I Was Assaulted By My Dad

Location: Texas

I'm not good at making posts so please try to get through and help, if you can.

I'm 7 months pregnant and my dad physically assaulted me and I did go to the hospital for vaginal bleeding. They documented that I had bruising on my back and internal bruising on my stomach. I have all the paperwork ready but I'm just not sure if I'm being a baby and should let this go.

My dad has always been verbally abusive to me growing up but once I became an adult and only came around for family gatherings, it's been less and less but he would still publicly shame me in front of family at every gathering. It was always lies and it would upset my family at me.

I stopped coming around 2 years ago because at a thanksgiving dinner, him and his wife (not my mom), told everyone I accused their 8 year old son of molesting my 8 year old daughter. Everyone started circling me and shaming me and saying how could I make false accusations like that.

Fast forward to now, my partner, kids, and I went to stay at my grandma's for a little bit while we're in the process of buying a house to save on bills so it can all go towards the house. We were still paying rent but a lot less than elsewhere. There was an Easter celebration at my dad's, who is my grandma's neighbour and they invited us and my kids. My kids were so excited just hearing they were invited because a lot of other family kids their age were there. I let the kids go, reluctantly and everyone had fun. I stayed next door, at my grandma's with my partner, observing the kids playing outside.

The next day my dad's son came over to play with my oldest. They're both 8. They played a simple game of catch the ball while I sat on the porch and crochet and my partner was at work, on his laptop next to me. He's remote work. We didn't say anything at all but when he left to go back home, he told me dad we cursed at him telling him to get the fuck off our property because he's cheating at catch.

My dad came over later while my partner was cooking dinner. I was laying in bed because I have a broken pelvis and I'm 7 months pregnant, as I mentioned. I heard a knock, and my partner open the door and my dad yelling, you guys get outside I don't want your kids to see what I'm going to do to you.

I waddle my way to the door with my crutches and I step in front of my partner because my line of thinking was, since I'm pregnant and his child, he won't really do anything. We have a doggy gate up in front of our front door so that was the only barrier between us.

I immediately smelled liquor on him. I asked what this was about. He said just get outside. I don't want your kids to see this.

I said, dad you are drunk. Go home. You can come back when grandma gets home. He said HELL YEAH IM DRUNK GET THE FUCK OUTSIDE YOU THREATENED MY SON. At this point I had no idea what he was talking about. My sister called me afterwards to fill me in because she was at his house trying to talk him out of coming over.

Again, I repeated you're drunk, I don't know what you're talking about, come back later if you want to talk, and I tried shutting the door and he grabbed the door and swung it open so hard, it hit me in the stomach and I flung back into the porch light switches. I raged out because my kids walked in to see what the commotion was about. I told him he's a dead beat alcoholic, piece of shit father and he needs to get his shit straight before coming over here and threatening my family and all this and that and my partner was shoving on the door trying to close it while my dad was shoving himself in the door way to keep screaming threats. His wife was there the whole time acting so befuddled and confused. My partner finally got the door shut and locked and he helped me to the bathroom and I saw blood when I wiped.

My grandma got home about 40 minutes later and she asked what had happened because my dad called her and told her, I made threats to his son and he came over to "talk" and I freaked out and tried hitting him and his wife had the gall to say my partner hit me in the stomach with the door and we were acting erratic. I just started sobbing because what the fuck is happening?

I went to the emergency room to check on the baby, they noted bruising and wounds on my back, and abdominal trauma/contusion on my stomach and they aligned with being hit from the front and flying backwards into something. I documented everything and was ready to press charges. I asked them if I could wait until I got out of my grandma's house because we don't feel safe and I fear retaliation.

Where I'm at now, we are currently borrowing an RV from my partner's parents and living in that with our kids on their property. I was ready to press charges but when looking into it, I saw in Texas, where we are at, he could face 2 years in prison. He has a son, a business, he is the sole provider in his household. And my family would likely never speak to me again.

What should I do? Does this mean, if I press charges, we go to court? I want justice because he caused a lot of pain in my stomach where the contusion is. Since my pelvis is broken, my stomach muscles have been compensating the weight distribution with my crutches, it's so painful. Not only that, emotionally painful. My kids saw, my own dad did this to me, he was making threats to do more to my partner and me. He's been like this for years, but never physical. Just enjoyed publicly humiliating me. Idk what I'm thinking. I feel wronged and wounded.

Should I seek justice for myself? What does all that entail? Do I need a lawyer? I have it all documented by the hospital and they sent in an assault specialist to take my statement so it's all written down from when it happened. It's been two weeks of me going back and forth in my head about this. Is it worth possibly ruining his life over? Or should I just cut ties with my entire family and move on?

Thank you if you read this far and don't think I'm an idiot. I'm emotionally and physically depleted and I'm stuck in the thoughts of what transpired that night and what to do.