Breaking the Cycle

“Our relationship…” My eyes frantically searched the faces of both detectives. What would they think of a man who allowed his woman to beat him? My chances of avoiding any prison time relied on me telling the truth, no matter how embarrassing.

I slowly relayed to them the events of that night, at least the ones that I could remember. Telling them of incidents before. Sounding like the stories told by women countless times before. Women that had been labeled crazy because they stayed in the relationship. Here I was, living proof that it didn’t only happen to women.

“Dr. Adelson, you’re not alone,” Detective Thomas said reassuringly.

“I know it now.”

“Since she’s accusing you of attacking her, we still have to look into it further. Is there anyone we can talk to who will confirm what you’re telling us?”

Detective Thomas took out her notepad and wrote down the information as I gave her Nisha’s and Dr. Griffith’s phone numbers.

“What exactly did Candy say happened that night?” I asked.

They both looked at me with a sense of pity.

“While we can’t go into details, we can tell you she’s accused you of attacking her, thereby justifying her reasoning for damn near beating your brains in with a pan as self-defense.”

“And people wonder why abuse is never reported.” I gestured toward my shackled wrist.

“We can take care of that.” Detective Thomas pulled a set of keys from her pocket and undid the handcuffs. I rubbed the sore spot and thanked her. “We’re going to give them a call and then we’ll get back to you.”

“How long have I been here?” I rubbed the stubble on my face.

“About three days.”

“Three days?!” The pain in my head came back quick and strong. I blinked in an attempt to keep it at bay.

“Okay, I have to ask that you let Dr. Adelson get his rest.” The nurse ushered them to the door. Detective Thomas left her card on the bedside table.

“We’ll be talking to you soon.”

I slightly nodded my head.

I had attacked her. Wow, I couldn’t believe she would even think to say something like that. After all of the pain I had suffered at her hands, she had the nerve to flip the script on me.

I picked up the phone and dialed my house. She picked up on the third ring. I was furious that she was still in my house.

“What are you doing there? Why would you want to be in the house of a man that attacked you?”

“Eddie, Baby, I was just on my way to see you and—”

“Save it, Candy. The police are on their way there now. So, don’t get any ideas about destroying or taking anything. I never thought you’d lie like that on me. The best thing right now would be for you to gather your things and leave. For good.”

“Eddie, just hear me out. You know I love you. Baby, we can work this out—”

“Work it out? What is there to work out?” The more we talked, the more my head throbbed. “Candy, before you take the baggage that you’re carrying into another relationship, you need to get some help. Goodbye.” I hung up without another word.

CHAPTER SIX

I’m Edward Adelson and I was once the victim of abuse. After waking up in a hospital near death and being accused of attacking her, I decided I had to make a change. That’s when I found Men Against Abuse and realized I wasn’t alone. There were plenty of men who were going through the same thing as me. When I first started coming to these meetings the group was very small, but we have since grown into a family of over two hundred. As far as the numbers go, that is only a drop in the bucket.

“Men Against Abuse’s goal is to let other men know they are not alone and should never feel ashamed of their situation. Most importantly, we want them to know there is a place for them.

“Together we’ll expose this dark secret and get the help that is needed to those in need. Thank you.”

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause as I made my way from the podium. It had been two years since I put Candy out of my life. In doing so, I had to make drastic changes. I closed my practice and relocated to another state. I was even tempted to change my name.

Before I left, I wrote her a letter, again suggesting she get help. Whether she did or not, I’ll never know.