I Don't See, What I See

I could hear her. 

Again.

She was screaming as per usual, followed by muffled pleads for mercy and faint sobbing. I knew she was getting another ‘lesson’. Her husband, Matthew, was my best friend but I found it hard to stop him from doing what he saw fit. His ideals were illogical and downright narcissistic but at the end of the day, his decisions were his. I had always been taught not to interfere in other people's business and I tried to restrain myself from getting involved but hearing her every other night broke a cord in me.

I was hoping that Matthew would eventually stop but I could hear his blows getting louder and harder. Being a gym junkie, just like me, he had the strength to overpower anyone in his way, especially her. I got up from the couch and decided to head to bed. Once under the covers, I tried to block out her screams but it seemed damn near impossible. I peeked at the clock and my eyes widened as I realized it was half past midnight. Had he been beating her for two hours straight? I threw the sheets off, stormed out of my apartment and stepped two doors down to his. I raised my fist and knocked on the door.

“Go away,’ Matthew shouted with anger evident in his voice.

I knocked again, saying, “It’s Ben. Open the door Matt”

I heard some shuffling and then the door burst open to reveal Matthew’s large form. I was much more muscular than him by far but we were somewhat similar in appearance. We both had short brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin which got us mistaken for being brothers. There was no way I’d want to be related to an abusive wretch such as him. You might be wondering why we were still friends, and it’s only because I’m able to intervene from time to time. I felt responsible for inviting him to the gym, getting him fit for all the horrors he inflicted on her. I blamed myself more than I blamed Matthew.

“It’s midnight,” I told him calmly. “You need to stop”

He smirked at me with menacing eyes before opening the door wider. My eyes followed his and I caught a full display of his wife’s chest. Her name was Amelie and she had been a teacher at the local preschool until a few years ago when Matthew decided she should be a housewife full-time. Her linen shirt was torn, hanging off her shoulders in a tattered mess and no bra. Her skirt was luckily still intact but bunched around her hips. Was he…

“What are you doing to her Matt?”

I could hear the pain and accusation in my voice, trying to hold my anger back.

“You know exactly what I’m doing,” Matthew growled. “I have the right to get pleasure from her”

“Not by force!” I answered back. “That’s illegal”

I pushed past him and entered the room, closing the door behind me and averting my eyes from Amelie’s naked state. Her screams had somewhat settled and all I heard was a sob every few minutes. Why had he tried to rape her? Why couldn’t he just be good to her to get what he wanted in return? The thought sickened me that I had let this go on for too long, without saying a word or trying to stop him. Matthew stood in front of me with a scowl on his face and crossed his arms.

“This has nothing to do with you --,” Matthew shrugged nonchalantly.

“It has everything to do with me!” I interjected. “From the moment I gave you that discount card to the gym to the night I heard you beating the shit out of her! I remember it all too vividly and it’s been three years since”

“So what are you gonna do?” Matthew challenged, “Stop me from hitting my wife?”

I gave him a hard look and tightened my fists. 

“This ends tonight,” I demanded, “If you hit her again, I swear, I will put you in the ground. You’re my best friend and I love you like a brother but this isn’t right”

He gave me a burning look, his eyes shifting from me to Amelie. I could tell he was racking his brain to come up with a counter but was failing. He was five foot, a whole world short of my six. If he came at me with brute strength, I could easily return the favor with little effort. If he decided to use my weight against me, I could still rip him a new one. I turned away from him and slowly approached Amelie on the floor. By now she had calmed down and obviously heard every word I said. I kept my eyes level with hers.

“Go change your clothes,” I whispered.

She shakily got to her feet on her own and ambled down to the hall to their bedroom. 

“Bold of you to order my wife around,” Matthew laughed.

I stood there and ignored him until Amelie returned wearing a blue sundress and flats. Her hair was combed away from her face, covered in a little makeup to hide the black eye and other bruises she sported. I sighed. This whole thing was a mess. I took the house phone off the receiver and pushed it into her hand. 

“I don’t need to tell you what to do with that, should I?” I asked.

She stood in shock for a moment but then complied. She dialed 911 and I waited to hear the dispatcher’s voice. I tuned out her voice as she gave a report to the dispatcher and focused on Matthew who still stood by the door. His arms were no longer crossed but straight at his side and clenched into fists. I didn’t want to believe that he was about to justify his reasons for abusing her but I knew better now. 

“Do you really think I’ll get charged for this?” Matthew asked angrily. “She’ll never witness in front of a judge. She knows what I’ll do to her if she does”

Amelie finished her statement to the dispatcher and held up her hand. 

“Five minutes until the police get here,” She informed in a small voice.

“If she doesn’t, then I will,” I concluded. “I’ve known you all my life, I was your best man at your wedding, I was there for you when your parents died. We’ve lived next door to each other for ten years and if they call me to be a character witness, I’m not going to hold back i telling them exactly who you are”

As said, a knock at the door alerted all three of us and Matthew opened the door to reveal two police officers. They introduced themselves as Officer Palmer and Grant. I instructed Amelie to remove the makeup at the kitchen sink and allow Office Grant to inspect her face. They didn’t have to ask much as the house was still in disarray and Amelie was shaking. After a few minutes of going over the evening's incident, Matthew was arrested and Amelie was escorted to the hospital.

In a few days, I got a call from the police chief to come in to give my statement again and asked what was going to happen to my friend. The chief explained that there had been overwhelming reports from other neighbors which corroborated with mine. The final judgement for domestic abuse was 2-4 years in prison along with a six thousand dollar fine. Safe to say, Matthew would be getting his overdue punishment. I left the station that day with a huge weight being lifted off my shoulder for changing Amelie’s life.

I was happy that she was rid of him and I wanted to apologize on his behalf but I hadn’t seen her for two months. The apartment had remained empty. I was worried about her but to my shock, I ran into her in the lobby one night. She was sitting down, wearing a grey maxi dress and black boots. Her overall appearance looked happier and healthier. Once she saw me, she shot to her feet and hurried over.

“Ben,” She shyly greeted.

“Amelie, I see you’ve been doing well,” I replied. “I was almost ready to start a search party.”

She chuckled at my joke. “I’ve moved back in with my mother. I just wanted to come by, realizing I never properly thanked you that day”

I gently grasped her upper arm and led her upstairs to my apartment. Our conversation was better behind closed doors than out in the open. Once we were inside, I gestured for her to take a seat. 

“The court hearing is next month,” I advised. “The Judge can give him up to 4 years in prison. I hope during that time, you get as far away as possible from Miami.”

She gave me a surprised look but soon looked to the floor.

“I don’t plan on leaving my mother behind,” She smiled, still looking at the floor. “I just wanted to say thanks for everything and hope that we could be friends”

Well…

We exchanged numbers and after another hour of catching up, I escorted her downstairs and hailed a taxi over. She climbed in, gave me a wave and then the driver took off. I watched as the yellow car joined the evening rush and Amelie stuck her head out the window. She tried to shout something out the window, her mouth moving but no sound in sync. 

It was after she fully disappeared that I realized she had said, “Thanks for changing my life”