Unhealthy Relationship

I already knew this guy, he was a friend of my friends. One day we all hung out and he said he had feelings for me, and that those feelings have been there for quite a while. I thought he was the mos amazing guy ever by the way people and friends would talk about him. He would pick me up from school, and we would go out to where he used to work and we wouldn’t leave there till around 9:00 p.m so everyday I would get home around 9:00 p.m. The first 3 months were great. He was the sweetest guy ever, he would buy me flowers, he was a gentleman and he would treat me like a queen. Later on, he started to change. The first time were at a game and game and there was one of my friends that he didn’t like, he yelled at me and said “Why are you staring at him you b****?” I was so embarrassed, all my friends were there. He then pulled me and said “Let’s go we’re leaving” while he kept on pushing me and pulling me and he wa s hurting me to hard. He said “Go home, I don’t want to see you anymore” I didn’t understand it, i told myself it was my fault, but he was this way because he loved me and he cared. The next day, he picks me up for school with flowers and I was sure he loved me and he didn’t mean anything he said yesterday. We then arrived at my school and he dropped me off. At around 3:15 pm he picked me up from school and we went to his work, when we got there he started to scream at me and he held on to me too tight, he was hurting me, he slapped me, and called me names. He said that this relationship was falling apart because of me, because I was a hoe. I stood there and didn’t say a word. I let it go, and I hid it with makeup so my parents wouldn’t notice. He kept calling that night, excessive texting, and showed up at my house with flowers, balloons, and a teddy bear; of course I forgave him. A month passed by and we were doing good. On my birthday he said I w as his “property” so I was going to have sex with him because he had said so. I told him I wasn’t ready, he got mad, he started to hurt me, called me names once again. He said that if I didn’t do it I didn’t love him, but I did, so I did as he said. After a while that’s all he wanted because as he said I was his “property” I needed to do as he said. My guy best friend started to worry because I changed, I was not the same girl I was before. I wasn’t allowed to talk to my best friend because he was the one who would tell me what to do, what to wear, who to talk to, basically he would tell me how to live my life. I never left him because he threatened to kill my family and kill me. I had to look out for the ones I loved.

I was blinded by “love”. By someone who used to say he loved me, but always hurt me and made sure I was never happy. I share my story so that girls like me know what an unhealthy relationship looks like. Now I am happy, safe, and I am aware of what is good for me. The guy is far away from me and can’t hurt me. Share your story, DONT ever stay quiet, if you are in an unhealthy relationship speak up before it’s too late.

— Survivor, age 16