He Likes You…
**Trigger Warning- will contain content discussing domestic violence and rape.
When she was 7 years old,
A little boy pushed her to the ground and made fun of her pigtails.
When she went home to tell her mom,
Her mother told her for the rest of her life, this is how boys would hint that they liked her.
When she turned 13 years old,
She got her period at school, went home to her mother telling her to put a feminine pad on and to keep clean; nothing more and nothing less.
No one told her that she’d get unbearable cramps, weird feelings everywhere, and sexual hormones.
No one told her boys at her age would be feeling uncontrollable hormones and will be as uneducated as her in expressing sexuality.
At age 17, a boy she’s had a crush on asks her on a date.
One year later… they’re boyfriend and girlfriend.
She accidentally drops his phone while trying to hand it to him and it shatters.
SMACK!
The stinging across her face freezes her and the shock of what just happened keeps her still as if time is stopped.
There’s nowhere to go, nothing to say…
“But he loves me…and only did it because I messed up…I made him angry… I put this on myself.”
At 18 years old, she begs her mom to go to a graduation party.
At this party, she arrives with her boyfriend who has already told her to cover up the bruises from last night and is still apologizing.
Telling her he only did it because he loves her.
Things get fuzzy after drinking her second drink.
“I left it with him… I know nothing is wrong…I trust him.”
“Have I drank too much?”
She wakes up in a strange room, it’s dark, it’s painful to move.
Her clothes are torn and her privates feel sore.
It’s 3 A.M. and 15 missed calls are displayed on her phone.
“Mom” reads across the screen…
“Mom… I think something’s happened.”
Two weeks have passed and she no longer belongs to herself. She is dark and cold, and her lively and bountiful soul that once was… is only but a memory to her now.
“You must’ve just drank too much and fell…” is what replays in my head as I continue to curl up in a ball in my bed, staring at the wall, tears streaming down my face unable to connect anything in my head anymore. I do not belong to me anymore.
At age 21, she is graduating college with her high school sweetheart.
What couldn’t be more perfect?
“Let’s get a hotel tonight…” Seems innocent enough.
“I’m not really feeling up to doing any sex tonight…I’m sorry.”
“I just don’t want to!”
“Stop! … No! Please, don’t! Not again!”
“I’m serious! I don’t want to!!! Stop!! Please… why are you doing this…”
Age 23…
“I love him and he loves me, Mom. Why can’t you just be happy for us?! He only hits me when I make him mad… it’s my fault! Just stay out of our life, you don’t understand.”
“You’re being ridiculous. He didn’t rape me, Mom how could you say something like that…I just had too much to drink. Your own boyfriend can’t rape you!”
At age 25, her mother weeps in an empty courtroom as they drag her daughter’s boyfriend in handcuffs into the room.
“In the case of domestic violence, how do you plea?”
“Innocent…”
“In the case of sodomy and/or rape, how do you plea?”
“Innocent.”
“And in the case of first-degree murder, how do you plea?”
“Innocent, Your Honor.”
“And has the jury come to a verdict?”
“Yes, Your Honor. In the case of domestic violence and rape, we find the defendant Innocent. In the case of first-degree murder, we find the defendant guilty.”
There are women all across the world who feel domestic abuse and rape is their fault or could be prevented. Women who feel they deserved it, or there’s any excuse for it.
If you, a loved one or a friend are dealing with any of these problems, let them know it’s not okay and that you’re there for them. Don’t wait until it’s too late, you might lose someone due to you staying quiet.
All of the numbers below also have chat rooms if you can’t speak or feel uncomfortable. Speak up before it’s too late.
Suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Domestic abuse: 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224
Rape: 1-800-656-4673
