PENANAHuOVbTMcG9
and blaming the left behind scratches on the dog.40Please respect copyright.PENANAK1CT41CysM
40Please respect copyright.PENANARs5N6766ox
they call it "dermatillomania" and "picker's syndrome",40Please respect copyright.PENANAge0Xuih5ut
said it was all mental and to just stop40Please respect copyright.PENANAvJi6jO5JTK
but it was habits formed out of pent up40Please respect copyright.PENANAKeiQuRtxGV
frustration and stress and sheer disbelief at the disregard they had for their own daughter's life.40Please respect copyright.PENANAq41PDcO2Nb
40Please respect copyright.PENANAeqa0SQl8Cj
they said it was all in my mind,40Please respect copyright.PENANAYS9lRG69GW
the anxiety, the stress.40Please respect copyright.PENANAOFry5rR5Zo
that i had a happy, loving family40Please respect copyright.PENANAEAKhHcasp2
and i was perfectly fine.40Please respect copyright.PENANAhs57YhQmcr
40Please respect copyright.PENANA3CK9bDMUHn
i'm not.40Please respect copyright.PENANAd9pbJ1FCBD
i'm drowning in my own blood40Please respect copyright.PENANAF8HwKiby2G
and choking on my tongue40Please respect copyright.PENANA3xmQdXyqln
when i try to say so.40Please respect copyright.PENANAyIzu2GtBs5
40Please respect copyright.PENANAX9uCjnRQ29
...40Please respect copyright.PENANAEPiVIcxpna
40Please respect copyright.PENANAFPxjtp2zHE
(it's all in my mind.40Please respect copyright.PENANAZDFeCN9xj9
every last drop of anxiety,40Please respect copyright.PENANA2WorhN85QZ
i have a happy, loving family.40Please respect copyright.PENANAWiVWgPUJAm
i'm perfectly fine.)40Please respect copyright.PENANAisMI0943DH