Hidden Wounds

Part 7

"Ms. Lina, I'm sorry to wake you but the police are here to speak with you." I heard a soft voice in my ear.

I tried to open my eyes, but I could only open my left one halfway. I peeked around the room I was in, I heard a monitor beeping and it came rushing back to my memory. The fight, the ass whooping and the hospital 'drop off' I reached to my face and touched my nose, it was bandaged heavily, and I realized there was a tube down my throat. I touched my eye and it was swollen, and I immediately started crying.

"Don't worry Lina, they are gonna help catch the guy who did this to you. And I hope they lock him up for the rest of his life." The nurse said calmly, rubbing my shoulders.

I knew it wasn't going to happen, no way I was going to tell them who really did this to me; but I nodded my head anyway. The nurse opened the room door and two policemen walked in. I wiped my tears and looked at them warily.

"Good morning ma'am. I'm Officer Dawson and this is Officer Gray." The taller one introduced themselves.

Officer Gray was standing back, he looked at me with pity and I looked away. Dawson pulled up a chair and sat down. Gray kept standing, I peeked back at him, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. I assessed how his uniform fit snugly on his broad shoulders and his bald head looked freshly shaved. His skin ebony skin was smooth as butter and his lips were making me think things I shouldn't have been thinking.

"You won't be able to talk to us right now, so we just came down to get some yes or no questions. When you're feeling better we will follow up with you, is that ok?" Dawson asked, his blue eyes staring at me with sympathy.

I nodded my head and closed my eyes again. I just wanted to be sleep in my own bed, not dealing with this nightmare. How could Anthony do this to me? I asked myself. I knew shit wasn't going to change, and I knew I needed to get away from him, but my heart wasn't going to let me put him in jail. I knew that much, I would have to get the strength to leave him on my own. Dawson asked me some basic questions such as if my wallet and phone were stolen, if I was in a nearby area, if I remembered what the guy looked like, if I remember what he was wearing, was I raped, was there any weapons involved, did I feel safe going back home, etc. I answered them with a simple head nods and shakes. After ten minutes of questions Dawson stood up.

"Alright Lina, I think we have enough information for now. The doctor said you should be healed up in a week or so. Be on the lookout for our call. And if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us." He handed me a card and I took it.

Dawson walked out the door, but Gray stayed behind. He walked over to me and looked me directly in the eyes.

"If you don't get away from him now, next time you won't be so lucky." His words pierced my brain and I widened my eyes.

Gray patted my shoulder and walked out the room without another word. How did he know I was lying? The nurse came back in right after them and adjusted my sheets. I reached up and tried to pull the tube out of my mouth, but she stopped me.

"Oh no honey, you need that for oxygen. It'll be hard to breathe through a broken nose. I know it's kind of annoying, but we have to take care of you."  She told me before she walked out the room and I was left alone.

Every time I breathed my sides hurt, I looked down at my arms, there were bruises scattered across it and my swollen eye was causing my vision to be blurry. I wanted to cry but I didn't. I just turned on the TV and watched informercials until I fell asleep again. When I woke up the Dr. was standing over me, writing something down on his clipboard.