I Did(n't Do) It

Chapter 27: Mothers Care (2/2)

Violet sat there on her bed, her legs crossed and her head down.

"Are you nervous?" Hearing another voice made Violet's skin crawl.

She looked up, relieved to see it was only Ruth. "Yes" She said, sighing, "I've never been in court before."

Ruth took a deep breath, "Come on down here, I need to share with you something." Violet looked at her, wary, she looked back up expectantly, "Well are you going to come down here or not? Because I am way too old to be jumping that high."

"Oh!" Violet said, hurrying down and landing loudly on the ground.

"Now, come here." She patted the spot next to her on her bed, scooting over to make more room for Violet, "I am going to tell you why I am in here."

"Why?" Violet asked, glancing over at her.

"So that when you get back in here, you know why I am the way that I am."

"You think I will be back here?-"

"Now hush up, darling." Ruth took a deep breathe, settling her racing heart. "I moved to America about 30 years ago, when I was a teenager. I barely spoke a lick of the English language, I knew how to say, 'yes' 'no' 'bathroom' and 'what'" She grinned, chuckling, "I was living with some very distant relatives, and they thankfully had gotten me a tutor. His name was Chad" She gulped before continuing, "Now, Chad had taught me a lot, he really was a lot of help; helped me with my homework, came over everyday to just check up on me, made sure I was eating and drinking -- staying healthy. So, as is the case with many, we developed a love interest for one another. We started to date and eventually we got married" She smiled, remembering the love of her life, "Our wedding was a small one; friends and family, and then two years into our marriage we had a child, her name was Olive. Well, I can't have children. Olive was a sweet little girl from Chad's first marriage -- he finally won custody."

Violet could sense Ruth holding back tears, she took a deep breathe, lightly touching her tattoo.

"It was tough, caring for a child for the first time." She said, smiling, "I saw my mother do it, she would have the all neighborhood kids come over. She would make breakfast, lunch, dinner -- There wasn't a lot of mornings where I would come downstairs and there wouldn't be at least three kids sleeping on our couches or the floor." Ruth sat there for a minute, thinking back on her life at home, "She made it look so easy..." She turned to Violet, grinning, "Let me tell you, it's not." She laughed, doubling over. "Oh man, that child was crazy! She was running up and down the halls, making funny faces and screaming all day long!"

"Sounds like a handful!" Violet agreed, smiling at Ruth and her openness.

"She was, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world." She straightened her lips, turning more towards Violet, her face serious, "A couple years later down the road, our marriage started getting strained. Chad started to get stressed at work, he eventually lost his job, and turned to drinking away his sorrows every night. Unfortunately, Chad was an angry drunk, it started with screaming, and yelling throughout the night then it escalated to physical, he would grab me, shake me, threaten me -- but I didn't have the courage to get out of the marriage.

I remember thinking, we had such a happy life, am I really going to throw all that away because of such a small problem? We have gotten over much worse, we can get over this, too. The breaking point for me was when I came home to him..." Ruth clenched her jaw, her eyes became dull, "If there is one thing in this world that mothers care about more than the health of their child, it's the safety of their child." She took a deep breath, her body shaking slightly. "That piece of shit was hurting our daughter..."

Violet could see the pain in Ruth's eyes, it was as if she was reliving that night all over again.

"The doesn't usually take kindly to child abusers, but they take less of an appreciation to people of color." Ruth took a deep breath, "Olive isn't with him anymore, the state at least would grant me that..." She glanced at Violet, "I should have killed him. I WOULD have killed him had they not gotten there when they did."