Chapter 3 - THE WEIGHT OF UNCONCEALED TRUTHS
The young female officer stepped closer,
she placed a gentle hand near me,
trying to offer some comfort,
while her partner took the notes,
my mother began to weep softly,
the tears were fake and forced,
she wanted them to feel pity,
she wanted them to stop writing,
Emily how could you say that,
she sobbed into her wet tissue,
your brother loves you so much,
he was just having a bad day,
he lost his job this morning,
he was under so much stress,
Officer Martinez did not look up,
he kept his focus on me,
ignoring her dramatic performance completely,
don't listen to her,
he told me very quietly,
just tell me about the argument,
what started the fight tonight,
I cleared my tight throat,
trying to find my lost voice,
he wanted my car keys,
I told the officer honestly,
he wanted to go buy alcohol,
and I told him no,
I told him he was drunk,
he got furious with me,
he started breaking the furniture,
he smashed our grandmother's picture,
the glass went everywhere on the floor,
I told him to leave the house,
I yelled at him to stop,
that is when he grabbed me,
his hand was like a vice,
he caught the back of my hoodie,
and yanked me off my feet,
he slammed me into the drywall,
the impact was incredibly hard,
I heard a loud cracking sound,
then everything went completely dark,
for a few terrifying seconds,
when I woke up on the floor,
the blood was already running down,
it was soaking into my clothes,
mom was standing right there,
she saw the whole thing happen,
but she told him to run away,
she told him to leave before,
before anyone could see the mess,
the female officer hissed in anger,
she looked at my mother coldly,
is this true ma'am,
she asked with an edge,
her voice was sharp like steel,
mom shook her head frantically,
no no that is a lie,
Emily is exaggerating everything now,
she has always been dramatic,
she fell on the stairs earlier,
the blood came from the stairs,
Dr. Reeves stepped forward then,
she pointed at the deep wound,
this is a blunt force injury,
the doctor stated with absolute certainty,
it matches a flat vertical surface,
it does not match a stair fall,
the pattern of the laceration,
is consistent with being thrown,
into a solid plaster wall,
she cannot lie about the science,
the officer closed his little pad,
he looked at his young partner,
let us go to the house,
he said with a grim expression,
we need to find the brother,
we need to secure the scene,
before he cleans the blood away,
or tries to run from town,
mom stood up in a panic,
her purse fell to the floor,
spilling her things everywhere,
you can't arrest my son,
she screamed at the blue uniforms,
I will sue this hospital,
I will sue all of you,
but nobody was listening anymore,
the wheels of justice were turning,
crushing her desperate illusions,
and exposing the ugly reality,
of the Carter family dynamic,
May you like
which was rooted in violence,
and sustained by silent compliance.
