Broen

Dimitri checked the clock, 6:50. Sure, Madi was late once in awhile, but never this late without picking up her cell phone. Sunday nights at 6:30 had become a routine over the last few months. They always began with studying and descended into drunken movie watching. But tonight there was no Madi. Four phone calls went unanswered. He simply sighed, picking up his cell phone and listening to Madi's end ring

************

She heard the phone ringing. It was loud. It was somewhere nearby, but she couldn't will herself to move. She was curled up in the corner, gripping her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. The moments played out in her mind over and over as she rocked.

She had just walked in from work when there was a knock at the door. Had she been smart, she would have checked the peephole, but her rush to change and get over to Dimitri's for their weekly study date had overridden caution. The second she opened the door; she knew it was too late. Karl was standing there, drunk and angry.

"So you think you can just hang up on me like that?!? You little fucking slut." She wasn't sure whether the words or the slap that rang throughout the apartment stung more. The rest was a blur, struggling through her home, trying to find her way to a door with a lock as he grabbed her, shook her, pushed her, punched her, pulled her hair. Not too mention the thrown glasses, vases, broken picture frames, and her laptop, which lay in pieces at the door between the kitchen and the living room. Even now, she barely felt the warm trickle of blood that seeped from somewhere inside her hair and down the back of her neck. He had hit her head against the corner of the counter as he had taken her down and... She couldn't think about that part. Her body ached from thrashing beneath him as he screamed, "Mine, your ass is mine. You got that you little slut? I'm giving you another chance; just know I'm watching. I'll kill you, you hear?" He had reeked of cheap whisky and anger.

She didn't know how long she had been curled up in the corner. The pounding at the door fell on deaf ears and she didn't even acknowledge Dimitri as he made his way into the kitchen. Shock made his mouth hang wide open, the apartment was absolutely trashed, TV overturned, couches slashed. He stepped over the laptop only to have worst fear realized. Madi was curled in a ball in the corner between the counter and the wall, arms wrapped around her shins as she rocked. Her eye was bruised, her lip swollen and bleed. Most disturbingly though, her eyes were dead, staring blankly at the cabinets across from her as tears ran down her cheeks silently.

"Madi?" He spoke softly at first, afraid of startling her. Her lack of response made his pulse beat faster as he stepped closer, raising his voice "Madi?" She still failed to respond. He sank to his knees beside her, his hand falling to rest on her shoulder, stopping her rocking. The break in rhythm seemed to be all she could take. Eyes darted around nervously, finally falling on Dimitri. "What happened?" He hoped she would answer, instead she simply started bawling. It was all he could do not to start crying with her as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling him into the heat of his body and burying his face in her hair. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt but there was no way he was letting her go. "Shhhh... shhhhh.... It's okay. I promise. Tell me what I can do?" Her only response was to cling to him tighter as her body shook with her sobs. It was then he first moved to stroke her hair, shocked to find his hand find something hot, wet and sticky. He lifted it to eye level, nearly gasping as he saw the massive red stain on his palm.

He bit his lip, holding his head above hers and out of her view. He wasn't sure what to do with his hand, so he simply sighed and wrapped his arms back around her, it probably didn't matter much if he got blood on the shirt, did it?

"Come on, hun, let's get you off this floor and into the other room." She was still clinging to him, in truth, he wasn't even sure she heard. She was a bit heavier than he had expected, but still not overly difficult for him to pull to her feet. He shuddered as he noticed the state of her clothes. Her blouse was torn at the bottom, her skirt wrinkled and ripped at the seam. Her knees barely supported her as he half-carried, half-dragged her to the couch. He settled there, letting her collapse into his lap, holding her close as he lifted his cell phone and quietly dialed 911.

"911, what is the nature of your emergency?" He saw her eyes go wide as she heard the operator. She stood quickly, shaking her head with teary eyes. Terror coursed through her every movement. The police? Karl would kill her, he would come here and he would do it again, and not leave her with a voice if he found... the room swirled, colors blurring into a muddy mess of brown green and white as she felt her stomach heave and her body give out. And then there was blackness.

Dimitri watched in horror as she fell again, moving to the floor to kneel beside her, the operator still on the phone. "Madi, Madi, wake up!" The operator on the other line spoke.

"Sir, do you need an ambulance?"

"I.. I.." he looked around the room, hockey players didn't cry. He gritted his teeth, his jaw bone tight as he regained control over his rage and sadness. "Please, and the police. I just found my.. my friend.. in her apartment.. all beat up.. and the place is trashed.. and she just passed out again.. and her clothes are all torn up and..." He couldn't take it anymore. He slammed a fist against his thigh as he began to cry as well. "Please, hurry, please..."

The operator tried to keep him on the line and calm for the few minutes before there was a pounding on the door. He rose quickly and opened it. He had stopped his tears and was as calm as he could be as he opened it.

The next few minutes were a blur of questions and stuttered answers as Madi was loaded up and taken out. He followed, loading into the ambulance in a daze as they slammed the doors and took off.