Chapter 5 - Why Dad Came So Fast
My father lived thirty-four minutes away.
He arrived in twenty-six.
That still irritates me.
He broke traffic laws.
He admits it.
He also already knew more than I thought.
Two weeks before Easter, Dad saw a bruise on my upper arm.
I told him:
Gym accident.
He did not believe me.
He called me the next morning.
“Emily, if you ever need me, you call.”
“I know.”
“No explanation first.”
“Dad.”
“You call. Then we figure out the rest.”
I became angry.
“You think Ethan hits me?”
Silence.
Then:
“I think you’ve started answering questions I didn’t ask.”
I hung up.
I hated him for being close to the truth.
That is another thing abuse does.
It can make the person offering help feel dangerous because accepting help means admitting the situation is real.
On Easter, after Ethan knocked me down, I did not call 911.
I called Dad.
Not because police were unnecessary.
Because I needed one person whose voice existed outside Ethan’s version of reality.
Dad heard my first sentence.
Then heard Ethan shouting.
May you like
He called police from another device while keeping me connected.
That was why officers arrived almost immediately after him.
