Declarative Statements to Avoided

What was it Maya Angelou said? 

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

• "Anything that takes you away from me is bad." Declared early on and often.
• "I'm not interested in hearing you complain about work." 
•  "I don't like him. He makes you laugh." I began to be divested of my friends of the male gender simply because they made him jealous of their talents and charm.
  
• "Can't you ask your father for help?", avoiding financial chaos post-separation. Tell you what, Peaches: You can call him. Good luck because I know what he is going to say better than you do, just like when you pushed for a goddamn house.

And then there was this:

• "I am not going to come to help you unless you sound like you need help" He was sitting in a recliner, in the next room, watching telly.

• Later amended to: "I am not going to come to help you unless you call for me". Location, same recliner in the next room, still watching telly.

This was after I was audibly choking on a piece of popcorn that was lodged in my windpipe. Tilting my head way back, I reached down my own throat with two long fingers and pulled it out with some difficulty and noise, the world's most unimpressive side show. It took a lot longer than I had expected to save myself. He did not even get up out of his goddamn chair or pause his program.

I could be writing this to remember what did not work for me, why it is best we split, what I will no longer accept quietly. No one is ever going to be allowed to have this much control over me again. Never.  I can save myself, thank you very much.