My Daughter Shaving Her Sister’s Head Before Prom Was The Best Thing She Ever Did

At the emergency room, they took us back quickly when I explained we were there for domestic violence documentation.

The doctor was a woman who spoke gently to Kayla as she examined each bruise, measuring them with a ruler and having a nurse photograph everything.

Kayla squeezed my hand hard when they asked about the stomach bruises and she had to explain how Steven would punch her there so no one would see.

They did a full exam and documented 17 separate bruises in various stages of healing.

The nurse gave us copies of everything for our records and for the police.

A social worker came in while we were waiting for discharge papers carrying a folder full of pamphlets about domestic violence resources.

She explained that the hospital was required by law to report this to the authorities, which we’d already done, and gave us referrals for therapy and support groups.

She talked to Kayla about safety planning and what to do if Steven tried to contact her.

We were signing the discharge papers when my husband’s phone rang and Julian Frank’s name showed up on the screen.

My husband answered and put it on speaker without saying anything.

Julian’s voice was loud and angry, saying we were going to pay for these false accusations against his son, that he’d sue us for everything we had for assault and defamation.

The social worker’s eyes went wide and she grabbed her phone to record while Julian kept ranting about how we’d regret messing with his family.

My husband finally said we were at the hospital documenting Steven’s abuse and hung up.

The social worker said she’d add that recording to the file as evidence of witness intimidation.

We left the hospital around noon and drove home in complete silence except for Ree asking if Steven was going to jail.

My husband kept checking the mirrors like he expected someone to follow us.

When we turned onto our street, I saw it right away.

Steven’s black car was parked across from our house, just sitting there with the engine running.

My hands started shaking as I grabbed my phone and called Detective Gomez’s number from her card.

She answered on the second ring and told us to drive past our house and park somewhere safe while she sent a patrol car.

We pulled into the grocery store parking lot two blocks away and waited.

Ten minutes later she called back saying officers were at our house and we could come home.

Two police cars had Steven blocked in when we got there.

One officer was at his window writing something while Steven sat there with his arms crossed looking mad.

The officer came over and told us Steven claimed he was just driving by, but they’d warned him he wasn’t allowed near our property or any family member.

They took pictures of his car there and added it to the case file as a violation.

Steven peeled out when they let him leave and the officers stayed until we got inside safely.

Digging Deeper

That evening while I was making dinner, my phone rang with a number I didn’t know.

It was Mattie Coleman from the school counseling office asking how Kayla was doing.

She’d heard what happened from another staff member and wanted to help.

She said she could arrange for Kayla to get her assignments sent home so she wouldn’t fall behind while dealing with everything.

I thanked her and said that would help a lot since Kayla wasn’t ready to face everyone at the school yet.

An hour later, Detective Gomez called with an update.

She’d tracked down Jake and interviewed him about the party plans for after prom.

Jake got really nervous and admitted Steven had asked him to make sure Kayla’s drinks were extra strong that night.

Steven had also mentioned getting something special from his brother to put in them.

The detective said Jake seemed scared and was cooperating fully now that he understood how serious this was.

She also told me she’d looked into Steven’s older brother, Tyson Grimes, who had three arrests for drug stuff including selling pills to kids at the community college.

She was working with a judge to get a warrant to search Steven’s phone and car for evidence.

The next morning, a woman from Child Protective Services called saying they needed to do a home visit since minors were involved in witnessing domestic violence.

My stomach dropped even though I knew we hadn’t done anything wrong.

She scheduled it for the next day and said it was just standard procedure to make sure the kids were safe.

That night was awful. Every car that drove by made us jump.

My husband got up three times to check the locks on all the doors and windows.

Around midnight, I heard crying from Kayla’s room and found both girls in her bed.

Ree had crawled in with her big sister and they were holding each other tight.

Kayla’s face was wet with tears and Reese was rubbing her back the way Kayla used to do for her during thunderstorms.

I sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed their hair until they both fell asleep.

The System Steps In

The CPS worker showed up right at 9:00 the next morning with a clipboard and a serious face.

She interviewed each kid separately in their rooms while my husband and I waited in the kitchen.

She spent almost an hour with Kayla asking about our home and if she felt safe here.

Then she talked to Ree, who apparently told her all about why she cut Kayla’s hair and showed her the picture she took.

When she finished, the worker actually smiled and said we were handling the situation really well.

She found no concerns about our parenting and said she was impressed with how protective the girls were of each other.

She gave us some pamphlets about trauma and kids before she left.

That afternoon I got a call from someone named Tabitha Wise who said she was a victim advocate assigned to help us.

She explained we could file for an emergency protective order to keep Steven away legally.

She walked me through all the paperwork over the phone and said she’d help us prepare everything with our evidence.

Reese taking pictures before the haircut shows some serious planning skills for someone her age.

This kid thought three steps ahead like she’s playing chess while everyone else is stuck on checkers.

We spent two hours going through all the photos, recordings, and documentation from the hospital.

She said our case was really strong and a judge would probably grant it right away.

The next day, a certified letter arrived from Julian Frank’s law office.

My husband opened it and his face went red as he read.

It was three pages of legal threats saying we’d assaulted his son and made false accusations that were damaging his reputation.

It said we’d be sued for everything we had if we didn’t drop the charges immediately.

It also mentioned the incident with my husband grabbing Steven’s shirt at the school, saying that was assault on a minor.

My husband’s hands were shaking as he took pictures of every page and forwarded them to Detective Gomez.

She called back within minutes saying this was perfect evidence of witness intimidation and to keep any other threats documented.

A Difficult Return

Monday morning came too fast and Kayla had to go back to the school wearing a beanie to cover her bald head.

I drove her myself because she was too scared to take the bus with everyone staring at her.

The parking lot was already buzzing when we pulled up and I could see kids pointing at our car through the windows.

Kayla grabbed my hand so tight it hurt as we walked through the front doors together.

The whispers started right away and I heard one girl say something about Kayla making everything up for attention.

Another group of kids moved closer to us and one boy told Kayla they believed her and Steven was a jerk anyway.

The principal was waiting in the main office with a woman I recognized as Mattie Coleman from the counseling department.

Mattie took us into her office and pulled out a new class schedule for Kayla that had different routes through the building.

She explained that security guards would be watching for Steven and they changed Kayla’s locker to a different hallway completely.

Mattie walked us through the new path to each class and showed Kayla a safe room she could use if she felt scared.

My phone rang while we were walking and it was Detective Gomez saying she had news about the search warrant.

She’d gone to Steven’s car that morning with other officers and found a small plastic bag stuffed under the driver’s seat.

The pills inside looked like Rohipnol and they were rushing them to the lab for testing, but she was pretty sure what they’d find.

Within two hours, Steven was in handcuffs, being walked out of his house while neighbors watched from their driveways.

Detective Gomez called again to say he was charged with possession of controlled substances and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.

His dad bailed him out before dinner, but at least there was an official case number now and real charges filed.