2018

                                    

                                          
On Friday morning I woke up with Logan's arm around my waist. He'd slept over every night since the incident with Nathan, which was just a few days before, on Tuesday. I didn't want to be alone. It wasn't even 6am, but I hadn't been sleeping so well the past few nights. I got up and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror. My mouth looked...terrible. The whole left side of my mouth was swollen and bruised looking. I still had 4 days until I got the stitches out, but that day I had to go down to the police station. They had more questions they wanted to ask me. I carefully washed my face and brushed my teeth before getting into the kitchen to make coffee. 
I was kind of lost in my own thoughts when Logan appeared behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders, startling me a little.  
"Sorry" he said and kissed my cheek before sitting next to me. "How are you feeling?" 
"Fine" 
"Are you sure?" 
"Yeah" I nodded. "I'm just...ready to be done with this" 
"I know" 
That day I had to go talk to the police about Nathan, and then hopefully I wouldn't have to think about him again until his trial in January. 
"Mama!" I heard Tori crying on the baby monitor. 
I went into her room and picked her up. "Hi sweet girl" 
She put her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder. There's nothing better than that. Nothing. I would snuggle her forever if I could. 
I changed Tori and gave her breakfast, and a little while later there was a knock at the door. It was Elise. Logan offered to watch Tori for me while I went to the police station, but I didn't want to go alone. So Elise came to watch Rory and Logan went with me. 
"Are you ok?" Elise asked when I opened the door. "What happened?" 
"What? Oh. Um, I got punched by my abusive ex-husband" I told her. I still didn't love telling people that, but at the same time I wanted people to know who he was. So if it came up with someone I trusted enough, I told the truth. "I'm fine" 
The questioning at the police station wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was quick, and not as intrusive as I was expecting.  
That night Logan came to Friday night dinner with me and Tori. 
We walked in and sat down, and the first thing my grandmother did was ask what happened to my face.  
"It was Nathan" mom said. I hadn't told her, but she knew. "Right?" 
"Yeah" I nodded. 
"I'll kill him" grandpa said 
"You're not gonna kill him. He was arrested, and this time there's no bail. He's there until his trial" 
"And hopefully for a long time after" grandma said 
"Mama" Tori laid herself over my legs, so I picked her up and put her on my lap. 
"What about Tori?" Grandma asked 
"The court terminated his parental rights" I told her. "Legally, he's nothing. If in the future he decides that he wants to see her, it'll be up to me to decide if he's allowed" 
Logan's POV- 
The next few weeks went by uneventfully. One day in January, Rory was getting ready to go to court. I'd offered to go with her, but she didn't want me to, so I asked if she wanted me to watch Tori. 
"You know her schedule right?" Rory asked as she picked up Tori. 
I was pretty sure I knew it, but I knew how important routine is for babies. "I think so, but it might be better if you remind me"