Light Of My Life

Domestic Disturbance

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Words: 2,831 

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"What? No," Clenching her jaw shut, Devyn forces herself to breath through her nose, her eyes shut tight. "You kno- I can't do this right now. Okay? I'm working." Glancing over her shoulder, Devyn sees Richard approaching her. "I got to go." She says into her phone before hanging it up.

"All good?"

"Yup, everything's fine, let's go." Devyn nods and pushes past the man. She then climbs into the passenger side of the ambulance and slams the door shut behind her.

Richard follows, falling heavily into the driver's seat. He makes no move to start the vehicle. "I know somethings bothering you."

"Oh, yeah? How so?" Devyn asks uninterestingly, purposely avoiding his gaze.

"Because you're not fighting me to drive." Devyn huffs, her eyebrows rising and falling quickly but she doesn't say anything. "Look, ki-" The dispatcher's voice comes through the radio then, cutting off what the man was going to say. Listening closely, Richard sighs before turning the key in the ignition before pulling out onto the street.

A heavy feeling settles in Devyn's stomach and it only grows when they pull up outside the address they were given. She sees two cops struggling to get a man in handcuffs into their Cruiser. He fights them the whole way, yelling profanities as a woman chases after them, crying.

"Eyes up," Richard tells her before climbing out of the ambulance. The cops just manage to get the large man locked in the back of the car when her feet hit the ground. "Ma'am," Richard says softly to the woman who continues crying, holding her injured arm to her chest. Bruises and cuts line her face and other visible skin but she continues to try and argue with the cops to let her husband go. "Ma'am, can you come with me?"

"Hey," Another cop approaches the paramedics, gaining Devyn's attention. "There's a kid inside. I can't get her to come out but she's hurt."

"Go, I got this," Richard nods to Devyn and the young woman is quick to follow the other man into the house.

"What happened here?" She asks the cop, her knuckles turning white around her bag handle.

"Got a call, domestic disturbance," He says over his shoulder to her. "Got here to find the husband..." The young man trails off so Devyn finishes for him.

"Beating his wife?" He's young, like her, she imagines he hasn't been doing this very long. And even if he had, this isn't something you just get used to.

"The evidence points that way," He nods before stopping. "She's in there," He motions towards a bedroom. "In the closet, I can't get her to come out."

"You know her name?" When the cop shakes his head, Devyn sighs. "Okay, I got it," She assures him and slowly moves into the room.

"I'll be out here."

"Mm-hmm," Devyn hums but doesn't acknowledge the man any further. She creeps into the room, her eyes scanning the small space before they land on the closet. It isn't big, the sliding doors half-open, the clothes hanging inside sticking out slightly.

Setting her bag down, Devyn lowers herself to the floor, a few feet from the closet. "Hello," She says gently, leaning to the side. She can see the little girl inside, the darkness casting a shadow over her face. "My name is Devyn. What's yours?"

"Are you a police lady?" The girl asks in a quiet, high voice.

Devyn shakes her head and laughs softly. "No, no, I'm a paramedic. It's like a doctor." Not really, but she figures it's the best way to describe it to the child. "I get to ride in an ambulance. You know the big cars with the sirens."