iamkimblakes

Author: Kimberly Blakes

  • Untangled 16: Another Uhaul

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    Another few months passed—oncology appointments, weekly blood transfusions, and court dates for him. For me, it was working more hours to cover my new credit card debt, higher utilities, and increased grocery bills. By the end of that first year, I could no longer afford my beautiful apartment. So, I found another two-bedroom apartment a…

  • Untangled 15: Memphis

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    I want y’all to know it wasn’t all bad. If it were all bad, I wouldn’t have stayed as long as I did. Narcissistic abuse is never all bad. There is a mixture—just enough to make you doubt what’s happening. They prey on strong people for this very reason: strong people don’t believe it could…

  • Untangled 14: indifference

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    He said to me, “I didn’t want to tell you, but the cancer has spread. I started having headaches a while ago but thought it was the stress of everything happening. I have a tumor at the base of my skull the size of a walnut. They say I don’t have much longer to live.”…

  • Untangled 13: Cancer

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    He said, “My business partner, Rick, faked his death to swindle our clients we owed work to, and now both his wife and I are being sued and Rick is nowhere to be found. My checking account and passport have been frozen so that I don’t leave the country. I’m emailing my attorney now to…

  • Untangled 12: Japan

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    A couple of days after the ring fiasco, he told me that every Christmas he took his adult son and daughter to Japan. I thought, Oh, that’s amazing! Will you guys go this year? He said yes, but quickly added that this would be the last year. I knew it was a lie. On Christmas…

  • Untangled 11: self respect

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    I pulled the box out, knowing it couldn’t be a proposal because he wasn’t even looking at me. My last proposal had consisted of my ex handing me a cocktail ring, saying, “You want this more than I do,” while I wrapped my hair for bed. I opened the little box, and there sat a…

  • Untangled 10: Rose colored glasses

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    Up until that point, it never occurred to me that some 40-year-old men still cheat. My rose-colored glasses shattered as I stood there watching him text someone else. I didn’t know what to say, so I quietly backed out as if I hadn’t seen him. He came out of my bedroom and said he had…

  • Untangled 9: I was mistaken

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    One day while we were on the phone he said his laptop started smoking. He made a big deal out of it saying that’s the laptop he works from and had no time to shop for a new one. I offered him to use my MacBook until he could get a new one. I didn’t…

  • Untangled 8: not so quiet red flags

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    The day after our first date, he called and said he wanted us to be in a committed courtship leading to marriage. He used that verbiage because he knew I would understand it and be flattered by it. I was taken aback because I had only heard about this kind of thing happening but didn’t…

  • Untangled 7: Like a teenager

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    by

    Kimberly Blakes
    in

    Within two weeks of our first phone conversation, he said he would be in Chicago from Miami and wanted to see me. I agreed. We planned to meet that following Friday night after I got off work. We would go see a movie in Oak Park because it was close to me, and I wouldn’t…