My high school boyfriend lured me in from the start. Being young and insecure, it was easy to fall for every lie. After only a month into our relationship, he went to jail. He lied to my family and I, saying it was wrongful driving related charges. My sweet mother even drove me out to visit him there. We were all under the spell.
As soon as he got out of jail, within a week we had gotten into a fight that had ended in him choking me until nearly unconscious. Things kept escalating over the following months.. From choking to punching me in the face (keep in mind I am a very petite woman, him being very buff and tall), to cutting my hair, kicking me in the face full force, hitting me with belts, tying me up, burning me with cigarettes, cutting me with knives, and kicking me multiple times in the leg until the wound was so bad I was hospitalized.
This between all of the emotional abuse and cheating, comes perhaps the worst of it all – the sexual part. If I dis-obeyed him in any way, he would do things like force me to take nude pictures – ensuring he would post them up online and sell me off to the highest bidder. He would force me to have sex with him constantly, and would hit me if I cried. He would constantly yell and intimidate me and tell me to smile.
I knew I was going to die. My memory was becoming hazy from all of the head trauma (I had concussions at this point) and I started blacking out and seeing stars. I was being held hostage and I was not allowed to use a computer, phone or leave of course. I was hardly allowed to eat as well – even showers were a privilege.
Something in me told me to fight. One day, he had left to go to the mall. I knew I had 30 minutes maximum. I had absolutely no money, phone or escape route. He lived in a remote area behind a forest. But once he set foot out of that house – I ran. I ran through the forest until I got to a gas station, and made a collect call on a pay phone. My dad picked me up – and shortly after he filed charges against my now ex.
After all was said and done, he knew there was far too much evidence, and he plead guilty. He went to jail for quite a while after that.
To this day, 6 years later, it still lives with me. I want to remember where I was, and how far I have come. I hope that someone can relate to this story and realize that hope can save your life. Don’t ever stop fighting.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I believe that hope can do wonders for you and it resonated with me a lot that you wrote that. Your fighting spirit is very empowering and I have no doubt that it will help someone fight for themselves when they are in the depths of their own darkness. You will offer hope to many others. Thank you.