The Endgame by Cleary James

insidiously. She had been at a very low ebb when she met Mark. Looking back now, she could see how vulnerable she had been. She had had a tough couple of years since leaving school, her grandparents constantly in and out of hospital, lurching from one health crisis to the next, and she had been permanently on edge, waiting for the results of tests and the outcome of operations. At the same time she had been trying to concentrate on her art studies as well as working two jobs to pay her way through college.
    Then her grandparents had died within five weeks of one another. When Mark came into her life she was lonely and exhausted, struggling to cope with her grief and the stress of her workload. He had been kind and generous, and he’d used his money to make her life easier and more comfortable. After years of being the carer, it had felt good to have someone look after her for a change – even spoil her a little.
    Mark hadn’t seemed controlling then, just capable and caring, intent on making her happy. He had been so charming in those early days. Thoughtful, sweet and romantic, he was the perfect boyfriend. Even now with the benefit of hindsight, she couldn’t see any warning signs that should have put her on her guard. He had been possessive, but she had found that flattering. They were in love, and it was natural for it to be intense in the heady early stages.
    Later, as she came out of the fog of grief and loneliness that had enveloped her since her grandparents’ death, their relationship had started to feel suffocating. But it would have seemed arbitrary then to ask Mark to back off and give her some space. She had been so grateful for his attention before. Besides, she loved him and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She thought that as their relationship grew, it would naturally evolve into something calmer and steadier.
    Instead his fixation on her only grew stronger, and as she started to see things more clearly, she realised she had gradually let him take over her entire life. It had happened by degrees, almost without her noticing, a series of decisions and choices that had all seemed innocuous and rational at the time. It had made sense to move in with him to save money on rent when they were spending all their time together anyway. She understood when he didn’t want to spend time with her friends, who were all so much younger than him. It had been a relief to give up her part-time jobs and let him support her so she could concentrate on her studies. When he encouraged her to take a year out from college, she had felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be given the opportunity to paint full-time for a year. It hadn’t felt like free-loading. It was only until she finished college, and besides, Mark was going to sell her work through his gallery and he was confident he would soon be earning high commissions on it.
    She had made so many allowances and compromises. For his sake, she had divided her life into compartments, keeping her friends separate because Mark didn’t get on with them. But he wasn’t happy with that either. He resented her going out without him, and accused her of sleeping with other men when he wasn’t around. To appease him, she had stopped going out with her friends, and instead invited them to the house. But he had alienated them all, making no secret of his dislike for them. They had persevered for a while, but he was rude and dismissive, treating them with contempt until eventually, one by one they had drifted away. In the end, Lisa was relieved when they gave up. She couldn’t endure any more nights of tension, watching him humiliating and insulting people she cared about.
    It was only then, when she was in so deep there was no way out that he began to show his true colours. He became increasingly impatient with her, frustrated with her lack of education and experience, contemptuous of her work, scornful of her efforts to please him. He started to criticise everything