I can’t take anymore and my mind is waning, my strength is gone and I won’t be able to survive what he could do to me. All of this pain and longing will never have a happy ending for me.

Girls like me don’t have heroes and happy ever afters. They have lives like mine that end in some sad tragic way and no one remembers their name. There is no happy ever after for me. There is no way out.

The emptiness and desolation are not just about Alexi. It’s about me and my existence and knowing it will never get any better. These past few months was the...