This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/Otter_Pockets on 2023-08-31 04:59:33.
I’ve been hearing her and her boyfriend arguing the last couple nights again. I hear him, actually, not her. “F#ck you! F#ck you!” Incoherent screams. “That’s because You. Made. Me!!!”
My PTSD always piques when I hear it. I was the one getting screamed at and blamed when I was her age. It’s been TWO DECADES and I still freeze like I did then. My heart races. I feel sick. I’m right back there as a pregnant 20 year old, on the floor with potpourri everywhere because he dragged me over the coffee table.
It never starts out with a punch or shove, it starts with yelling, screaming, accusing… I’ll be damned if it happens to her when I’m here. Of course I’m afraid to insert myself but I have called the police in the past. The walls are thin and sound carries. Imagine my outrage when they only spoke to HIM and he assured them everything was hunky dory.
Today, I paused on the stairway to answer a text when I saw her leaving her place. I ran after her, calling out “hey, hey!” quietly so as not to alert her boyfriend. I told her that she can always come upstairs if she needs to get away in a hurry. She looked so sad and embarrassed. She told me she’s leaving today. I wanted to hug her and let her know it’ll get better but I didn’t want to overstep more than I was. I just told her that I didn’t have anywhere to run to when my situation got bad and I don’t want her to feel that way.
I wish there was education in schools to help people recognize patterns of abusers early on. I was so young and naive when I got trapped in a terrible situation. It took me several years and LOTS of hard work to extricate myself from it. I really hope she runs fast and far.