I put the phone down and told her, “Of course. She sat on the edge of my bed and picked at the comforter for a minute without saying anything. Then she looked at me and said she needed to tell me something she’d never told anyone before. My stomach dropped because I knew whatever came next was going to be bad. She started talking about the last two years and all the things my husband had done when I wasn’t around.
He told her she was the reason we couldn’t take vacations because she cost too much money. He said it multiple times, always when I was at work or out running errands. He’d bring up how much cheaper life would be without a teenager in the house. Lily said she started feeling guilty every time I bought her new clothes or school supplies because she knew he was keeping track of every dollar spent on her.