Love Through Pain (3 page)

Chapter Three

Maria took charge as soon as they reached the hospital. She explained to both the doctor’s and police that they didn’t wash any evidence off of her body, and that she’d only patched up the cuts on her face.

“Maria
, can you please stay with me?” Jazmine tried not to let her fear bleed through the question.

“I wouldn’t think of leaving you
.” Maria kept an arm around Jazmine as she shuffled along behind the nurse to a private room.

The nurse asked her general questions about her health. Her tone crisp
, she kept her gaze on the clipboard. “When was your last menstrual cycle?”

“The fifth of this month,” Jazmine answered calmly.

She took note. “Are you on birth control?”

“Yes.”

Maria gently squeezed her hand.

“I’m going to get the doctor, and I need your consent to take pictures of the evidence.” The nurse handed Jazmine a document and a pen.

Jazmine took it, read it, and signed, handing it back. “I’ll be right back.” The RN exited the room.

“I can do this,” Jazmine whispered.

“Honey, yes you can. I’ll be right by your side.” Maria bowed her head. “Let’s pray.”

Jazmine was angry and didn’t feel like praying. How could God allow them to attack her? But she still bowed her head and closed her eyes.

“Padre nuestro que estas en los cielos….” Maria’s tears rolled down her freckled cheeks as she grasped her hands. “Amen.” She opened her eyes, and wiped her tears. “He will give you strength.”

“Maria, thank you for everything
.” She squeezed Maria’s hand, getting emotional, thinking of how hopeless she felt.

“No thanks necessary.”

The doctor entered the room with the nurse directly behind him. She held a camera in her hands.

“Miss O’Neal, I’m Doctor Arnold,” he introduced himself and took his time gently telling her about all of the exams he would be performing. They took pictures of her cuts and bruises,
and then finally did a pelvic exam, where they took a sample.

They scraped under her fingernail
s and took the sealed bag of clothing from Maria.

Tears rolled down Jazmine’s cheek
s.  She was embarrassed and ashamed. How could she let this happen? She questioned herself over and over.

The doctor wrote
his findings on the report, which the RN had been scribbling on earlier.

“Miss O’Neal, this was not your fault
,” the doctor said, holding the clipboard. “You did the right thing, coming here. The police officers will be interviewing you next.”

“Okay.” She clos
ed her eyes.

“I’m going to step out for a minute
. I need to make a phone call.” Maria squeezed her hand.

***

“Javier, can you sit with Jazmine? I have to call your father.” His dad was a truck driver, always on the road.

With no sleep in over two days
, Javier’s lids felt gritty every time he blinked.  He was used to not getting much rest. When he was deployed in Afghanistan he had to keep vigilant, day and night, with little or no sleep at all. His memories hit him like a ton of bricks. Senior Chief Valle screamed for help, but he was stuck beneath the hot heavy metal from the explosive. He remembered thinking, if they would see another day—he wondered if Jazmine felt the same way when those assholes were attacking her. He pushed off the arms of the chair to rise and trooped over to her room door, easing it open. Her eyes were closed. He dragged a chair closer to the side of the bed and sat next to her. “Jazmine, are you okay?”

She opened her brown eyes and glared at him. “No, I’m not fucking okay!” she screamed. “I was raped
!” Tears began rolling down her face.

He was at a los
s on how to handle the despondent woman. She wasn’t mad at him, she was just lashing out. He told himself he would take it—if that’s what she needed—he’d be her punching bag.

She wiped at her face, and
then surprised him when she reached out and took his hand. “Javier, I’m so sorry… You helped me. I shouldn’t take it out on you. ”

He offered her a smile. “It’s okay. If you need to take it out on me, I’m right here.”

There was a knock on the door. “Come in.” Javier straightened in the chair.

Two police officers entered her room and explained the process.

“Some of the questions may be difficult for you to answer, but we need to know.” The female officer glanced up and offered a gentle smile.

His mother opened the door. Javier stood to leave,
but Jazmine gripped his hand tighter.

“Don’t go.” He saw panic in her eyes as
she clutched him. He sat, his back ramrod straight, not wanting to hear about the attack, but she needed him.

His mom silently stepped out and closed the door.

“Can you describe your attacker?” The female cop asked.

“It was two of them.”

“Two?” She began writing in her report.

“They were both white I think.” Jazmine shut her lids
, and when the memories came flooding, she hastily opened her eyes.

“You think?” The male cop asked.

“They were saying racial slurs, I ignored them. So I assumed they were both white. I know for sure one of them was. I’m just not sure about the other one.” She paused, and he thought she might have been trying to get her thoughts together.

“The first guy that approached me was maybe six feet tall, short brown hair, brown
-grayish eyes, and I remember he had a tattoo on his left arm, right under his sleeve, it looked like a snake. His nose looked like it had been broken,” she paused before continuing wi
th her description. “The other asshole was about five feet nine, maybe, I’m really not sure. He had blonde hair, mustache, long nose, and small eyes.”

“What color were his eyes?”

“Blue, I remember how empty they looked when he struck me.” Her nose flared.

“What happened?”

Javier rubbed her hand with his thumb. “I’m here.”

“I left the Rouse Lounge, because I had an early morning conference.” She rubbed her forehead with her other hand.

“By yourself?” the male officer pitched in with a snort.

“Yes, I wanted to leave
, and my friends didn’t, so yes, I was alone.” She now glared at the male officer.

“What did you have on?”
He observed her.

“What does that matter?”
the female cop asked, putting down her pen, now shooting daggers at the male officer. Her eyes became soft when she turned to Jazmine. “Miss O’Neal, you don’t have to answer that question.”

“No it’s okay.” She stared at the male cop. “I had on a conservative black and white dress. If you don’t believe me, the doctor has the ripped up evidence in a fucking bag.” Tears brimmed beneath her lids
, blurring her vision.

Javier rose, cupped her face in his hands, and stared into her eyes. “Jazmine, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to be quiet or you’ll have to leave,” the male cop stated.

He could feel his jaw tighten as he released her face and took a seat on the edge of her mattress.

“You’re making her feel like she did something wrong,” he commented, his voice stern. “Why would you ask her what she had on? Does it fucking matter?” Javier glared at the male cop.

The policeman went to answer, but his partner cut him off. “Sir, I’ll be asking the questions from here on out
,” his female partner interceded. “Continue, ma’am.”

Jazmine took a deep breath, and
then closed her eyes again.

“I parked my rental on the street behind the club, because there was no parking. I didn’t want to walk all the way around
, so I decided to cut through the alley. Just before I turned, three men approached me.” She wiped her cheeks. “They started speaking to me, telling me how beautiful I was, and then one of them asked if I would go home with him. I ignored him and kept walking. I didn’t notice that two of them followed me until one of them said, ‘Bitch, you think you’re too good for us?’ They called me other degrading names, I don’t wish to repeat.  I kept walking faster, and one of them grabbed my arm. When I turned around, I slapped him, and told him to take his fucking hands off of me. That’s when he punched me in the face, and I fell to the ground. The other guy pulled me up, and I fought back with everything in me, but it was two of them against me.” She continued telling them everything that happened as she relived it.

She could feel their hands on her
; one guy was behind her holding her mouth while the other ripped her dress, calling her a cunt, and punching her. She tried to scream, she fought but they were stronger. He punched her, calling her names, while the other whispered in her ear you know you black girls like it rough.  They threw her on the ground, and the taller one tore her panties off. She fought until she had no strength left. Every time she kicked, he punched her stomach. One pinned her hands down with his legs, while covering her mouth, and settled in between her legs and raped her with no mercy. There were no more tears to cry, she gave up. They laughed while they took turns raping her, and after they were done, they continued to beat her.

Jazmine started shaking. Javier forgot about not touching her, and
he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, they can’t hurt you anymore.”

She
trembled uncontrollably against his side. He kissed her temple. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” A tear escaped his eyes. He had never showed emotion in front of anyone, but this was hard to stomach—as she told the events, he lived it with her.

The female officer wiped her eyes.

They asked Javier questions about when he got there and what he saw. He answered all their questions, never letting her go.

The police officers described
the process, signed the police report, and quietly left her room.

Perched on the bed, he held her close
; his shirt was wet with her tears and snot. He didn’t care.

“Please take me to my hotel
,” she murmured against his chest. “I want to go home.”

***

They pulled up to the valet, and Javier opened his door and jumped out his truck. He rushed to the passenger side, opened Jazmine’s door, and gently helped her out.

She had shades on and kept her face down as they entered the hotel.

Their pace was slow as they walked to the elevator. “Which floor?” He pressed the small, north facing, lit triangle.

“Ten,” she
answered, as the elevator doors opened.

They stepped in
, and Javier pushed the button. After a few seconds, the elevator slid open on her floor, and they walked out. Their footsteps were muffled on the plush carpet as he followed her down the hall, until she stopped and swiped her card.

Javier
stopped in the doorway. “Jazmine, if you need anything.” He pulled out a piece of paper with his number on it and handed it to her. “Call me.”

“Thank you.” She glanced at the paper and took it,
and then crossed over the threshold

“Have a safe flight home.” He
gazed at her, backing away.

“Wait…” Jazmine said above a whisper. “Please
, don’t go…”

He gazed at her
. “Are you sure?”

“Yes…”

He walked in behind her and closed the door.

“Have a seat
.” Jazmine pointed at a chair in the waiting area.

He sat and didn’t say a word. If she needed a bodyguard, then that’s what he’d be.

She pulled off her sunglasses, walked to her suitcase, and pulled out some clothes. “I need to take a shower.” Jazmine rushed past him to the bathroom. He heard the snick as she engaged the lock.

***

As soon as she closed the door, she broke down crying, sliding to the floor in tears.
Why me?

Jazmine grabbed the counter, pulled herself up, and stared at her reflection in the mirror
, and then threw her shades in the sink. She glared at the bruises and cuts on her face.  Jazmine touched the handprint around her neck, getting angry. “Get your fucking self together; those bastards won’t win.” She hurriedly stripped her clothes off. “I’m stronger than this.”

She stepped into the stall, turning
on the shower, and stood under the spray of water; she grabbed the washcloth and started scrubbing her body, trying to wash off all the memories of those monsters. She must’ve been in the shower for an hour—it felt like it—stepping out, she dried herself with a towel, and rapidly put her underwear, T-shirt, and jeans on.