I didn’t fight. I just looked at Emily. “It’s okay, baby,” I mouthed. “Mommy’s here.” But I wasn’t there. I was being dragged away, leaving my child in the house with the monster who owned it.

The precinct was a blur of harsh fluorescent lights and the smell of stale coffee and misery. They placed me in a holding cell, the metal bench sapping the last of my warmth. Richard, having insisted on coming to “file the report immediately” despite his injury, was sitting in the main office with a bandage on his head, talking to the Sergeant.

I could hear him through the thin walls. His voice was smooth, filled with a sorrowful reluctance.

“I don’t want to press charges, really, she’s the mother of my child,” Richard was saying. “But I have to protect Emily. Sarah is… unstable. She’s been self-harming for years. Tonight, she turned that aggression outward. I think… I think I need an emergency restraining order. For Emily’s safety.”