"How could you talk about loyalty when he hurts you? If you love something you take care of it, not break it."
"I'm not broken," she replied staunchly. "And he doesn't hurt me often. He's sweet most of the time."
"It was a figure of speech. What I'm trying to get at, is that he shouldn't be hurting you. Period. You shouldn't stay with him."
Her end was quiet, and she looked down at her phone, gripping the sides tightly. When she finally replied, her hands shook. "But what if I'm afraid?"
"You shouldn't be afraid." A bubble appeared and disappeared before the message popped up. "Nothing bad will happen."
She laughed, alone in her car on the side of the road, but there were tears in her eyes. "If he wanted to do something, there would be nothing you could do about it."
She didn't reply for a long time, the speech bubble floating uncertainly. "Okay," she responded eventually. "Thank you."
