ain’t just gonna get over it.”
Same routine,
different night. Jessica attempting to reassure the traumatized woman by
reminding her she needed to take back control over her life. And Irene
reminding her that Patrick Brenner wasn’t a man who allowed a woman to have any
control in the first place. That meant the battle and road to recovery had only
just begun.
“Can you
just…assign a patrol guy to watch over my apartment?” Irene continued. “Please,
Detective Galloway? Just one night and I promise I won’t bother you again.”
Jessica
sighed and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror to see if her nose was
still running from the twenty minutes she’d spent crying over Andrew’s
departure earlier that evening.
“Irene, if
you’re concerned about your safety you need to file a report. And you have that
restraining order. He can’t come near you, remember?”
“It’s not enough ,”
Irene whined.
Jessica
sighed again. After all, she knew how the girl felt. She’d been there, years
ago when she was studying Elementary Education at the University of Maryland and
had made the silly mistake of falling for the wrong future pro basketball
player. Months of abuse followed. She’d suffered physically, mentally and
psychologically. All in silence. Ultimately, it had been her grandmother who
had discovered the bruising. The wise woman’s response was unexpected, painful,
and as far as Jessica was concerned, the most important lesson she’d ever learned.
Jessica had
learned from that day forward how to stand up for herself. Weeks later, the
wanna-be future Hall-of-Famer’s career was over. Now he was serving hard time
for domestic abuse charges, in addition to the drugs and weapons police had
found.
And Jessica
was now a cop. Everything that happens in your life, happens for a reason.
It’s your responsibility to learn from it all. Grandmother’s twist on an
old familiar adage.
“Tell you
what,” Jessica said as Irene’s teeth began chattering from the cold. Let me
drop you by your house before I head in. I’m not supposed to be on tonight.
Just a mandatory meeting.”
Unless
someone gets killed. Yeah, then she’d be working. Homicide Division was a tough beat to work,
especially in this city.
Irene smiled
weakly and walked around to the side of the car. Jessica truly felt for her.
After all, she knew how it felt to become so frightened and alienated that
anyone you met seemed like a threat. Even as a police officer on the task force
with a few personal experiences of her own to share, it had taken considerable
time for Irene to warm up to her. And now she couldn’t find a way to separate
herself from the past and move on.
Jessica
glanced over at Irene who sat quietly in the passenger’s seat. From experience,
she knew Irene would speak little. The distraught woman and mother of a dead
son sought comfort and safety, not necessarily conversation. So Jessica turned
on the radio and switched through the channels. A newscaster discussed a huge
bank robbery downtown. She switched to a local hip hop station.
Jessica
looked out the driver’s side window at the traffic rushing through the city
streets. Life never slowed down for those who suffered. The world kept spinning
and people kept moving. Even after everything had gone horribly wrong, she
still wished she could be with Andrew. A man secluded in federal witness
protection. A man she’d fallen in love with. A man who made her want to pack up
and run away to a distant island where they could cuddle half-naked on the
beach. Just the two of them. No danger, no misery, just romance, happiness, and
a lot of great sex.
Jessica could
smell the stench of stale cigarette smoke on Irene’s brown fur coat. The
terrified woman’s lips were chapped, her skin dryer than a sandcastle. Together,
physically, the two women couldn’t be more different. But emotionally,
mentally, Jessica knew they were the same. There was no other reason the
Same routine,
different night. Jessica attempting to reassure the traumatized woman by
reminding her she needed to take back control over her life. And Irene
reminding her that Patrick Brenner wasn’t a man who allowed a woman to have any
control in the first place. That meant the battle and road to recovery had only
just begun.
“Can you
just…assign a patrol guy to watch over my apartment?” Irene continued. “Please,
Detective Galloway? Just one night and I promise I won’t bother you again.”
Jessica
sighed and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror to see if her nose was
still running from the twenty minutes she’d spent crying over Andrew’s
departure earlier that evening.
“Irene, if
you’re concerned about your safety you need to file a report. And you have that
restraining order. He can’t come near you, remember?”
“It’s not enough ,”
Irene whined.
Jessica
sighed again. After all, she knew how the girl felt. She’d been there, years
ago when she was studying Elementary Education at the University of Maryland and
had made the silly mistake of falling for the wrong future pro basketball
player. Months of abuse followed. She’d suffered physically, mentally and
psychologically. All in silence. Ultimately, it had been her grandmother who
had discovered the bruising. The wise woman’s response was unexpected, painful,
and as far as Jessica was concerned, the most important lesson she’d ever learned.
Jessica had
learned from that day forward how to stand up for herself. Weeks later, the
wanna-be future Hall-of-Famer’s career was over. Now he was serving hard time
for domestic abuse charges, in addition to the drugs and weapons police had
found.
And Jessica
was now a cop. Everything that happens in your life, happens for a reason.
It’s your responsibility to learn from it all. Grandmother’s twist on an
old familiar adage.
“Tell you
what,” Jessica said as Irene’s teeth began chattering from the cold. Let me
drop you by your house before I head in. I’m not supposed to be on tonight.
Just a mandatory meeting.”
Unless
someone gets killed. Yeah, then she’d be working. Homicide Division was a tough beat to work,
especially in this city.
Irene smiled
weakly and walked around to the side of the car. Jessica truly felt for her.
After all, she knew how it felt to become so frightened and alienated that
anyone you met seemed like a threat. Even as a police officer on the task force
with a few personal experiences of her own to share, it had taken considerable
time for Irene to warm up to her. And now she couldn’t find a way to separate
herself from the past and move on.
Jessica
glanced over at Irene who sat quietly in the passenger’s seat. From experience,
she knew Irene would speak little. The distraught woman and mother of a dead
son sought comfort and safety, not necessarily conversation. So Jessica turned
on the radio and switched through the channels. A newscaster discussed a huge
bank robbery downtown. She switched to a local hip hop station.
Jessica
looked out the driver’s side window at the traffic rushing through the city
streets. Life never slowed down for those who suffered. The world kept spinning
and people kept moving. Even after everything had gone horribly wrong, she
still wished she could be with Andrew. A man secluded in federal witness
protection. A man she’d fallen in love with. A man who made her want to pack up
and run away to a distant island where they could cuddle half-naked on the
beach. Just the two of them. No danger, no misery, just romance, happiness, and
a lot of great sex.
Jessica could
smell the stench of stale cigarette smoke on Irene’s brown fur coat. The
terrified woman’s lips were chapped, her skin dryer than a sandcastle. Together,
physically, the two women couldn’t be more different. But emotionally,
mentally, Jessica knew they were the same. There was no other reason the
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