Underestimated Too(106)

“Nobody is taking you either, Morgan.”

I didn’t reply to that. I had nothing to say about it at the time.

“Okay, we’re going to wrap this up, Morgan. I’ll see you next week, okay?” Deidra asked, questioning my presence the next week.

“Yes, I’ll be there. I’ll see you at home, Drew,” I said before hanging up.

I hesitated when I heard Deidra ruffle around, like she was standing or something. She didn’t hang up the call.

“Not so fast, Drew,” I listened. “Why isn’t Morgan here?”

“I told you. She’s sick. She didn’t feel like coming today.”

“Hmmm, interesting.”

“What?”

“Every other time you’ve hit her neither of you show up.”

“I didn’t hit her,” Drew lied.

“Do you not hit her often?” Deidra continued.

“I never mean to hit her, and I feel like a piece of shit when I do.”

“But you can’t control it because you need to have all the control over her, right?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that.”

I would.

“I have something I call a five rule that I use for women in Morgan’s situation. Do you want to answer my five rules for her?”

“Sure, I would know what she’d say.”

Yeah, sure you would. I suddenly wished I could talk after hearing the questions being asked to Drew. I couldn’t. I didn’t know if I was still on speakerphone or not.

“One—do you control her friends, when and where she is allowed to go?”

“To a certain point. I mean, I let her hang out with Alicia. I don’t condone her going to bars with her therapist.”

“But you do say when and where she goes,” Deidra stated, not asking. “Two—do you control the finances?”

“Of course I do. Morgan knows nothing about that stuff. She has a credit card, if she wants something, she buys it.”

That part was true. I was always careful of what I bought though, knowing I would have to explain it when I got home.

“Three—do you control her social media, check her phone, her messages, stuff like that?”

“Morgan hands me her phone. I don’t demand it.”

“Hmhmm.”

Liar.

“Four—do you control the way she looks, tell her what to wear?”

“That one is a definite, no. I did pre-accident and tried like hell after, but she refuses to dress up around the house.”

“And you like that, or you would be controlling that too,” Deidra once again stated, knowing it to be fact. “Five—do you control when and what goes on in the bedroom? Do you feel that she has womanly duties?”

“I don’t know. Yes, I think she has womanly duties. I take care of everything else, the least she can do is make sure I’m satisfied in the bedroom. I let her tell me what she wants though.”

He was such a liar. Yes, Drew loved it when I told him to go down on me, did he do it? Yes, on his terms when he was ready.

“What do you think about coming in without Morgan? Maybe start working on some of your control issues.”

“I don’t think that is our problem at all,” Drew stated.

Of course he didn’t.

“Drew, the first step is admittance. You have to accept and admit that you have a problem. This may be the hardest step for you, and I think that’s why we might want to do this without Morgan for a bit. You don’t think of yourself as physically violent, but you are. I see it, and I have a feeling your wife is at home with a battered face right now, unable to go out in public.”

“You don’t understand our relationship.”

“And you think Morgan does? You think she wants you to hit her?”

“I wonder sometimes. I mean, Morgan is the only one that can push every button I have. She knows when she’s crossing the line. She knows what the outcome will be, and yet she still does it.”

“And you think it’s your job to draw that line for her? Who are you to tell another human being where the line is? You think you’re higher and mightier than most?”

“Fuck you. You don’t know shit.”

“Oh, I think I know more than what you’re willing to give me credit for. I can’t help you, Drew, unless you’re willing to help yourself. Do you think Morgan isn’t going to get tired of living under your rules, or having consequences if she crosses your line? Are you willing to take that chance, of her giving up?”

“She wouldn’t give up. She knows me. She knows I love her more than life. I don’t need anyone but her and my son.”

“And she knows that you’re always going to keep her at a level just below you. Let’s wrap it up. Give me a call if you want to schedule something private.”