Worry creeps in, “It’s late, babe, shouldn’t she be in bed? Is everything alright?”
He sighs, “Yeah, but he said he wouldn’t ask us to keep an eye on her if it wasn’t important.”
“Alright.”
Something isn’t right. Jeremy loves that little girl more than life itself. He’s two different people. He’s Jeremy the man whore on all the days that he doesn’t have Ava and he’s Daddy when he does. He doesn’t introduce just anyone to Ava and while I’m thinking about it I don’t think he’s introduced her to anyone other than us. The sun sets and rises with that little girl who looks exactly like her daddy.
About a half hour passes when Tanner goes downstairs in our fairly new home and opens the door for Jeremy. I hear a lot of swearing and that is all that I need to hear before I’m jumping up from bed to find out what the hell is going on.
When I walk into the kitchen my heart shatters into a million pieces. Ava is sitting up on the counter with a little old dirty bunny rabbit that has seen better days. Her hair, the color of midnight, is greasy and pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her princess nightgown in disgustingly dirty and has holes all over it. The bottoms of her feet are black, her finger nails are caked with dirt and she has a ring of dirt around her mouth. What the hell has happened to Ava?
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask slowly stepping into the kitchen.
As I get closer to Ava and she turns towards me I see a hand print clear as day on her tiny little face. I cover my mouth with my hand, “Oh my god.”
Tanner wraps his arms around me as Ava begins to sob. She buries her little face into her bunny rabbit and her shoulders are shaking.
Jeremy starts throwing out every curse under the sun.
“Let’s go out back, Jeremy.” Tanner says trying to calm the situation down.
Tanner kisses the top of my head before turning to Jeremy and more or less pushes him outside. I walk slowly over to Ava who still has her head buried.
“Ava,” I place my hand on her dirt covered knee. “What happened, sweetie?”
She looks up with red rimmed eyes and a tear streaked face. “Momma’s friend hit me because I wouldn’t go to sleep.”
I shake my head not wanting to believe her but the proof is there on her face. “Is that the only place he hit you?”
She nods and when she does her ponytail loosens a little more. I’ve never seen her in this condition; I wonder if this is what Jeremy deals with every time he gets her on the weekends. This is no way for a child to live. I step over to the freezer and grab a bag of frozen peas. I wrap them in a paper towel before placing it on Ava’s face.
She jumps at first but then settles and leans into it. “Does that feel better?”
She nods. So I stand there for a few minutes and hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. When the song is over I remove the peas and throw them back in the freezer.
“How about we go take a quick bath, sweetie, and then we’ll find a t-shirt of mine for you to wear. How does that sound.”
She gives me a sad smile but nods.
Carefully I help her from the counter and lead her upstairs to the master bathroom. I start the shower and help Ava out of her clothes. I give her a quick bath and take her back to my room to find something to wear.
I get her settled in my bed and I walk over to my dresser and pick up the Frozen DVD I made Tanner pick up for me the other night.
“So I heard all these little girls love Frozen.” Ava’s eyes light up. “How about you say we pop it in and watch it?”
Ava nods and her freshly washed curls come back to life.
I set the movie up and slide in beside her in my bed. Ava scoots over a little closer to me and lays her head on my shoulder and then like she’s afraid she inches her little hand over to mine and grabs a hold of two of my fingers. My heart is breaking right now for this little girl’s untold story. I’m beginning to understand Jeremy’s anger. Who can do this to a child and how can we prevent it from happening again?
About halfway into the movie Tanner appears in the doorway of our bedroom. “Hey.”
He smiles and walks over to me. He sits on the end of the bed, elbows resting on his knees. “Jeremy is losing his mind and nothing I was saying to him could calm him down.”
I run my hand up his back.
“He left. He said he’d be back in one hour. He had to take care of something but wouldn’t tell me what that something is.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “It’s okay. Ava is fast asleep and she’s safe. He loves this little girl too much to do anything stupid.”