Tom is always there. Omnipresent through her consciousness. He kisses her roughly at charity galas, rescues her from stuffy cupboards, laughs with her. He undresses and holds, chokes her, and kisses her throat. He invades her mind and memories so completely that she does not know how to untangle him. He is an invasive thread in a carefully woven tapestry, and she knows if she were to yank out the insidious, unwanted thread the whole tapestry would come apart. 