Slow Fade

Seventeen years old is too young to experience the grief of burying her family, but Sara Scott clings to the hope that she won't be alone forever. Salvation has a name—Dougie. His continuous compliments and affection quickly wheedle Sara away from her former life and into Dougie's home. "Love" is patient and kind.
As red tearstains fall down her swollen cheek, Sara's desperation for companionship blurs her reality. No one knows the Dougie that Sara does. He only acts out when she provokes him. Voluntarily and not, Sara accepts whatever Dougie does to her to prove her love is true. "Love" is forgiving, even if it leaves bruises.
A police officer's duty to protect extends beyond the badge when he meets Sara. Unable to ignore what she can't see, his heart screams for her safety. Mentally, she's too far away to hear the voices that echo in her fading logic. Sara rejects his pleas and the warnings that Dougie's former victim left behind. "Love" always trusts and never fails.
Although Sara has nothing to hide, when Dougie learns of the officer's interest in his possession, his jealousy drives him to stake her as his territory. Redemption is not for the dead. Sara may already be too late.

Kate fell in love with writing as a way to process her life experiences. After seeing women who were physically abused go back to their abusers, Kate wanted to give others an inside glimpse to how the psychological abuse usually precedes physical abuse. After learning about the power and abuse wheel, Kate felt compelled to share it with as many people as possible in hopes that she could save at least one person from making her mistake.