‘Can I choose my own room, Mom?’ he asked.

‘My love, you can have any room that you want.’

‘There’s a room that’s blue!’ he screamed after running down the hallway. ‘I’d like that one.’ Blue was his favorite color – could this house be any more perfect? She smiled over her shoulder to Billy before he left to unpack the rest of the pickup.

Before long, Billy came back into the house. ‘That’s the last of it, Ness. Where do you want this box?’

‘In the corner, please. I’ll unpack once Wren has gone to sleep. I’m picking up Ty in the morning from my mom’s house, but did you want to come round for coffee so I can say thank you for all you’ve done? It’s not much—’

‘It sounds perfect,’ he said, cutting her off. ‘Say eleven?’

She nodded her head. She could tell he wanted to hug her again, but he settled for dropping a chaste kiss on her cheek. She could feel the blush settle on her cheeks. She was burning up.

‘Don’t forget to lock up after me.’ Billy smiled.

She nodded again. He’d given her his number in case she needed help. Holding another man’s phone number in her hand after so many years felt surreal.

She couldn’t believe it. She’d done it. She’d left Mark. He would never hurt them again. Wren and Ty were safe. She just hoped that Mark had done no lasting damage to Wren. He seemed OK, empathetic and the perfect son, but although he usually talked to her about everything, she didn’t know what was going on inside his head. He was her best friend, and she loved him so much.

Wren came back inside from exploring the backyard in the light of the spotlight attached to the corner of the house. She hugged him close to her.

‘Can you believe it?’ she said. ‘We’re finally free. We can start again, just the three of us.’ He hugged her tightly, and she noticed how tall he was getting. He was going to tower over her soon.

Mark would be getting home from work in an hour. She felt a hot ball of fear settle in her stomach. He thought of them as his property, and if he found out where she lived, he’d come to bring her home. Forcibly if necessary. That couldn’t happen.