There comes a time in everyone's life where they meet someone and they feel like they see stars. They feel like it's nothing like they've ever experienced before. This is usually called the 'Honeymoon Stage.' This stage can last up to months, until one day they get into an argument, and they see the real side of the other person. At this point, their subconscious realizes either they want to be with this person for the rest of their lives or they need to run far away from this person immediately.

I'm going to tell a little non-fiction story. This story is going to be about Sarah and John. These people are real, I've just changed their names. This is a long story short in order to get to my main point faster.
Sarah met John through school. Sarah was younger than John, which made John feel superior and he felt that he could manipulate Sarah however he felt necessary.

Sarah was blind to this for over a year while 'in a relationship' with John. Sarah went behind her family, behind her friends, and behind her own morals to be with this man. John told Sarah he was going to leave his ex-wife's apartment as soon as he was financially stable. John told Sarah he wanted to be with her forever and that he saw her being a stepmother to his kids. John's baby-mother, we'll call her Tracy, threatened and belittled John and Sarah while they were together. Tracy hated John because she thought John had thrown her around for years and left her for someone else while they had a family already.

Fast forward a few months where they started to exist in peace. Sarah was head over heels for John and so she thought it was vice-versa. He would do everything a great boyfriend was supposed to: send random flowers just because, visit her in college, send cute texts throughout the day to make her smile, and even go to every single one of her college games. Her life couldn't be better, everything was falling into place. Until it wasn't. She planned a special weekend for her and John to get a couples massage and to have an eventful Valentine's Day weekend. She felt everything shift, his mood was off when he came into the door, she asked repeatedly what was wrong and if she could help. His answer was continuously "no" and "nothing," so she dropped it.

The next day, when they were supposed to get massages, she woke up to him on his phone texting someone. She assumed it was his baby-mother, so she left it alone. He turned to her and said, "I need to go." She immediately jumped up. Concerned she yelled, "Why?" "I just do," he replied. He got up and started to dress. She panicked and started to tear up, asking him what was wrong. He said that his baby was sick and in the hospital. Sarah didn't believe him, but what could she say? So she sat down in awe, heartbroken. She had planned this day for months, to no avail.

He got angry, angrier than ever before. "Why are you just sitting there like it's my fault?!' Sarah was confused how he could be so cold at that moment, she was speechless. He started getting even more upset, which brought him to get in her face, and shoved her "What do you want from me?!"

Sarah was getting scared. "Baby... please don't be mad at me," she replied through her now scared sobs. "F*ck you," replied John. She stood there flabbergasted, hurt, angry, sad and any emotion one can imagine. Speechless she started getting angry. She did nothing wrong and he had been acting out the whole weekend, so she pushed him and told him to get out and leave. That's exactly what he did, slamming the door behind him. That's where the emotional and mental abuse started.

Fast forward another month. Sarah had forgiven John through many texts and flowers. They were happy again. John surprised her by showing up for a day and driving her to her away game. After her game, she rode back with him to campus. They went into her dorm and showered, held each other and love was surrounding them. She decided to go down with him to see her family that weekend, so John stays until then.

The weekend comes, and they were on the road. Four hours until they return home, Sarah looks at John lovingly and starts to talk about their lives together. John gets mad at Sarah for something minor she did in the car; communication wasn't there. John punched Sarah. John cursed, called her names and yelled at her. Sarah cried until the next pit stop, which took two hours to reach.

She got out to stop crying and John yelled, "Stop being such a cry baby and get in the car." She spaced out and kept walking. John didn't like this, so he got out the car, grabbed her bags and threw them into the freeway, yelling, "Fine, walk home then!"

She sat on the ground and cried. She felt a hand on her shoulder and when she looked up it was John. John said he was sorry, held her and said, "Baby, I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry." Sarah got in the car and felt better after twenty minutes of John saying how sorry he was. This was the beginning of the physical abuse.

This cycle lasted eight months and twenty days. Not a day goes by that Sarah doesn't have a nightmare of that relationship or get nervous about her current boyfriend. Sarah lived; Sarah told her story to very few; Sarah was ashamed, she hid her bruises behind smiles and long sleeves, away from her friends and family. Sarah is and was strong enough to leave John when she found out he cheated on her. It might not have been the cheating that made her leave, but it pushed her over the edge, and now she tells her story to help women like her to live. If you are not strong enough right now, you will be. Sarah never thought this was wrong, until her best friend saw the bruises and showed her the light. Speak out, please don't let it get worse. You are lovable, you are amazing and you deserve so much better.