Page 63 of Amor in the 305

“Miss, why don’t you come with me in the other room so I can take your statement,” says the petite blonde female officer to Soledad. She nods and follows her out of the bedroom.

“Amaury, please get up, I’ll take it from here,” Torres says. I rise and take two steps back, standing next to the window and it’s when I notice blood spatter on my shirt.

“What’s your name?” he asks, looking at Carmine.

“Carmine,” he responds. I glare at him, the blood around his nose drying.

“Do you have a last name, Carmine?”

“Coretta.” He sneers at me, curling his lip.

Joe approaches Carmine while simultaneously pulling his handcuffs from his belt. “You have the right to remain silent,” Torres says, grabbing his wrist and placing a cuff around it. The officer continues to read Carmine his rights as he places his handcuffs behind his back.

“¡No te quiero ver más por aquí, oíste!” I exclaim. Not sure if he even understands me but I’m furious right now. If I ever see him around here again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to restrain myself next time.

I follow them out of the room. Torres and Carmine continue outside and I sit next to Sol, who is on the couch talking to the woman, whose name badge reads Cruz. When Sol finishes recounting the events, the officer asks her to stand up because she wants to take pictures. Sol does as she’s asked and stands near the window.

It’s there I see the redness of her upper arms and neck, except the neck area has redness in the form of Carmine’s fingers. The area on her left cheek is bright red, much different from the faint redness on the right side of her face. Anger stirs inside of me again. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been here? Would he have caused serious harm? Or worse? I can’t think about the what-ifs because it’s just going to enrage me and me being upset solves nothing.

When Officer Cruz is finished taking pictures of Sol and Sol says her statement is complete, the Officer asks me for my statement. I retell the events as I saw them happen, and she continues to take notes as she listens.

“Remember, if you need medical attention, go to the emergency room right away,” Officer Cruz says.

“Thanks, Officer. I’m okay, just rattled.”

“Okay. You have my contact information should you need it. Please take care of yourself.” She turns and exits the unit, pulling the door closed behind her.

When she does, I turn and find myself face to face with Sol. She wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you, Amaury.” She starts shaking, I can hear her whimpers, the tears dampening me.

“You’re okay now.”

“I think he wanted to kill me,” she says, gasping for words through her tears.

“But,no lo hizo. And now he’s arrested,” I respond, tightening my embrace. My hands are rubbing her lower back, an attempt to calm Sol’s nerves.

“I don’t want to be here. Can we go to your house, please?”

“Claro que sí,” I respond, grateful she wants to be at my house instead of staying here. This way, I can keep an eye on her. I have an alarm system at my house and surveillance cameras. I’m not sure Carmine knows where I live but I’m hoping it doesn’t matter since he’s behind bars.

“Okay. I need to pack some stuff, my computer, work clothes, things like that. Just for a few days. Is that okay?” She lifts her gaze to meet mine, her light brown eyes wild and red from the tears she’s been crying.

“El tiempo que necesites,” I tell her. I mean it too; she can stay as much time as she wants. If it were up to me, I’d have her move in. But first, we need to straighten out the mess from the other night with Yanelis. I caress her face, let my fingers linger at her jawline.

“Give me a few minutes.” She separates from me and disappears into the hall.

“If you need help, tell me. I’ll wait here,” I say.

An hour later we pull into my driveway. I called a buddy of mine to have her car towed to his lot to get her tires replaced and we’ll pick it up in a few days when it’s ready.

As I’m unloading her suitcase from the trunk I say, “I take you to get Roxy later. This way you can get around until your car is ready.”

“Thank you, Amaury. I promise I’ll only be here a few days until I figure out what I’m gonna do,” she says, pushing her hair behind her ears.

“Muñeca, you can stay as much time as you need. ¿Oíste?” I grasp her face between my hands and kiss her, savor her taste, the sweetness of her skin mixed with the saltiness of her tears.

She’s letting me explore her mouth, kissing me back, her hands dragging up and down my biceps. Abruptly she separates from me. “Stop, please.”

“Why?”

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