Sweet Nikki...

My cousin Nikki was from a small town in, South Carolina. She was the mother of a precious little girl and expecting another child. Nikki was one of the most genuine people you could ever meet. She had a smile that would lighten up a dark room, and a personality that was magnetic. Nikki was very family oriented and strongly believed in keeping the family together. Nikki really loved her daughter and it showed in everything she did. Everyone that knew Nikki would say she was an awesome mother, friend, co-worker, or person in general. She truly loved people and prided herself in being a good person.

Well, it took me a while to write about this because it hurt me so bad, but I feel like it’s time. Domestic violence is growing at a ridiculous rate, and too many lives are being taken as a result. My cousin Nikki, who was pregnant at the time, had made it very clear to her ex-boyfriend (Jeffery Scott Jr., the child’s father) that she had no desire to be with him and had moved on with her life. In fact, she had told him that she was pregnant with another man’s baby and no longer wanted to communicate with him unless it was about their daughter. Nikki was trying to do the adult thing and break off this relationship in a respectable manner. As you can imagine, Jeffery didn’t want to accept this and pleaded his case. Nikki wasn’t interested in what he had to say and pretty much brushed him off.



A day or so had past and Jeffery was still furious and full of rage. He called Nikki and asked her could he talk to her again, and she agreed. Jeffery wanted to come to her house so they could talk and try to “resolve” things. Before Jeff arrived, Nikki sensed something wasn’t right and even was a bit fearful of having this conversation, so she called my cousin T and asked her would she mind coming over to sit while she and Jeff talked. T agreed and immediately left her house to come over. When she arrived, she was confronted with one of the most gruesome scenes she had ever seen in life. Even the movies couldn’t have prepared her for this site. She arrived to find our cousin Nikki in front of her apartment in a pool of blood dead on the ground from a shotgun wound to the chest and head. The unborn baby died immediately. The worse part about all of this is her daughter was inside her apartment when everything happened, and it’s not known how much she actually heard or saw since she couldn’t really articulate her thoughts too well. As you can imagine this was very devastating for our family. My cousin didn’t have to die, but she did because this coward didn’t know how to keep his feelings in check. Now, my little cousin is without both her parents and has to grow up with other family members taking care of her. She’ll never know how wonderful her mother really was.

I’m writing about this now because I’ve finally been able to swallow this pill of pain. My mother was abused by my father, and covered up for him for many years. When I became an adult and put all the pieces together, I realized what went on and it pierced my heart. I love my daddy and mommy. They made many mistakes, but this was probably the worst for me. My father apologized almost everyday for how he treated my mother after she died. My mom didn’t lose her life to domestic violence, but she very well could have. Both of my parents are deceased now, and I’m sure both of them would do things totally different if they had another chance.

I know of too many more relationships that have experienced domestic violence. It is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly under any circumstance. Too many lives are taken because of domestic violence, and too many children are left without a parent. Something has to be done. If we sit back and pretend it will just go away, we are fooling ourselves. South Carolina is #2 in the country for women being killed by men. This is insane. Men are being abused as well, but not enough of them speak out or are not even aware they are in abusive situations. I urge you to take a stand against domestic violence. Domestic violence is a world wide issue that seriously needs to be in the forefront. Harsh laws need to be enforced to deter people from this erratic stupid behavior.