Domestic violence is such a big topic right now. It has been discussed everywhere from the Grammy awards to the Superbowl and of course has numerous PSAs dedicated to it. It is a topic I am personally connected to being a survivor of an abusive relationship. Below is a short excerpt from Survivor - Jasmine's story which is also the background of a character in Sharing Strength. It is also a look at just a tiny part of the relationship I took years to escape from but helped make me the person I am today.
She stopped as soon as she looked up and saw her man striding toward her. All of the girls outside had paused to take notice of him but it was clear he was on a mission for one girl. Without a word he reached her and grabbed her arm yanking her to the side. It hurt tremendously but she didn’t want to make him feel bad so she bit back the pain.
“I come all the way across town to see you at school and you insult me by flirting with another guy?” He practically hissed the words at her.
“I wasn’t flirting Tyler, that is my lab partner from chemistry we were just talking about our project. He likes Kelly.” She finally managed to pull her arm free. It was bruised already.
He lightened up when she mentioned that the other boy was into Kelly. The look on his face changed, softened. She backed away unsure of what happened. She covered the bruise pulling down the sleeve of her shirt. He pulled her in for a hug, she hugged back but hesitantly. He leaned down and kissed her making almost every girl standing in the yard jealous to their very core.
She could hear the whispers around her. He pulled her even closer and she melted into him. She forgot about the handprint on her arm for the time being. He bent and told her sweetly to wait right there. He sprinted to his car retrieving an origami rose he had brought for her.
When he gave it to her she could smell a sweet smell coming from it. She looked back up at him. He told her it was a perfume that he thought would be nice for her. She didn’t actually like it but she couldn’t disappoint him. She smiled and thanked him holding the rose close to her heart.
The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Jasmine turned back toward the front doors. She was hungry since she hadn’t gotten the chance to eat with Tyler there. He saw the look on her face and asked what was wrong.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she smiled waving off the concern. “I am just hungry and didn’t get a chance to eat that’s all.”
“So you are saying I shouldn’t have come?” He looked hurt. More than that though, he looked pissed. “So it was a waste of time for me to come here and see you? I shouldn’t bother caring? Or maybe you don’t care about me as much as you do stuffing your face!”
“I never said anything like that,” Jasmine recoiled from the angry burst. “It was just an observation, nothing important.”
Tyler put his hand on her stomach. She looked down and then back at him. “It isn’t like missing a meal or two hurts anyway right? I mean I am in great shape and so I eat to maintain that but some people are happy looking mediocre.”
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