I started seeing someone new. The relationship started like they always do. In the honeymoon stage. Everything seems wonderful and great. You look over the little things. Until one day, they are just so in your face that there is no more overlooking them. Getting angry over little things, he starts throwing things. Punching walls. Pushing you. Keeping you from family and friends. I went to work one day. I came home; he came running out of the house jumped up on my car smacked my windshield and smashed it. Later when asked why he did it. He said he was just so happy to see me. After that I left him. I went to the Women's Shelter. They assisted me to relocate to my family in another state. He found out where I was. He came and found me in the small town I was in. He ran me off the road and took me to a hotel He had guns, he threatened to kill himself and me. He put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, only to reveal there were no bullets. Of course he knew there were no bullets in the gun, but to mess with my psychological health he made me believe the gun was loaded. That he would kill me and himself. When I got away from him, I pressed charges and obtained a restraining order. He left the state I was in and I did not see him again.
A few years later I thought I would give dating and hopefully love another try. I met someone that I developed feelings for. Feelings like I had never experienced before in my life. I thought, did I do it? Did I finally find the love I was looking for? Well, it turned out that my initial feelings must have been  infatuation. To my dismay he too became abusive. He accused me of cheating, pushed and shoved me, blocked the door so I couldn't leave. Kept me from my family. I had no friends, no support. I would come home from work, and he would smell me to see if I had any cologne or any sign of being with another man. He had at one point made me strip naked to smell my entire body to make sure I did not have another man's scent on me. We went out one evening and I fell onto a bottle on the street. Or it could have been that he pushed me. We had been arguing as usual. My arm was split open really bad. Bleeding with glass and stones in it. I got into the car and instead of taking me to the nearest hospital he started driving and would not stop at lights, or stop signs. He drove from Cleveland clear down to Akron before stopping with me bleeding pretty bad the whole way. He knew, if he stopped, I was getting out of that car and getting help. When we got to Akron emergency room, I was finely able to get medical help and get away from my abuser. I went to the emergency shelter. I went out to get on my 250 cc scooter and belongings. He was so angry with me that he actually bent the key while it was in the ignition, trying to stop me from leaving. At that time I did not know how to drive it, but I learned real fast, as I was leaving. I tried to learn to drive it before but he threatened to call the police on me if I went down the road. After I left him I left the state. He had a zip code of where my family was. He came down and found the town. Parked at the only gas station at the only stop light in town. He waited there until he saw me go by and he followed me. Ran me off the road. And then kidnapped me for three days, during which he beat me. After he let me go, he left town and came back to Ohio. I pressed charges. Because he would not answer the door for the police and get served. He couldn't be charged. So, he never paid for what he did to me.
Through all these experiences, I’ve learned the importance of being resilient and never giving up. I hope that by sharing my story, others will know that it is possible to overcome their situations. I am alone at this point in my life, but I have not given up. I know that God has someone out there for me to share my life with. Someone that will not hurt me.