Her cell phone rang. She sprang up out of bed confused and wondering who would be calling now. It was one in the morning and she was immediately afraid. If anyone calls at one oâclock in the morning, it is never good news. She fumbled around in the dark until she was able to locate the phone.
âHello?â, she said in a very confused and sleepy voice.
âTina, I need your help.â The voice was familiar but it sounded different.
âItâs Victor.â
Victor was a friend she had found on the Internet. A very kind man that she had hit it off with. They had similar interests and desires, but because they were both with other people, they had decided to remain friends.
Victor had demons in his closet like anyone else, but he had always confessed them all to Tina. She knew that he was being abused by his wife. Something that he had only shared with a precious few. She also knew that as much as he wanted to leave his wife, he was a very responsible person and didnât want to just abandon his family. He had struggled with this for years. The amazing part was that even though his family life was complete chaos, he was still able to be successful in every other aspect of his life. He owned and operated a successful business. He coached his sonâs little league team. He was an all around good guy.
Tina didnât understand why anyone would want to harm such a sweet man. She didnât understand why or how someone could willingly form a fist, and throw it in his direction. He couldnât understand it either. For a very long time, he dealt with this bizarre behavior and as anyone would expect, he started to see after effects of it. Not physical ones, she never did damage to his body, all the damage was to his heart. He had fallen out of love with his wife. Who could ever love someone that punched you in the face, or that kicked you in the stomach.
âWhere are you?â She said to him desperately. âWhat is wrong?â
âJust meet me at this addressâŚâŚplease.â Victorâs words were soft and strained.
He provided Tina with the address and even gave her some directions. She dressed as quickly as she could. She was very worried because he wouldnât tell her what was wrong. She didnât really care, she was his friend and she wanted to be there for him no matter what it was.
She pulled into the driveway of a Motel 6. She double checked the number on the side of the building before pulling in. He hadnât mentioned that he was in a motel. She parked in the middle of the lot, not knowing which way to go. She got out of her car and stood there for a moment while she formulated a plan. Just then she heard a door open. She turned around to see Victor sticking his head out of a door. He waved her to him and then disappeared inside. She ran over to his room.
Tina slowly opened up the door and stepped inside. The room was dark. Only the light of the television could be seen. She struggled to see him in the dim light. His voice still didnât sound right and she was very concerned. She was also a little hurt that he did not greet her at the door.
âVictor, what is wrong? Are you OK?â She said with a very concerned tone.
âYeah, just let me get my shirt, and then we can go. I want to get something to eat.â Normally she wouldnât think twice about this but it was now 2:00 am. Victor was on the other side of the dark room, looking through his suitcase. She could tell he could not find what he was looking for. He turned and flipped on a switch.
When she caught a glimpse of him, her purse hit the floor and both of her hands covered her mouth. She nearly started to cry.
Victorâs arm was in a sling, and his body had deep purple bruises. They were on his back, and his sides. He was also scratched all over, some very deep. She could also see that he had a fat lip. It was very large and swollen on the side and it had stitches holding it together. His forehead had a large knot on it. He had obviously been beaten severely. Who had done such a thing. Who could have hurt such a kind man.
Victor fumbled through his suitcase and slowly pulled out a shirt. His back was to her. He was embarrassed. He was hoping to be dressed before she had even arrived, but had struggled to even get himself to this point. Everything hurt and every movement, large or small, brought great amounts of pain. The pain killers were not helping him either. He didnât have any food in his stomach and the strong medicine was affecting his mind. He was dizzy and his mind was hazy.
Tina walked toward him slowly.
âItâs ok. I got it.â He said. He was humiliated and didnât want her to see him close up.
Tina ignored him. She walked up behind him and, as tenderly as she could, she helped him put on his shirt. She knew that he didnât want to talk about it so she moved in silence. First, she slid his right arm into the shirt and then wrapped the rest over the arm that was in the sling. She then moved around in front of him and buttoned the front. Her hands moved gingerly, carefully avoiding his damaged flesh. She looked into his face, but he would not make eye contact. She felt for him. She wanted him to tell her what had happened, but she decided to wait on him. She wanted him to be comfortable telling her. He walked over to the nightstand and picked up his wallet and keys.
âDo you mind driving?â He asked softly.
âNo, not at all.â She replied.
She walked over and picked up her purse and he grabbed his jacket and then they both headed for the door. He tried his best not to show his pain as he got into the car. She still noticed that he could do nothing without pain. The only thing that broke their silence was a brief discussion on where to eat. They decided on the local In-N-Out. There is nothing like an In-N-Out burger in the middle of the night. The arrived and ordered. Even though the night chill had already come, Victor asked if it would be ok if they ate outside. He wanted the fresh air.
As they ate, Victor opened and began talking. He told a nightmarish tale. He was lying in bed after a long argument with the wife. He didnât notice that she had gotten up. Maybe he had dozed off, maybe he had just plain ignored her, but he couldnât ignore what happened next. He told of how he heard a thud, and realized that it was something hitting him. Immediately after the thud he realized he couldnât breathe. His wife had picked up the bat that they kept in the bedroom for protection from an attacker, and she was swinging it like a big league hitter. The only problem was that she was swinging in his direction.
The first hit was in the ribs, the second, his leg, and after that, he jus remembers trying to escape. He made it to the bedroom door, and then another hit to his back. He was in total fear, not of death, death would be better then his current life, but he was afraid he would this would never end and he would be pummeled over and over. He finally opened the bedroom door and ran out of the house.
The police were called and he was finally able to get some clothes and medical attention. He was able to gather enough strength to gather some clothes. He was both embarrassed and grateful as a kind police woman helped him pack, and then he headed out, never to return.
Victor showed no emotion as he told the story. He was a zombie, sitting there with his burger in one hand, and a blank stare in his eyes.