Andy went on his break and checked his email. He smiled when he saw one from Denise. His smile quickly faded as he read it, and the color drained from his face.
‘Andy, the police just arrested Mitch for abuse and domestic violence. They’re sending me to the hospital to have the baby checked out. If you can, when you get out of work, would you come see me? I’m scared to death!! I don’t know what to do! – Thanks, Denise.’
Andy logged out and grabbed the phone to call someone in to cover for him, then grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
“Hey, John, I called David in to replace me, and he’s on his way. I have a friend who’s going the hospital as a domestic abuse victim. She has no one else, I have to go help her. I’ll call you later.”
“Ok,” John called after him, “no problem. Hope everything is all right.”
Andy arrived at the hospital and got Denise’s room number. He was stopped by the guard outside her room.
“Name please.”
“Andrew Blake.”
“Ok, you’re on the list,” said the guard. “Go ahead in.”
“Thank you,” Andy replied.
He stepped quietly into the room, and drew a chair up next to the bed. He kissed Denise’s forehead gently before he sat down.
“I’m here, Denise,” he whispered as he took her hand in his. “I’m so sorry! I had no idea it was this bad.” He kissed her hand and settled in. He wasn’t going anywhere until she woke up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mitch’s mother bailed him out of jail first thing in the morning. As he came out of the jailhouse, an officer served him Denise’s restraining order.
“What the fuck is this?” he screamed. “Now I can’t even go to my own home? This is total bullshit!” His eyes were wild. “How am I supposed to get my truck? Or clothes for work? I was supposed to be at work two hours ago! She’s already fucked me there, and now THIS?”
“Mitch,” his mother said calmly, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “your father and I will go get what you need once we get you back to our house.” She patted his shoulder gently. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise. This just isn’t Denise! You’d never hurt her, I know that.”
“Alright,” spat Mitch, calming down a little. “Let’s go.”
When Mr. and Mrs. Farber got to Mitch and Denise’s house, Mr. Farber rang the bell and waited a moment before he let himself in with Mitch’s key. Mrs. Farber walked next door to the Roth’s. She knew they were friendly with Denise and hoped they might have some information about the situation.
As she rang the bell, her husband hollered across the yard, “Denise’s car is here, but she’s not in the house. Find out where she went!”
Melanie answered the door and smiled pleasantly. “Mrs. Farber, what a surprise. Won’t you come in?”
“No, dear, thank you. I just wanted to check and see if you knew anything about last night?” Melanie frowned a bit.
“I really don’t. The police showed up and hauled Mitch away in handcuffs, then the ambulance came and took Denise away. That’s all I know,” she lied calmly. Melanie wasn’t about to give them any information.
“Oh, my! I hope she and the baby are all right! We’ll have to go see her and make sure everything is okay. Thank you. I’ll go help my husband get some of Mitch’s things, since she apparently put a restraining order on him, too… Have a lovely day.”
Melanie shut the door and ran for the phone. She dialed the hospital.
“Denise Farber’s room, please. Thank you. Denise, it’s Melanie. How are you? Oh, thank God! I’m sorry if I woke you, but I wanted to let you know that your in-laws are planning to come see you at the hospital when they’re finished getting Mitch’s things from the house. They’re here now. I didn’t tell them anything, I knew you wouldn’t want me to.”
“Great, Melanie! I appreciate your covering for me and keeping me posted. I have a guard at the door here with a list of people allowed to see me, and they aren’t on it. You and Ralph are, though, so feel free to drop by if you want.”
“Call us after the in-laws are gone – you know they’ll try everything to get past the guard. Let us know when they’ve left and we’ll come then. Stay strong!”
“Thanks, I will! Talk to you soon.”
Denise hung up the phone and looked at Andy.
“It really was so sweet of you to come so quickly!”
“I couldn’t let you be alone,” he touched her forehead and jaw gently, and looked down at the cast on her left arm. “He did all of this last night?”
“Yes,” Denise hung her head. “I’m so ashamed. This is all my fault…” her voice trailed off as she started to cry.
“Denise, this is NOT your fault!” Andy cried. “Mitch is a sick man, and you have to stay away from him.”
“I have nowhere to go! What am I supposed to do to care for my child?”
“There are shelters to help battered women and children,” he explained softly. “We could set you up there until we can figure out a plan.”
“I don’t know. I really don’t,” Denise sighed. “We’ll see. This just isn’t like him. He never used to be violent. I’m sure it’s just stress over finances and having another mouth to feed. He’ll get better, I know he will.”
“Denise,” Andy said firmly, “he will NOT get better. These situations only get worse. What about your cat that he killed. Didn’t that clue you in that he was a violent person?”
“That was completely different.”
“How? He killed a living creature! Do you really think it’s that far of a stretch for him to kill you or your child?”
“I-I… Well, I guess I don’t know.” Denise stammered. “But you don’t typically go to jail for killing cats.”
“Maybe not, but it is a sign that the potential to escalate to killing humans is there. I had a friend in a similar situation once, but sadly, she didn’t live to tell the tale.”
Denise’s face drained of color. “Really? He killed her?”
“Yes, and nearly killed her kids, too. Now he’s in jail and the kids are in foster care.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Please, don’t become a statistic – become a survivor.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion outside her door. Andy peered through the glass and saw Denise’s in-laws throwing a fit because they couldn’t get past the guard to see their daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild.
Mr. Farber hollered at the guard, “It HAS to be a mistake. She wouldn’t deny us the right to see her!”
A bit more calmly, Mrs. Farber said, “We just want to make sure she and the baby are ok. We need her side of the story, because we know our son would NEVER lay a hand on her to hurt her. Something is going on that we NEED to know about.”
“I’m sorry, folks, she was awake and lucid when she made the list, and you are NOT on it.” His stony face indicated he wouldn’t budge on the matter. “If you continue to make a scene and argue with me, I will call security and have you forcibly removed.”
“This isn’t over,” Mitch’s father growled. “We’ll be back with a court order forcing YOU to allow us to see her!”
“When you present that to me, I’ll be happy to step aside, but not before.”
The Farber’s left, grumbling and fussing all the way down the hall.
“That was your in-laws,” Andy reported to Denise. “They aren’t at all pleased that they’re not on the list.”
“Oh, well, they’ll get over it,” Denise let out a sigh of relief. “I really am not in the mood to hear that their son would never do such a thing and why am I trying to ruin his life with false accusations, blah, blah, blah.” She closed her eyes. “I’m really wiped.”
“Take a nap, sweetie. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ok. Would you call Melanie and let her know they’ve been by and left? Let her know I’m napping and to come by later?”
“Absolutely. Anne should be here soon, too.” He kissed her hand tenderly. “We’ll all get you through this. Don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Andy. You’re a wonderful friend.” Denise drifted off to sleep.
When Denise woke, Anne, Melanie and Ralph were there along with Andy. Denise smiled and greeted the newcomers warmly.
“It’s so great to see you all. I’m hoping the doctor will let me go soon.” She wrinkled up her nose. “I really hate it here. The beds suck,” she giggled.
“It’s nice to see you in good spirits,” Anne replied. “We’ve all been talking – we need to get you to a shelter so Mitch can’t find you.”
“I had a dream while I slept, that I stayed at my house and Mitch stayed at his parents. I think where I have the Restraining Order in place, I’ll be perfectly safe at home. Melanie and Ralph can help to be on the lookout for Mitch if he tries to come near the house, and he’ll be arrested for violation of the order.” She looked at the others. Seeing the concern on their faces she added, “Anne can stay with me so I’m not alone, and Andy, you’re welcome to visit anytime. Besides, I have to get back to work, and I can’t do that if I’m away at some shelter.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Ralph agreed. “Melanie and I could stay on the couch bed at your place at night if that would make you feel safer.”
“That would be wonderful. What do you think, Anne? Andy?”
“I think that will work,” Anne said. “I’ll run to my place and pack some stuff. Once we know when the doc is letting you out, I’ll head to your house with you.”
“Ok,” said Andy. “I’m in. If you want me to, I’ll keep an eye on the house during the day, since I work third shift. That way, Mitch can’t try to break in and take anything while you’re at work.”
“That is a great plan, Andy!” Denise exclaimed. “Thank you all for being so helpful.” She paused. “I’m really afraid to leave him, but I think I have no choice. We’ll all have to think about how to do this. I can’t afford a lawyer, so I’ll have to do this on my own.”
“We’ll figure it out, Denise,” Anne replied. “Don’t you worry. We’ll figure it all out.”
“I need to go get some sleep before work tonight. If the doctor doesn’t let you out today, I’ll come back in the morning to sit with you,” Andy said.
“I can stay with her tonight, and Ralph can keep an eye on the house,” Melanie offered. “That way, Anne will have plenty of time to get stuff packed and be ready when the doc does discharge Denise.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ralph agreed.
“Me too,” said Anne.
“Then we’ve got things covered.” Andy kissed Denise’s forehead, and she melted. “I’ll see you soon. Call if you need me.”
“Ok, Andy,” she replied, “I will.”
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