His mouth moved, but she could not make out the words. He gazed at her as if expecting a response. His mouth opened again; only this time, spit flew out his mouth instead of hateful words. Tears rolled down her face, merging with his saliva. Crippled with fear, her mind raced with possible scenarios, none which ended with her being found alive. He grabbed her by the neck trying to kiss her as she squirmed to get away. His grip was firm around her delicate throat, triggering recollections of her lover’s hands once caressing her neck. Only this time his touch wasn’t affectionate, he was trying to kill her.
As she slid in and out of unconsciousness, a piercing cry echoed in the room. The couple’s infant had woken up by the commotion. She sighed in relief assuming the baby waking up would halt the abuse, Instead, he grabbed her by the hair, tore her clothes off, and threw her out the apartment. She decided to make a run for it, but before she could get up, he opened the door and dragged her back inside causing agonizing carpet burns on her thighs.
She cupped her face in between her hands to protect herself as he continued to punch her in the head. His punches abruptly stopped. She removed her trembling hands off her bruising face only to see her 2-year-old had now woken up, and was witnessing the abuse. The toddler’s face manifested pure fear. Her motherly instinct rushed her to comfort him, but her face was met by her husband’s brutal fist.
She passed out and awoke to the vivid luminous lights above a cold hospital bed. She glared down to realize her naked body remained exposed. The feeling of humiliation intensified as she had to sit motionless as the nurse scrutinized her naked body for abrasions. She heard men advising the nurse to use a blacklight and realized two officers were present in the room as well. She contemplated covering up, but at that point she couldn’t imagine feeling more violated than she already did.
She lied in bed wondering how she’d gotten there. At only 22 years old and only one year married, she had gone through whats seemed to be a lifetime of abuse. As the police officers drove her back to the to her home, they shared that her husband had been incarcerated and her mother had been called to care for the kids. She felt a knot in her throat as she realized she was now an undocumented single mother of two, who she needed to provide for. Her heart palpitated as panic took over her mind.
The subtle light of dawn kissed her face as she stood outside her door, mentally preparing herself to walk in back to the house which was no longer a home. The broken furniture in the living room was a reminder of what had taken place just hours earlier. Emotionally overwhelmed, she fell on her knees and cupped her face in her hands, just as she had done so earlier that night to protect herself from furious fists. She felt broken.
Suddenly, little footsteps echoed in the house as her toddler rushed to her side. He stood calmly as if aware of the hurt in his mother’s eyes. He wrapped his hands around his mother’s neck, and she realized that that moment was more powerful than anything else that had occurred earlier that night. She had no time to be broken. She had to be strong; not only for herself, but for her children. She was not going to let anything stop her now. She was now a survivor.
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