Member-only story
NONFICTION
He Threatened to End His Life, Now He Wants to Rekindle Our Relationship
Is he playing a game?
Content Warning: Talk of suicide/ self-harm
“It’s my turn,” I said as I reached for a tile.
“No, it’s not, Mommy,” my three-year-old daughter replied as she swotted my hand away.
“You’ve already had two turns,” I said as I flipped over a tile.
“No!” She bellowed. “I need another turn so I can win.”
“That’s not how games work, Kid,” I said as I turned over Snow White for the fourth time.
We were in the middle of an intense game of Disney Princess Matching Pairs, in which my daughter repeatedly moved around the tiles so I couldn’t remember where any of the little slags were.
My phone buzzed. I ignored it and continued my hunt for Rapenzul.
It buzzed twice more.
“Ok, you have another turn,” I said as I jumped up and crossed the living room to the bookcase.
“No, don’t turn all the tiles over. Just two,” I called out as I pulled the charging cable from my phone.
My heart dropped into my stomach as I stared at the words on the screen. A tingling sensation worked its way…
