The next few hours, Safi watches as this little boy had his body poked and prodded to check his overall physical health and to gather evidence if necessary. Her suspicions are correct and the physician in charge found anal tearing and semen in the boy's underwear. Safi holds back tears as the doctor tells the mother her findings.
"I will need to make a report about this, so will you stay with this family for a moment? I'm sure the police will be on their way soon", the physician whispers to Safi away from the boy and his mother. Safi nods and the physician hurries out of the door.
"What will happen now? I feel so dumb. I didn't even notice something happening to my baby boy", the mother weeps, falling back into the chair. Safi rushes over and pulls her into a hug.
"Everything will be okay. What matters now is that we caught it. There's some DNA and physical evidence that he's been hurt. I will be here with you every step of the way", Safi tries to reassure the mother while she's sobbing. Her little boy walks up to his mother and pats her hand. She looks up at him and holds onto his hand.
"Mommy is going to protect you baby boy. I swear to you, I will protect you", she sobs. Safi sits next to the mother, discussing what may happen next when she receives a call. She apologizes to the mother and steps out of the examination room. Safi looks at the caller ID and her heart drops.
Eman is calling her. She panics a little bit but picks up the call.
"Hello..?" She hesitates.
"Hey, Safi! It's Eman, you didn't forget about me right?" He chuckles.
"No, I'm not the one who forgot about the other."
"Oh right, about that. I got super swamped with work and some personal life things. I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that. It's all good though right? I'm calling you now, aren't I?"
Safi scoffs and rolls her eyes.
"You could've sent me a text or something that stuff came up. I'm an understanding person."
"Yeah, I thought about that, but I figured you know, that an attractive woman like you would have a whole bunch of guys hitting you up in your phone. I didn't want my text to get lost amidst all that."
Safi could not believe what she just heard. A bunch of guys hitting up her phone? Did she really seem like the type to keep a bunch of men in her phone because she happened to be attractive?
"Do I really.....you know what nevermind. Have a good day Dr. Kalu." She hangs up the call and leans against the wall. To think, she almost got sucked in by this guy. All this mess of the dream and feeling sparks has her head in the wrong place.
It's time to refocus and pay attention to more important things. Love will come when she needs it most and right now her priority is the well-being of this little boy and his mother.
Safi reenters the exam room and finds the little boy playing with a toy on the floor and the mother asleep with the baby. She closes the door and the mother wakes up abruptly.
"Oh I'm sorry, I must have dozed off. I don't get much sleep these days with the baby crying through the night sometimes," she apologizes readjusting herself and the baby boy in the chair.
"Don't even worry about it. This is a lot to take in within a few hours. Take a nap if you need to, I can watch your children. You'll need the energy for when the police get here", Safi says as she takes the baby out of the mother's arms and rocks him. The mother nods and grabs a blanket out of the diaper bag and hands it to Safi. Safi wraps the baby in the blanket as the mother drifts back off to sleep.
An hour passes as Safi tries to entertain the little boy and keep his baby brother content. A knock on the door interrupts them playing with some blocks.
"Come in!" Safi exclaims, trying her best to stand up with the newborn in her arms. A man and a woman walk into the exam room while Safi tries to wake up the mother.
"Hello, my name is Detective Morales with Boston PD and this is my partner, Detective Johns. We're with the Special Victims Unit. We got a report about a child sexual abuse case," the woman says while flashing her badge to Safi and the mother.
"Ah yes, it's my son. The little boy on the floor over there," the mother points to her son still playing with the blocks.
"Okay, we just want to ask you a few questions before we proceed with the investigation. Would you mind stepping outside so we can talk?" Detective Morales addresses the mother while looking down at her son.
"Oh, okay. Um, Safiya, would you mind watching my boys please?" the mother asks. Safi nods, rocking the baby.
The mother steps outside the room with the detectives and then everything changes.
"Diamond Baker, you're under arrest for child neglect and endangerment of a child. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an....."
YOU ARE READING
The Anatomy of You
RomanceBeing a black woman in the medical field can be a harsh world sometimes. You've got all the odds against you being black and being a woman, entering a field where there's not many others that look like you. Safiya (or Safi for short) is a young Ken...
