by JL Hallow
“Did you?”
“No. Nurses and doctors are mandated reporters. They would have brought it to the police and I couldn’t have that. I pleaded with her not to make me go. She cried, then got angry. She was ready to go upstairs and…I don’t know what she would have done. Killed him in his sleep? I doubt she had the spine for that, and she wouldn’t do well in prison. If she woke him, he’d probably beat her too. But I couldn’t have that either. I finally gave in and compromised. Her husband is also a paramedic. Small town like this, it works better when your firefighters are cross-trained and you have medics on standby. She didn’t even bother to grab any of my clothes. She got my cellphone and my car keys, that was it. Caroline helped me get into my coat and then led me to her car. Actually, it was more like she carried me there,”
“She brought me home with her. That drive was so quiet…the two of us barely breathing, not saying a word. It was so dark, so cold that night. I remember leaning back and resting my head against the seat, closing my good eye and just thinking. That was the first time I wished he would just kill me. I just wanted him to get it over with, you know? It was hard enough to live through it the first time. I knew he wasn’t going to stop there, and I knew I couldn’t find the strength to leave. Killing me would have been a blessing, because it was going to, and it did, end up getting worse from there.”
“But then Victoria wouldn’t be here.” Greg pointed out.
“This is true.” Grace agreed.
“And from what I’ve heard, she’s worth it all. And the world needs more people like her. Like you too. I’m glad you survived.”
Grace let out a soft sigh, nodding her head as she fought back tears. “But what if the court takes her away? All of it will be for nothing. He didn’t stop with me, never stopped when he found out I was pregnant, and yeah, it might’ve taken him a few years before he hit her but he did. It started with a slap for me too, then it got worse. He’s going to do the same thing to her.” Panic filled her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
“She’s terrified of him. She doesn’t even want to go visit him, doesn’t want to talk to him on the phone. She’s a smart kid and I’m sure she’s seen and heard more than any child should ever have to. She knows what will happen. And then there’s the whole, what if he hurts her just to get back at me? I wouldn’t put it past him at this point. He’s a vile human being.” Grace sucked in a breath, tears silently streaming down her face as she stared ahead at the falling snow. “I don’t want to put her in this position because of me.”
She focused on the snow again. It looked so fresh, so beautiful when it was unmarred by human interference. That’s what she wanted in life…a fresh start. And she was trying.
Greg let her get it all out before his hand closed the distance and reached for hers. He gave it a gentle squeeze, thumb rubbing over the soft skin like he had done with his own daughters many times. He wanted to pull her into a hug. “Life has a funny way of working out when you least expect it to. Not every judge is swayed by someone’s career. That doesn’t make them important. It doesn’t give them an out. Some judges still sit on the bench to protect those in their community and serve the right justice. It’s important you remember that. Important that you believe that, Grace.”
Kind, old eyes peered up at her, searching those empty green eyes. “Tell me more about Caroline and the night she picked you up.” He wasn’t asking.
Chapter Eighteen: You Find Out Who Your Friends Are
Caroline, Grace, & Mike, the night of the attack.
Caroline paced the kitchen, arms crossed over her chest. Occasionally, she would slow, hawk sharp eyes on Grace, then they would flash to Mike. She was watching his precision work as he stitched her best friend’s face. He was less than pleased to be fixing her face in the middle of their kitchen but when it came to Caroline, there was no such thing as the word no.
His wife was brilliant but stubborn. And where Grace was involved? Fiercely protective. She had been spouting her concerns for weeks, nagging at Mike to talk to Aaron. ‘Something’s wrong.’ She had said. She was insistent, a gut feeling. Mike had shrugged her off at first. Everyone goes through rough patches on the job. It happens, Car. We deal in our own ways and things with kids are rough. Mike had ignored the issue when he should have been pushing it.
Now he was patching up a friend’s wife in the middle of their kitchen, preparing to splint a broken wrist next. He should have listened, should have brought it up with Aaron. Even if Aaron lashed out at him, Mike was bigger, stronger. He could have taken him without much of a fight. Mike was six-foot-four and almost three hundred pounds. He had played football in high school and went right into the fire academy after graduation. From there, he got his EMT license and eventually went to medic school.
Mike may have been a nice guy, but he was not one to be trifled with. He was a quiet guy but wouldn’t hesitate to choke slam a rowdy drunk at a bar; which was probably why he worked and came home to his high school sweetheart. He wasn’t much for socializing and had such a low tolerance for bullshit.
“Caroline.” Mike’s voice came out as a rough grunt.
“What?” She snapped back.
“Stop pacing. Sit down, you’re distracting me and it’s getting on my nerves. If you don’t stop, I’m going to leave Grace with a scar from a shoddy stitch job. She’s here, she’s safe.” He reassured.
Caroline stopped pacing and glared at him but made no move to take a seat on the other side of the table.
“Car, sit. I’m okay. He’s right. I’m here and it’s the safest place I can possibly be.” Grace forced a smile.
Reluctantly, Caroline moved to the opposite side of the table. Slowly, she lowered herself down into the chair, hands resting on the table top. Calculating eyes were on Grace, her mind racing a million miles a minute. How were they going to get Grace out? Move her out when Aaron was at work? Where would she stay? How could she get the divorce? Caroline chewed on her bottom lip, staring ahead.
Grace glanced to her right and earned a growl from Mike. “Sit still.” He grunted. It had taken some time to clean the remaining blood and wash the wound.
“I’m not moving out.” Grace said, words directed at Caroline.
“Yes you are.” Caroline insisted. “And how did you even know that’s what I was thinking about?”
“Because you have that look on your face that you get when you think you’re about to get your way… and I’ve known you since we were kids. I know you, Caroline. I’ve seen that look a million times.”
Caroline rolled her eyes.
“And you, Mike… need to stop letting her get everything she wants. This is why she’s still like this. Manipulative bitch.” Grace bit back a chuckle.
“Oh shut it, Gracie. You’re moving out of that house, end of story.”
“He’s just going through a thing, he’ll get over it.” Grace shot back.
“Have you talked to his supervisor yet?” Mike asked. “If you haven’t, you really should. Or at least consider it. This is getting bad at home, imagine how much worse it’ll get at work. What if his drinking puts another life at risk when he answers the phone for someone’s 911 call?” Mike placed the needle down on the paper towel and eyed his work, letting Grace mull over his words.
“Looks good to me. You’ll want to clean it a few times a day and send me pictures every couple of days. If it looks like it’s getting infected or you have a fever, I will personally come hunt you down and drive you to the ER.”
“I haven’t said anything to anyone aside from Caroline. Up until tonight, it was just yelling and okay, whatever you say. If I have to go, I’ll go, but I’m not going until then.” Stubborn woman.
Well, not so much stubborn as she was afraid. What would the repercussions of an assault case be? She didn’t want to find out.
“Don’t bullshit me.” The normally quiet man was losing his patience.
Not in the way Aaron did, of course, but that protective nature he po
ssessed so deeply was starting to surface. He had known Grace for just as long as Caroline. To him, she was like a sister. On top of it, she was his wife’s best friend. “You’re really going to tell me it went from yelling to this with nothing in between? Come on, Grace. I’m not new to this.” Mike’s expression dared her to challenge him.
She met that look with a sigh. “Yeah, yeah. Okay. So it didn’t go that way exactly. It started with yelling and then went a slap occasionally. Usually, I can stop it before things get worse. Tonight wasn’t that night. We ran out of booze and he lashed out. That’s it. I’ll go home tomorrow when things cool off and we’ll talk about it. I promise.”
Mike and Caroline exchanged glances. His sigh was a heavy one as his gaze met Grace’s. “I’m worried about you. We both are. This can’t continue. I’ll keep your secret this time but I could lose my license for not reporting this. And I’m concerned about your safety. This is bad, you probably have a concussion, you’re lucky your eye socket isn’t shattered, your wrist is broken and if it was any worse it would have needed surgery… Grace…it never gets better.” Mike’s frown deepened as his hand moved to squeeze her knee. “Promise me you’re going to get help. Promise me.”
Grace looked away from him, gaze averting to the floor. The wood planks of the kitchen were so interesting at that moment. They were a soft pepper grey, modern and stylish. Beautiful, really. Though she enjoyed the traditional dark wood floors of their old farmhouse, she loved the twist Caroline and Mike had put on theirs when it was built.
“Grace.” Caroline growled out her name. “Promise us. Whether it’s going to his supervisor, counseling, whatever it may be. I need to hear that promise.”
“I’m not a child, Caroline.” Grace snapped back. “I can take care of myself.”
“Clearly you can’t!” Caroline’s hand slammed into the table top, making the row of medical supplies jump and tumble from the force of the impact.
Grace flinched, shrinking away from the promise of violence.
“Car…” Mike spoke up quietly. “Enough. Why don’t you go grab us some food, I’m sure she’s starving, and she’ll need something in her stomach when she takes the pain meds. I doubt she ate tonight.”
“He’s right, I didn’t.” Grace tried to force a smile, the fight draining out of her.
“Fine.” She snapped, shoving away from the table and heading over to the refrigerator.
At least the cooking would keep her busy. Mike glanced up, watching her cross the room, giving them some space. He knew Caroline loved Grace like a sister, but even he could admit at times she could be overbearing. “She’s right, you know. You can’t see it the way we do. You’re making excuses for him and it’s not okay.” His gentle hand lifted her wrist as easily as he could before sliding the splint under it. “This isn’t anything like a cast but it’ll keep you steady and protect the bone. You should really…”
“Get checked out.” She cut him off. “I know. I know. But you know I can’t do that right now. I’m sorry. But…I…Promise. I promise I’ll try and find help. I’ll talk to him about counseling first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go to his supervisor. And I’m not concerned about the wrist, it’ll eventually heal. Maybe a little crooked but it’ll heal”
“Promise?” He asked again. “You really, really promise?”
“Yeah. I swear on Caroline and my friendship.”
“Good, because I don’t want to be the one to help the coroner put you in a body bag.”
His comment was a harsh slap of reality.
Chapter Nineteen: Information
Greg & Grace, present day.
Greg sucked in a breath, her story hit him like a punch in the gut. He had been raised in a kind household, a loving one, and he wasn’t kidding when he said he had come from a large family. Back in his day, it was a common thing. He was one of ten kids. Six boys, four girls. He couldn’t imagine any one of his sisters’ husbands laying a hand on them.
Hell, he could never imagine his father laying a hand on his mother. It just wasn’t something he grew up thinking was ever okay. Women were cherished; protected at all costs. It didn’t matter how rough things got, how angry you were…you protected the women in your life. When he looked back at her, it wasn’t with pity.
“You’re a strong woman. Stubborn, but strong nonetheless. I admire that to a degree. Do I think you should have wasted a decade on this man? No, God no. But you stayed because you cherished the vows you made to him and that I can respect.”
“I really did love him.” Grace said with a hint of defensiveness. “And he loved me too, until he didn’t. I guess I just never really knew when he stopped.”
“I know you did. I can still see it in the way you talk about him. You can still love someone but that doesn’t mean you’re in love with them still. I think you love the person he was. Not the one he is now.”
Grace nodded. “Yeah, it’s something like that. I could take the abuse, I got used to it. It became part of our daily routine. I did what I could to not piss him off, it didn’t always work though, and I faced the music when it didn’t. He hid it better when Victoria was born.”
“When did he start hitting her?” Greg asked.
“It wasn’t until a few months ago. He never took anything out on her, that was his baby. And since he still had the PTSD issues with the kid thing, he was terrified of harming her. He was drunk one night and Victoria was playing, she made a big mess with her dolls and I guess he stepped on one. He lashed out and grabbed her by the wrist, hauled her to her feet, and grabbed her so hard it left a bruise on her arm. I wasn’t home that night, I was working. When I asked, she told me the dog knocked her down. We have a German Shepherd and sometimes she gets a little high energy. It happens, no big deal, I thought. I didn’t think he would ever touch her.”
“But it kept happening didn’t it?”
Grace nodded. “Yeah, here and there for a weeks. I started to get suspicious but never believed he’d lay a hand on her. Victoria plays hard, yeah, but she was falling or the dog was always doing something and it started to happen too often. I get the dog can be a little rough but there was no way…and only happened when I wasn’t home. How was she getting hurt so often? I didn’t want to believe it at first, how could he hurt our baby? With me, it was one thing but with her? She’s so innocent. So perfect. I pressed Victoria but never got the truth. Not until I saw it happen with my own eyes.” Grace wanted to hold her daughter, pull her close and protect her.
But she was safe with her Grandmother. No matter how much Eileen disagreed with the divorce, she respected Grace’s wishes to keep Aaron away from Victoria. Grace had desperately wanted a restraining order but at the end of the day, she knew it was just a piece of paper that wouldn’t be enforced. It was part of the reason she had gone for her pistol permit. She kept a 9mm Glock 17 in a safe in her bedroom.
They were moving onto her second court appearance and she was confident things were leaning in his favor. Aaron had no record of abuse, despite what Victoria and Grace had reported to the judge. He had a clean record at work, a model employee from a good family. She had been forced into granting him supervised visitations. Every time those days rolled around she would send a hysterical Victoria with Eileen to see him for a few hours at a time. She always came back so miserable, eyes red and bloodshot from crying, snot dripping down her nose. And yet, Eileen still couldn’t see past the façade of a sweet, doting Aaron.
It made Grace sick to her stomach.
“How many times did he put you in the hospital?”
“I don’t know, six, seven…I think.” She had lost count.
“And Victoria?”
“Never. I never let it get to that point where she ended up in the hospital. The first time he struck her in front of me, that was it. She was my reason to leave. If I couldn’t live to keep myself alive, I certainly would to keep her alive. She deserves better.”
“So do you.” Greg reminded. “What makes you think you d
on’t?”
Grace responded with a small shrug. “I don’t know. I should have done more, should have been a better wife. I feel like there’s so many things I could have done to prevent some of this stuff.”
Greg scoffed, actually scoffed. His cheeks tinged red as he swallowed down his anger. But the presence of it was heavy in the car. “I don’t ever want to hear you say those words again. From what I’ve gathered, you were a good wife. You are a good woman. People like that…there’s no changing them. It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do. He would have found a reason. Just thank the good Lord you were able to escape. Mike was right, you’re lucky you didn’t end up in a body bag. But don’t you ever for one moment think this is your fault.”
Grace looked at him, really looked at him. Greg was the first person she ever believed that spoke those words. He meant them, truly believed them.
This was not her fault, none of it was.
“Thank you.” The words were barely a whisper.
“You’re welcome. So welcome.” He resisted the urge to reach out and hug her and after a moment, he spoke again. “What happened that made you leave? You mentioned it was something with Victoria…”
Chapter Twenty: Run
Grace & Victoria, seven months ago.
Grace moved through the kitchen with a touch of elegance, bobbing around the playing child on the floor with a dish full of roast chicken and potatoes. “Careful, Vic.” She muttered as she tiptoed toward the table.
She placed it down on the pot holders and moved back into the main kitchen to grab the bowls of corn and green beans. A mostly healthy dinner, one that had been easy enough on such a long day. Passing Victoria once more, Grace paused and glanced down at the girl. “Come on now, pick up your toys and go wash up. Dinner is done and Daddy will be in the house any minute now.” When Victoria didn’t move, Grace nudged her butt with her foot. “Scoot, Victoria. I mean it. Toys, bedroom, now!”
