Microstory 257: Perspective Thirty-Two

This is an experimental Perspectives microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 225. More to follow.

My sister is being abused by her husband, and I’m having trouble getting her to see the truth. To be honest, I’m not all that worried about her. The fact is that she is an adult, and I don’t feel like anyone can help her unless she admits that she needs help in the first place. They have a son, though. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to confirm that the guy’s physically abusing him as well. My girlfriend suggests I call a helpline about it, but I’m not good over the phone. What I really need to do is speak to someone in person. The problem is that the nearest domestic violence shelter is two towns over, and I have just not had any time. That’s a bad excuse, though, and I know it. I’ve always done that. I am an expert at putting up roadblocks when people try to give me solutions. My girlfriend calls it my most frustrating feature, but she’s helping me work through it. But for now, my priority is protecting that kid. Everything I’ve read on the internet says that when children are involved, immediate action must be taken. So maybe I should ignore the women’s shelter for now, and go straight to child services. What I’m worried about, however, is whether they’ll find any proof that he’s hurting his son. If they don’t, then this will just antagonize and aggravate him further. What is he going to do then? He’ll probably assume that his wife is the one who called the authorities on him, and even if he doesn’t, he’ll take it out on her...and their son. Oh my God, there is no good way to handle something like this, especially not since I can’t get my sister to truly open up about what she’s going through. Should I get someone into the house as fast as possible, or should I try to get the victims out first? Those are just my roadblocks again, though, aren’t they? This is stupid. I’m being stupid. My first order of business is to get help from someone who knows what they’re talking about, and not online. However legit or professional a website is, it’s still only going to be able to give me general information. Somebody needs to hear what’s going on in this particular situation. Somebody needs to hear my sister’s story. And I’m the only one who can tell it.