Dogs were snoring - that was the only sound to be heard as she was trying to figure out what to do with her life.
What a mess she had gotten herself into! A part of her didn't, no couldn't believe that she had brought all of this upon herself.

It all started out so harmless. Or so it seemed. A friendly smile. A little joke. Lots of laughter. That is what she liked about him in the beginning. He was funny.
Why do we trust funny people? She had asked herself that question over and over and over again. Somehow, the humor, the smile, the glitter in the eyes when he laughed had been enough.
No need to check who he really was!

Now she knew what a mistake that had been. At least she wasn't the only one that had been fooled!! That thought calmed her a bit as she was listening to the dogs, making sure that it was still silent around her house.

The smile had made her doubt herself when the words had stung - cut into her like a knife. It couldn't be! It was her, being silly. Being too sensitive.
Others thought so too. Whenever she brought it up with her friends, friends who were in the room when he spoke to her, just told her to take it easy. Nothing there to be upset about, they said.

She believed them because she wanted to.
They had told her many times how lucky she was to live with such a funny and charming man.
When the beatings began, she didn't talk to her friends anymore. They hadn't seen it then, even though it was so plain and so easy to see if they would have looked.

Later, he made sure that they didn't see anything and in her shame, she had helped him to hide. To hide the bruises. And her.

Looking down at her feet, she couldn't remember how it happened. Had she really fought back?
She didn't know and she didn't know what she should do with his body.
Best to leave it there, with the snoring dogs to keep it company.

Nobody had cared to see her before. Now, she was going to walk away to find a life where she counted.

She was not going to stop until someone said: "I see you."