“AJ…I think this change’ll be good for both – “
“Just…don’t even bother. I don’t need you to coddle me,” he grumbled, snatching his jacket off the back of the chair and heading toward the door. “You wanna do this on your own? Fine. You got it,” were his final words for me. I stared at the back of that hotel room door and I can’t lie and say I didn’t question whether I’d done the right thing or now. Sitting there alone in the silence, I considered chasing after him, but I didn’t. This felt like the right thing to do. This felt like the beginning of a healing process that I imagined would be the journey of a lifetime.
*****
When my phone rang, I automatically assumed that it was my parents letting me know that they’d made it; however, I didn’t recognize the number that flashed across my screen.
“Hello?” I answered hesitantly, honestly thinking that it could be Antonio calling from another line.
“Ms. Kelley?”
“This is she,” I replied.
“Hi, this is Detective Jimenez; we spoke the other night in the hospital. How are you? ”
I remembered her name from the business card that she gave me. “I’m alright. I was actually coming in to talk to you this afternoon once my parents got here.”
“Oh, ok. Well, that’s good because I was just getting ready to see if you had some time to come down and have a chit chat with me about your case.”
I frowned. “Oh….I’ll be there probably within the next hour or two. Is that okay?”
“Sounds perfect. Just ask for me when you get here.”
I agreed and then ended the call. My heart raced in my chest at the thought of not only telling my parents what I’d been through, but also having the same conversation with the detective.
Not even ten minutes after getting the call, there was a knock at the hotel room door. I peered out the peephole at my mother’s worried expression, and then disengaged the lock. I kept my head down and hid the bruised side of my face hidden behind the door while they entered.
“Now tell me what’s going –“ was as far as my mother got before placing her hand under my chin to take a closer look at the left side of my face. My eye was still relatively swollen and the skin around it was a deep purple and burgundy. She ran her thumb over the cut on the side of my mouth. Without even asking what’d happened, tears welled in her eyes. In my heart, I believe she knew. Pulling me into her arms, she held me tight – like I’d longed for during my ordeal the other night. My chest tightened and I hugged her back, crying on her shoulder.
My father was silent. He stood there with his hand on my back, wearing a concerned look that seemed to be a mix of confusion and feat.
“Who?” Was all my mother managed to whisper.
I held her tighter. “…..Antonio.”
She fell silent. My father stopped rubbing my back and froze.
“I’m okay, though,” I assured my mother when her soft cries transitioned into full-blown sobbing.
“Where’s he live?” My father asked, keys already in hand.
“Daddy…I’m not letting you go over there. I wanna do this right; I’m going to the police station to tell the detective everything…I just didn’t want to go without you two.”
My mother backed away and dried her face with a tissue she grabbed from her purse. “Whatever you need us to do.”
I took my copy of the keycard and followed them out to the car. That was the longest, most silent drive I’ve ever taken in my life. My mother kept her eyes trained out the passenger side window, swiping away tears every so often. Daddy kept his hands firm on the steering wheel and his jaw was tense. When we pulled into the parking lot, none of us got out right away. It was my father who finally opened his door and took the lead. My mother and I followed behind him, hand in hand. She glanced at the damage done to my face when we reached the lobby, shaking her face in disbelief again.
“Hi, how can I help you,” the short, round officer behind the desk asked.