She stood among the chaos around her, unsure of where to begin. The storm had been brief, but destructive. A chair overturned. The glass top of the table shattered into shards on the rug now wet from her spilled drink when the table broke.

The sirens wailed and lights flashed outside her door. She raised her hand to her face to wipe away the wetness, only to see blood smeared on her arm as she pulled it away. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Why did he do this? Where did that anger come from?

She was perplexed by the whirlwind of madness that came from him. She looked through the door, ripped from its frame when he busted in.

‘Ma’am, are you alright? I’m Officer Tatum. May I come in?’

She raised her head up, showing her tear soaked face. Her right temple dripped blood. She nodded in agreement.

‘Send in the EMT. She needs some attention,’ the officer guided her to the sofa. ‘Careful. Have a seat. First, what is your name?’

‘Shana Lee,’ she squeaked out.

‘Hi Shana. Do you know what happened?’

She really couldn’t recall, other than seeing the flash of upset in his eyes. The rest was a blur.

‘Do you know who did this?’

She nodded no. She didn’t even know his name. ‘He barged in, asking for Joelle. There is no Joelle living here though. He was so angry.’

The EMT cleaned her wound and applied a bandage. ‘We can stitch you up right here.’ The EMT smiled kindly at her as she applied pressure. ‘Did he do anything else?’

‘No. He, he didn’t.’ her muffled voice still shaking. Her hands quivered, her mind still trying to make sense of it all.

Officer Tatum moved through the room, gathering evidence of the break in and damage. ‘Did he say anything else. Any reason why he would unleash this kind of damage?’

Shana shook her head no again and looked around the room.

‘Is there someone we can call to stay with you, or maybe you can go stay with a few nights?’

She shook her head yes, and reached for her phone, looking up her cousin’s number. ‘I just moved here to get a fresh start. I don’t understand any of this.’