Member-only story
Trashley: Part Four
The Devil lives in Bakersfield
Trigger warning; domestic abuse, physical violence.
After learning Ashley kept a huge secret from me — that she has children and an ex-wife — I did what anyone would do: I got drunk with my neighbor.
My phone rang later that night. It was Ashley. Sober Lauren would have ignored it, but drunk Lauren answered. Ashley begged me to hear her out; she said her ex was hiding their daughter from Ashley, and that Ashley had no idea where they were. Their marriage had ended years ago because her ex was controlling and abusive. Cecelia was why Ashley wasn’t allowed to have social media or see her family.
I’d been in an abusive relationship in my mid-twenties. He controlled everything I did, went to, or said. He told me no less than one hundred times a day to shut the fuck up. I learned not to talk. He threatened to kill me and hide my body in the woods in Upstate New York, where no one would ever find me. So, I told my little sisters that if I ever went missing, it was because of him. I spent months planning my escape. We lived together in Brooklyn and flew to Alaska one Christmas to see my family. I brought my golden retriever, Madison, with me and asked my parents to keep him for a few months. My first priority was getting Madison to safety, and once he was safe, I could worry about myself.
