cute! i love how much depth there is for how short the actual storyline is, and i would call this a prime example of accomplishing a whole lot with only very little to work from. great job, you two!
i especially appreciate the treatment of roy's abusive behaviour: he is neither romanticized/given a redemptive angle ('he's really a good person deep down') nor caricatured ('muahaha, he is so evil') in the narration, but instead provides a realistic view into some of the traits and dangers most common in emotional manipulation. most times, the traits aren't as overt as fiction depicts them, and they really can tend to be as subtle and hot-and-cold as they are here. while holden's choices offer the reader the option to follow after him if they so choose, no narrative aspect strives to paint an embellished image of him, and this is what i am appreciative of. may inexperienced readers draw lessons from this story, so that they don't have to learn the bitter lessons that an actual emotionally-manipulative partner will teach instead.