Crashing Down to Standing Up

At this point in my life I was finally beginning to see a glimpse of hope but as you continue to read my story you'll see that those glimpses of hope remained just that...glimpses.  I finally decided once and for all to leave the abuse of my marriage and was now entering into unknown territory, a healthy relationship.  Things were great and yet they were also hard.  It seems odd that one would actually have to learn how to accept being treated well, however this was the case for me.  Through the years I have found that it's difficult to leave even the worst of situations for something wonderful simply because the something wonderful is so foreign. The reality is, despite how great the new normal is, it is still new and therefore oddly difficult.  Little did I know I was soon to be thrown back in between the worst and the best and I was going to have either choose to run away or choose to dig in my heels.

The imprisonment of my soon to be ex didn't last long and he was released to await more court dates.  In the mean time he was living in an apartment under my name and still had many of Alicia's and my belongings which I needed to get back.  He lived there so therefore he was in charge, yes I know, crazy laws.  I contacted him to retrieve my things and set a time to come get them.  I called Christopher to tell him where I was going and was concerned enough to have him call the police if he did not hear from me shortly.  Upon entering the apartment it took all of 2 minutes for an arguement to break out and the next thing I knew as I was collecting some things I was hit from behind with a glass.  At this point a fight broke out, despite him having a friend there watching the whole thing take place. I somehow managed to get away and get out the door and flee.  I drove down the road and pulled over to call Christopher from a pay phone and he instructed me to come to his friends house where he was at.  He took one look at me with a swollen eye and fat lip and called the police.  I will always remember this moment..everything was crashing down.  He was seeing the truth of my life, I was ashamed and embarrassed, thoughts of why I was even bothering trying to change were flooding my mind.  To me, it was proof yet again, I didn't deserve more.  I wanted desperately to just run away screaming and crying a sad "I told you so".

However, what happened next sent me into a state of shock.

The police showed up, took pictures, filed a report and I agreed to press charges.  After the officer left, Christopher and his friend, in my mind, did the unimaginable.  They picked up the phone, called my ex without him having any knowledge of who they were, and began to threaten him and call him out for the evil things he was doing.  They passionately put a healthy fear into him and the moment they did that I could literally feel my power returning and my shoulders relaxing.  For once in my life, someone had my back and I couldn't believe it!  Just moments before, someone stood on the sidelines watching me being beaten and now Christopher and this new friend I had just met were defending me.  I cannot put into words the emotions I had in this moment.  I just knew for the first time that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be ok.  I was no longer alone, someone was finally standing up for me.  And boy, was I going to need it!