Page 31 of Hold On Through The Pain

The cop spoke into the mic at his shoulder. “The man in the white shirt with dark hair and pale skin, grab him. He was inside the house.” The cop focused on her again. “And what else happened?”

“Um, so I was in my room studying, and my dad called for me to come out. It’s easier just to try and make him happy. But he wasn’t happy because I said no.” She stared at her dad. He’d been handcuffed, and he had his head down as the cop spoke to him. Goose bumps broke out over her shoulders. He couldn’t hurt her, not now.

“Said no to what?” The cop’s low voice broke through her musings.

She blinked at him, not understanding the question at first. Then she remembered. “He said I had to marry that guy. I don’t even know his name.”

“So he said you had to marry that guy over there, and you don’t know his name?”

“No, I’ve never seen him before. I have no idea who he is.”

The cop nodded as he wrote something downin a small notebook. “Okay, so what else happened?”

“Oh God, he could have shot me.”

The cop stood taller, his lips thinned. “Ma’am, what happened inside the house?”

For the life of her, she couldn’t think as she stared into the cop’s crystal-blue eyes. They reminded her of the sky. Why was she thinking of the sky now? Her hands and her knees were shaking so bad she needed to sit.

“We’ll get you a blanket. Could you tell me what else happened?”

She closed her eyes, thinking about everything that had gone down in the den with her father, how he’d chased her. Another shiver snaked through her.

“He-he wanted me to marry that guy. I said no. Then he hurt me—he grabbed my arm and yanked, trying to force me to do God only knows what. I ran to my room to gather my things. He broke in and started threatening me with his gun.”

“So your father said you had to marry that guy you don’t know, and when you said no he got his gun?”

She nodded as heat flooded her. Would this officer think she was a terrible person because she was pregnant and single? What would he say about her? Did she even need to tell the cop she was pregnant?

“What happened next?” the officer asked.

She watched as the police led her father toward the car. That was when her dad started spewing stuff, his hateful words hitting her right in the gut.

“You’re nothing but a whore,” he yelled. “A nasty-ass whore. You should be the one in jail. I should have killed you when you were sleeping. You nasty-ass whore.”

The other cop shoved him into the back of the police car, cutting off his rant. The police officer closest to her grunted then met her gaze.

“I take his words as a threat. I’ll make sure you have a protection order against him. How about we find a place that is more comfortable and talk about what happened?”

She watched as the cop car drove away with her father inside. She turned back to the officer beside her.

“What will happen to him?”

The cop shrugged. “He’ll be held for at least twenty-four hours. There’s a good chance he’ll be in for a few days before he gets bail. Do you know if he has the money to pay?”

“No clue.”

“I’d expect him to be back on the street before the weekend.”

She sucked in a breath. “That soon?”

The cop winced then shrugged. “It sucks. Trust me, I know. I’ve seen too many bad men outon the streets after something like this. I want you to be aware. Don’t for a moment think you’re safe with men like that around you. You can’t trust them. That’s not official but based on what I’ve experienced. You need to keep yourself safe.”

She nodded. Her father treated her like she was property, not a real human. That he even thought he could arrange a marriage was ridiculous. He was unhinged. For years she’d kept the peace, making sure to stay out of his way, keep quiet, be respectful, but this was the undoing. No question, she couldn’t live here any longer.

“You probably want to gather your stuff and find another place to stay.”

Pressure built in her head as she imagined how her life would change being homeless. The car she’d been using belonged to her dad, and he’d already taken that from her. She had nothing to her name. It would be another month after she graduated before she could take the state test, and then if she moved to Georgia, it would be weeks if not months before the Georgia license came in. She’d be stuck working as an assistant until then, and she had no money, no car, nothing.

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