What Just Happened?!?!??

By: A Survivor Not a Victim
June 6, 2016

---

Alright, so I have these neighbors who live behind me. A couple in their 40s with three children, two of whom live at home.

I’m friendly with the wife. She is very nice, strong-willed, and loud.

I do hear this couple fight all the time. Sometimes, it sounds like bloody murder in their house, and their windows are not even open.

Tonight, I was outside, and not out of the ordinary; I heard them fighting inside. This time was louder than usual, but it was not my business. Suddenly, the wife flings open the back door to the porch and SCREAM’S, “HELP! HELP!!!!” Then slams the door closed.

Now I have lived here for over a year, I have never seen or heard anything like this come from them EVER. Even the tone of her voice was unlike anything I’ve heard before. I was immediately concerned, even though I know they always argue. This sounded and felt different. I was so worried because I was afraid that if I called the police, she would be mad at me, or the police would make whatever was going on worse, yet at the same time, I was terrified for her, especially from the sound of her screams. So, I ran inside and explained everything to my roommate. He said we should call the police.

We called the local PD, and they transferred me to 911. I didn’t even know the name of her street because she lived behind me, but I explained where her house was located.

When the officers showed up (one unit, two officers), they called me to ensure they were at the correct house. This family does not have a doorbell. So I showed them, gave them my address, and went back to my apartment. Eventually, one of the officers came around back (the back of my apartment and the back of her house face each other). He asked me to confirm which house was hers and then asked me what her name was.

Meanwhile, the backdoor to her house opened, and the other officer I saw, along with a third officer, was in the house. Then I saw her. She was holding her keys, and she confirmed her name and said that she and her husband just got home and she didn’t know what was going on. When the officers told her, she said something along the lines of “I don’t know stupid nosy neighbors.”

Shortly after, the initial responding officers rang my doorbell and told me what I had already heard. There were practically tears rolling down my eyes. He said, ” I don’t know what to tell you; you can file a report against the husband, but she says they were not even home.” I told him, “No”. I said that if she is going to lie about what happened, then I don’t even want to be involved. I told him that as a victim of abuse myself, I called because I was afraid for her because she was calling for help; if that is her story, then it is what it is. I told them that I was sorry for bringing them down here and that I was trying to do the right thing. Then he asked for my name for the report, and I told him I didn’t want to give it to him because her nephew works for the police force, and I did not want her to be mad at me (and because I do not trust cops whatsoever).

Right now, I feel so stupid!! Was she really in trouble? Or was she just being dramatic when she yelled? My gut tells me this was different, and there was something not right going down in that house, but she lied, and I get why people lie about these things. But now I’m concerned, did I make things worse for her? If I ever screamed out the window or door for help like that, I would hope that someone would call the police for me.

I’m also afraid that now she is going to know that it was me and that she is going to hate me for it. I wasn’t calling the police because they were loud; I was calling the police because she was screaming for help.