Free The Truth About Love by Emma Nichols

life without meeting her, without needing to be here.  The word ‘victim’ grated on me.
    “You can set her down on the floor.”  She gestured to the carpet. 
    “Not yet.  She’ll yank out her feeding tube,” I explained.
    The woman’s eyes followed the tubing dangling from Kylie’s belly all the way to the inconspicuous small black nylon backpack.   “ Oh.  Well, let’s talk about why you are here.”
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    So the questions began.  Only the questions didn’t tell the whole story.   There was no place for me to explain he had been sleeping twenty hours a day.  They didn’t care I had tried everything to get him to see a doctor because I saw he was in the throes of depression.  It was as though none of it mattered, only it did to me.  
    “Do you want me to request that he have a mental evaluation?” Her pen was poised over the computer keyboard.
    I looked up.   “ You can do that?”
    She leaned back in her chair and smiled.  “Oh, sure, honey.  I can request anything.  It’s whether or not the judge will do it.”
    My mood brightened some.  Suddenly the situation didn’t seem so hopeless as it had before.   “ Yes, please.  He’s not the man I fell in love with.  He’s changed in horrible and frightening ways.  And I wanted to believe that if he changed once, he could change back.  He could be better again.”
    I swallowed hard, wondering if I sounded as pathetic as I felt.  The beeping of Kylie’s pump broke the silence.  With the expertise that came from doing this multiple times a day for well over a year, I had her tubing unhooked, her button shut, her onesie tucked, and she was on the floor playing in under a minute.  Watching her check out her surroundings, crawl around and explore helped my heart more than anything.  Knowing she wasn’t damaged beyond repair made me feel much better about all my choices.
    After what seemed like forever, Paula went over the paperwork we had created.   “ So, we’re asking for an Order of Protection. Anything else?”
    I nodded because the Order of Protection wasn’t what brought me to their office.  After all, I knew how to stay away from him.  If I had been able to have my way, I would already be far far away from him, out of the state, even.  Still, I could see how important it was to do everything legally.   “ I want custody of Kylie.  Can we do that?”
    “Absolutely.”  She marked a box.  
    “And I want my vehicle.  I need it.  Kylie has lots of doctor appointments.  And if there is an emergency…”  My voice faded as I considered what might happen.
    It was obvious she cared nothing for the details as I tried to build my case for vehicle possession. “Do the two of you own more than one vehicle?”
    “Yes. He bought the truck while we were dating.  That’s in his name.  Then we purchased the Edge together after we were married, while Kylie was still in the hospital.  That’s in his name also.”  I shrugged.
    She nodded and typed.   “ So you want the Edge?”
    “Yes.”  For some reason, I felt greedy.
    She looked at me for a moment before speaking.   “ Girl, you don’t have to look so guilty.  You are married.  You are entitled.  The house can be yours, too.”
    “I don’t want the house; it’s his.  He bought it before we were together.  I always promised him if things went south that I’d never try to take his house.”
    “So you don’t want the house?”  She looked at me in surprise.
    “No.”  We’d broken so many rules already.  It had to stop somewhere.
    Paula folded her hands in her lap as she asked me the next serious question.  “Where will you stay?”
    “I’m not sure yet.  I have options.”  I did have options, like Florida to stay with my mother, or Grace’s home out in Raleigh.  I really wanted to recuperate with Jules in Atlanta.  Staying with Lily and Lyle, not an option.
    She shook her head at me.  Once again, I was reminded I