With each blow, I could feel my body growing weaker and weaker. My strength was depleted by the time the fifth blow came. My legs turned into mush. As soon as he released my hair, I hit the ground.
Showing no remorse, Dewayne lifted his size twelve shoes and kicked me in the chest. Seeing that there was no stopping him, my motherly instincts kicked in and my only goal was to save the baby growing inside of me. Naturally, I balled up, locking my hands against my stomach so that his blows would not carry as much weight on my abdomen area.
WHAM. Another to the chest.
WHAM. One to the side.
WHAM. One to the back.
WHAM. One to the face.
A kick to the face disabled all my efforts to protect myself or my child. My world began to spin as my sight blurred. Frozen in place, I no longer had the energy to do anything.Tears fell from my eyes as I thought of my children, all three of them. The thought of losing another child pained me. As Dewayne continued to assault my body, I began to slowly lose consciousness. My eyelids were swollen shut, forcing me into darkness. I could hear and feel everything, but I couldn’t see anything. My end was near. And with the pain I was feeling, I hoped it was quick.
“Aye, dog! Back the fuck up!” I heard a voice yell as it got closer.
“This ain’t yo’ fucking business,” Dewayne responded.
“It is now!” The sound of a gun being cocked could be heard just a few feet away.
I waited for another blow to the body from Dewayne but I felt nothing. Instead, I heard his steps backpedal as he retreated. Seconds later, I heard screeching tires.
“My… my ki—” was all I made out before everything faded into black.
NINETEEN
I liedawake in Ever’s bed, fully clothed with my eyes trained on the circular motion of the ceiling fan. There was only one question on my mind, and I couldn’t wait until Ever came home to answer it.
Why did she flip like that?I’d been asking myself all day.
The woman I’d seen in front of my mother’s daycare was not the woman I’d been falling in love with over the last three months. She was kind, sweet, and ambitious. The woman I saw earlier looked identical to her but wasn’t her. This woman was mean and disrespectful. She’d disrespected my character and the relationship I had with one of the people that meant the most to me in this world.
To say that I was offended would be an understatement. However, I wanted to give Ever some credit. The tear residue on her cheeks and red eyes let me know that something more was going on. I simply needed her to tell me what so that I could help make the situation better.
I checked the time on my phone for the third time. It seemed to fly by, but still no Ever. With it being well after ten and me knowing that it only took twenty minutes to get to her place from her mother’s, I decided to try her line.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
“Hi, it’s Ever. Leave a message, and I’ll return your call when I’m free. Peace and blessings.”
My chest tightened as my gut began sending signals of distress. There hadn’t been a time I’d called Ever and gotten her voicemail. In fact, it was the first time I’d ever heard her voicemail. I didn’t know she had one.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
Brrrrrrrrr.
