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window break.
    me: Shane had a temper tantrum.
     
    With the text sent, I turned my attention back to Julia, who was patiently awaiting my response on the other end of the phone.  Finally, I gave in.   “ Okay. Text me the address.”
    Then I hung up.  Though I had never done this before, it was clear what needed to be done.  

Chapter Four
     
     
    Clicking on the camera icon, I started to snap pictures of the damage even as I walked to the bedroom to pack. Finally, I took a photo of the crib tipped over before he came out of the bathroom and righted it.
    Shane glared at me.  “Why are you still here?  Leave.  Get. Out.  Right. Now.”
    Ignoring him, I walked to my closet and pulled out two suitcases, one at a time.  I hadn’t set Kylie down since the drama began to unfold.  She was starting to feel heavy, but I ignored the pain.  I needed her safe and at the moment, safety was only guaranteed in my arms.  Shane was too erratic.  This wasn’t the man I had married.  This wasn’t the man I dated and fell in love with.  That Shane, I never wanted to live without.  This man was a stranger and I had no trouble leaving him.
    When he saw the second suitcase come out, he stiffened.  Opening Kylie’s drawers, I started loading her belongings into the waiting bag.  It wouldn’t take but a moment to get her clothes together; it was the medical supplies which would be so time consuming.
    “You aren’t taking my daughter.”  He crossed his arms over his puffed out chest.
    “I’m not leaving her with you,” I said simply.
    “She’s my only child.”  He leaned over the bed menacingly.
    I paused in my packing to respond.  “You can’t take care of her.  You can’t even take care of yourself right now.”
    He threw his hands up in the air.  “Just how do you expect to take care of her?”
    It wouldn’t end.  As long as I kept talking, he would continue arguing with me.  I was already worn out and we’d barely begun to fight., so I ignored him and kept loading the suitcase.
    His eyes glittered threateningly.  “If you want to take her, you’ll have to call the police.”
    Immediately, I stopped working and stood frozen.  There was an unspoken rule about involving the police.  I knew it.  He had made it.  Calling the police raised everything to the next level.  These things were handled in house, behind closed doors, even if many of those doors had holes.   Swallowing hard, I asked, “ You’re really going to make me call the police?”
    He nodded seriously.  “If you want to take Kylie.”
    So, we were playing chicken.  Still holding my daughter, I picked my phone up from the bed and punched in 911.  We stared each other down as the phone rang.  I was giving him a chance.  He just had to back down and let us leave.   It was all about control.  He would set the tone.
    The problem was, I knew how my Shane would react.  I didn’t know this man who stood before me at all.  There was no reasoning with him.  There was no rationalizing.  There was only this seething anger over nothing.  According to the phone screen, it was 5:30pm.  Finally, a dispatcher answered.  Walking out to the great room, I explained the situation.  “I just want to leave safely.  Can you send police to facilitate this?” 
    “Yes, ma’am.  We’ll have someone out there as soon as possible.”
    Our call ended and I waited.  Half an hour later, two guys showed up.  They weren’t the police.  They were the guys who had called earlier and unknowingly had set this series of events in motion.  Clearly, they were pretty determined to get some of this equipment.  While Shane went to speak with them, I went back to packing.
    My vehicle only had about half a tank of gas in it.  I had about three dollars in cash.  It certainly wasn’t going to get me to Atlanta, a good four hours away and the safety of Julia’s house.  Shane would never know to look for me there.  He didn’t know where they