His silence when problems arose was worse than any argument.
He wielded authority casually, making clear that our voices were never equal in this arrangement.
Meanwhile, social services had started paying attention to our family because of a minor incident months ago, their presence a looming, invisible threat.
Since ignoring the stranger, small cracks appeared in the calm surface of my life.
First, random late-night phone calls with silence on the other end, then strings of hurried interactions with neighbors who seemed anxious to avoid me.
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