Page 89 of Cuffed By Your Love
He cracked a sad smile. “Ain’t no case to solve. I know who did it, and if the law didn’t exist, I would’ve handled it already. That ass whupping he got wasn’t nearly enough… bitch ass nigga.”
We walked past desks cluttered with reports and day-old doughnuts, officers nodding as Elias passed by. Some recognized me. Some didn’t. All eyes said the same thing: that’s her.
He led me down the quiet hallway to the Special Victims Division. Elias didn’t speak. He just kept glancing at me,squeezing my hand, pulling me close every time a noise made me flinch.
The door creaked as it opened into a small interview room with four tan walls, a dusty window, and one of those metal desks that looked like it remembered every confession it ever heard. There were two chairs, a box of tissues, a whole lot of tension, and a single pitcher of water trying to pretend this wasn’t where pain came to testify.
Elias didn’t just pull my chair out for me. He kissed my temple and crouched to look me in the eyes as I sat. “You good, baby?”
I nodded and lied again. “Yeah.”
His tenderness didn’t match the fire in his eyes. He poured me water with a hand that looked like it knew violence but was gentle enough to cup my grief.
“Say the word, I’ll shut all this down. We can go home, we can sit in silence, or I can lay hands like God ain’t done with me yet.”
Detective Alverez walked in not long after. He was maybe in his mid-40s, Latino, with weary eyes, and a voice like a man who’d seen too much and felt too little, the type of man who could eat a sandwich over a body and still sleep at night. He nodded respectfully at Elias, then looked at me.
“Ms. Jacobson, I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. I’m going to ask you some questions, but you can stop me at any time. You ready?”
No.
But I nodded again. “Yeah.”
My voice was trembling, and Elias noticed. He slid his hand under the table, lacing our fingers. “You got this, baby. I’m right here.”
He started slow. Name. DOB. Every detail of what happened at The Nourish Nook came out in fragments. My words came out shaky at first, like a baby deer trying to stand, but Elias heldmy hand under the table, his thumb drawing soft circles into my skin, reminding me I wasn’t alone.
When I got to the part about Kam hitting me, the words caught in my throat like splinters.
“He said I embarrassed him… He kept yelling. He hit me in my face first, then my stomach. I tried to reach for my weapon but… he twisted my wrist and?—”
Elias let out a low, angry breath beside me, and his grip tightened. His knee bounced like a loaded trigger.
“It’s okay, Ms. Jacobson,” Alvarez said gently. “We have enough witness statements. You don’t have to say more if you don’t want to.”
But I needed to.
I nodded, swallowing the ache building in my chest.
“I thought I was gonna die, and the only thing I could think about was… who’d pick up my Mama’s calls if I didn’t make it.”
The detective’s pen stopped moving. Elias leaned in and kissed my hand.
Elias reached into his jacket, pulled out a small notepad, and scribbled something down. He passed it to Alvarez.
“She’s filing for a restraining order. Today,” he said, voice sharp, final. “We’ll also need protective custody procedures started. Kam’s unstable. I want extra patrols near her place.”
Alvarez nodded, no argument.
When the questioning ended, Elias helped me up slowly, guided me out of the room, his hand pressed gently to the small of my back. He didn’t rush me.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go to Records and get this handled.”
He walked me to a different wing of the station—Records and Legal Affairs—where a tired but kind Black woman behind bulletproof glass passed me a clipboard and said, “You’re strong for doing this, baby. Let’s get him on paper.”
Filing that paperwork was a blur of questions, shaky signatures, and hands that trembled too much to hold the pen steady. Elias stood behind me the whole time, rubbing my back and whispering things like, “You ain’t alone,” and “He not gon’ ever get this close to you again.”
By the time it was notarized and logged, I felt hollow but also a little lighter, like I’d finally started reclaiming the parts of me he tried to dim.
