And I Trusted You (3 page)

“Hello Damon. Denise, we are all so worried about you. It’s not like you to get sick. Oh, is that the file? I’ll be happy to take that from you.” She said stepping between Damon and the car door.

“Oh, thanks so much. I was dreading getting out of the car. I hurt all over.” She started the engine and put the car in reverse. “Thanks for taking that up for me. I’ll call you guys and hopefully I’ll see you in a couple of days. Damon I’ll see you when you get off.”

Susan stepped back to allow Denise to back out. She turned to Damon. “Now you make sure you take good care of her. She’s a good asset to the office and we all want her to get better. Poor thing, she looks terrible.” She said with a gentle smile. “Make sure she gets plenty of rest.” Susan threw over her shoulder and she walked off.

Damon was left standing in the parking lot frowning and trying to figure out how Denise had gotten away from him. Someone must have told her what to do. She never would have used someone else to block his way on her own. She just wasn’t smart enough to think of something like that. Maybe she would come back home.
“If I could just find where she is staying,”
he thought.

*******

“Calvin, I need to ask you a question.” She said sitting at his desk. “Denise called me last night. When I called her back, she was not at home, but she came over to my place and spent the night. Calvin, Damon tried to choke her when she got home yesterday. Now, he slapped her yesterday morning before she went to work, I saw the bruise myself when we were at lunch. I was giving her my good news and showing off my engagement ring. But, you work with this kind of thing. What do you think she should do?” Marie finished.

“First off, did she give you permission to talk with me about this?” Marie nodded affirmation. “Okay, good.
Has he been doing this for a while? I mean did this start all of a sudden?” He wanted to know.

“You know, I never wanted Denise to marry him. There is just something about him that I don’t like. He’s very possessive and controlling. Until last night, I had never thought about him hitting her or anything physical. Denise says he’s yelled at her, shaken her and even pushed her.” She said with down cast eyes. “But I never knew anything about that stuff. I guess Denise didn’t want me to know because she knows how I feel about him.”

“Do you know if she’s ever reported any of the other occasions of violence?”

“Knowing Denise, probably not. But we called the police last night and made sure they took a report. Calvin, I’m scared for her. Damon called me when Denise didn’t come back home after a few hours ranting and raving. He made all kinds of threats. He said if she didn’t come back in a reasonable time, he was gonna make sure she never had to worry about anything again in life. You should see the bruises around her neck. He was really trying to kill her. I don’t know how she got away, but I’m glad she did and came to me. But what I want to know from you is what legal actions should she take to keep him away from her at least until he calms down? The good thing is that the boys are away for the summer.”

“Marie, I know you love your sister, but I really need to discuss this with Denise. You can be her support and help her with things. Is she at work today? If so, maybe I can go by and talk to her about this privately.”

“No, she stayed home. She can barely talk. So she took a couple of sick days. She is resting at my place. The good thing is I just moved into the townhouse and Damon doesn’t know where it is. Denise hasn’t brought him over yet, thank goodness.”

“Okay, I’ll come by and speak with her when I’m done at the office. You know, you are a good friend. Some people don’t recognize the signs of domestic violence. They mistakenly think it’s cute that they’re man/woman is so possessive of them. But we lose people every day because of that wrong view.” He said standing. “I’ll see you tonight, baby.”  He planted a sweet kiss on her lips before she walked out of the office.

On the way back to work, Marie decided she would take the rest of the day off. Fortunately she had a good secretary and she could handle the office for the afternoon. She drove to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. Since Calvin was coming over, she would cook and they could eat-in. She stopped to pick up her dry cleaning and got the groceries. She arrived at the house around 5:30. When she put her keys down she saw the note from Denise. So she put the bags in the kitchen and the clothes in her closet.

Before she started to prepare dinner, she played back the messages on the answering machine.

“Marie, this is Damon. I told you last night that I want to talk to Denise. She called me to let me know that she is okay, but I want to see her. You tell her what I said. If you truly love her, you’ll make sure she comes back home. She has responsibilities here and the children will want to see their mother. I’m not gonna wait much longer. Remember what I said last night, Marie, for Denise’s sake. You know I can’t live without her. I’m not going to live without her!” Damon screamed and then there was a dial tone.

She listened to the rest of the messages. She made sure she saved Damon’s messages. She would at least have that for Calvin to listen to when he arrived. Just as she was putting the roast into the oven, Denise came through the door.

“Hi, do you feel any better?” Marie asked Denise.

“I don’t know. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I just left the support group counselor. My throat is still sore.” Denise whispered as she lightly fingered her throat. “Is there anything I can do to help?”  She said coming to sit on the bar stool on the opposite side of the counter.

“Yeah, you can sit on the stool and keep me company. I’ve got everything else under control.” Marie wasn’t sure how to tell Denise about Damon’s message. She didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was. “I hope you won’t be angry with me, but I talked to Calvin about your problem with Damon. I told him about the bruises and what he did last night. He’s coming over tonight to talk with you about it. Can you forgive me?” She asked. “I only did it ‘cause I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m not upset, Marie. In fact, I was gonna ask you if it would be all right if I talked to Calvin about this thing with Damon before you said it. I’m glad you did because I am so lost and confused. I’m not sure he’s still the same man I married. And after talking to this counselor, I realize that I’ve been in an abusive relationship and I’ve just been denying it to myself. I’ve got to make some changes in my life. I need to talk to Damon at some point so we can…..”

“Denise, Damon called today.” She interrupted while slicing the onion for her salad.  “He left a message on the machine. I think you should listen to it. At least you’ll know what you’re dealing with whenever you decide to talk to him. I’m sorry for interrupting you, but I thought you should know.” Marie finished.

“That’s okay. Thank you. I’m going to listen to it now.” She said walking over to the answering machine. Denise took a seat on the sofa next to the table containing the answering machine. Marie watched Denise as she sat there holding her head.  She took a deep breath then reached over to push the play back button. She stopped and leaned back on the chair. She got up and walked around the room for a few minutes then abruptly returned and pushed the button. She listened as Damon talked, all the while contorting her features in disgust. How could I have married such a violent man? When Damon had finished Denise looked up at Marie. “What am I going to do? I don’t know how to handle this. It’s too much for me! I can’t raise my boys with a man like this in the house. Maybe I should call his doctor tomorrow and find out if the new medication for the schizophrenia and bipolar disorder could cause this.” She said sobbing softly.

Marie stopped what she was doing in the kitchen and came over to Denise. She wrapped her loving arms around her and rocked Denise back and forth as if she were a toddler needing comfort. “Denise, I know it’s hard. But we, Calvin and I, are here for you. He’ll be here in about an hour and we can all figure this out together. Please don’t let this get you down. You can’t allow Damon to have that much power over you. If you do, you’re allowing him to control you instead of you taking control. Besides, your parents did a good job of raising you. It’s just a good thing they aren’t alive to see any of this. If they were, Damon wouldn’t be testing you like this. I’m sure of that. Why didn’t you tell me that he was seeing a shrink when I mentioned it yesterday? I was serious about him needing one, but I did not know that he had been diagnosed with serious mental illness.” Marie chided gently.

“You sound exactly like the counselor. She gave me some things to do to change my frame of mind. She was a battered wife and her situation was much like mine. The physical abuse started suddenly. Or so she thought, but that’s why she helps out at the center now, so other women don’t have to go through the same things she went through. Her husband shot her three times in the chest when he thought she was going to leave him. I just need to think, ‘cause Marie I still love him. I’m so happy the children are at his mother’s place for the summer. I don’t ever want them to know about all of this and I have to think about their lives, too. It’s not just me. Oh God, give me the strength to make it through this. Help me to come out on top.” Denise said through tears.

Marie couldn’t do anything but hold her and wait for her to stop crying. After a while, she got up to check the food. She didn’t wanna talk too much. Denise had enough on her mind. And she realized that Denise was not happy with the realization that she was an abused wife, but it must be difficult to know that and still be in love with the person. Surprisingly, Marie found herself wiping her eyes as she softly sobbed for her sister. There was only so much she could help her with and the rest was up to Denise.

The doorbell rang and Marie jumped.
“It must be Calvin
”, she thought as she walked to the door. She looked out the peephole to be sure before she opened the door. “Hi baby. Thank you so much for coming.” She said as he stepped through the thresh hold and she hugged and kissed him.

“Hello Denise. I see the both of you have been crying. Do I need to leave and come back in a couple of hours?” He asked trying to lighten the mood.

“No. You need to be right where you are. Here.” Denise blurted out. “I have a major problem and I really need your help. Thank you for coming.” Denise said going to get tissue for her nose.

Calvin put his briefcase down and shook his head. He saw a large number of abused spouses in his law firm since their practice specialized in family law. It was never easy to see and it was even more amazing what some people put up with in the name of love, or out of fear. Marie went into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner. She announced that it would be ready in about an hour and they could talk things out as they waited.

The three of them sat down at the table and tried to figure a few things out. Denise told Calvin about her relationship with Damon. Calvin asked questions about instances where Damon had become violent. Were there any witnesses? How often did it happen? Was it just yelling, or when did it become physical? How did he treat the boys? Were they being abused as well? Did she think he would harm them? The questions seemed endless, but she knew they were for her own good.

Denise answered the questions, then told Calvin about the message Damon had left. Calvin listened to it then asked Marie if he could take the tape with him. He wanted to make a copy of it. It would help in getting the restraining order, coupled with the bruises. He told Denise that they should get it the next day. She should not meet with Damon alone under any circumstances. She should keep a low profile for a few days. The sheriff would notify Damon as to his rights. They talked over some other things and made arrangements for Denise to move out. Fortunately Calvin owned an apartment building. He would lease a unit to Denise for a small fee until she got back on her feet. It was large enough for her and the boys.

Understandably, Denise was concerned about how the children would take all of this. She did not want them to be in danger. She realized that Damon might do more than just try to choke her. Even though she didn’t know why he had behaved that way, it was unacceptable. And more importantly, she did not want to subject her children to being hurt by him. Calvin and Marie agreed with her on these things. Finally they ate dinner. When it was over, Denise excused herself saying she had a letter to write.

“Calvin, I’m so worried about her. I never ever wanted her to be hurt this way. I know it’s hard for her and I hate that I can’t do anything for her.” She lamented putting her head on his shoulder.

“I know. But she has a good head on her shoulders. I just wish she had realized things sooner. We are going first thing in the morning to get that protective order against Damon. Marie, I’m afraid he may try to kill her. He hasn’t said it outright, but his actions have certainly said it loud and clear. I’ve only known her a short time, but I can see she’s a good, intelligent woman. She knows what she has to do. And she’ll make the right choices.” He said squeezing Marie to him.