It was the day of my senior prom in 2011. My prom party consisted of myself, my two best girl friends, Margaret and Savannah, our mutual friends Amanda and QuionJay, and our dates. We all met at my house to take pictures and to eat the dinner that my parents prepared for us.
When Amanda showed up she was dateless. She told Savannah and I that her mother had never liked her boyfriend, Patrick, and had forbidden him from going to prom with us. She made it seem as though her mother was just a mean control freak and that there was no real reason why she had forbidden Patrick from coming with us. Patrick was my next door neighbor at the time so after prom Amanda planned on staying the night at his house instead of mine. Savannah and I felt terrible for Amanda and promised we would cover for her if her mom got in the way.
Prom and Breakfast was wonderful and we all had a great time but Amanda. Her mom followed our limo around all night to make sure Patrick didn’t show up at prom, which he didn’t. Amanda also proceeded to be the only of out of our whole prom group that drank and got drunk. Savannah and I kept our promise. Every time Amanda’s mom called us asking questions we covered for her. When we arrived back at my house later that night Amanda drove to Patrick’s and Savannah and I went to sleep.
It seemed like only a minute before I was woken up by Savannah. We noticed the police lights coming from Patrick’s house. We didn’t know what to do. Her mom had called us several times so we called her back and said told us Amanda would call us later.
The next morning we should out what had happened. Patrick had already beat Amanda several times before that night, sending her to the hospital twice. She continued to go back to him until her mom got suspicious and went through Amanda’s phone. She found out everything and forbid Amanda from seeing him. But Amanda continued to secretly see him and that night he went further than ever. He raped Amanda when she wouldn’t have sex with him. He told her he had to get her pregnant so she could never leave him. He beat her repeatedly, dragged her around naked by her hair, chased her around with a knife as she called her mother to say good bye, and held a gun to her head in front of Amanda’s mother and father when they arrived after the horrible phone call.
It took months but we finally got him kicked out of his house. They took him to court but he was only put in prison for one year. No one really believed Amanda but us. People harassed her at school, including her “best friends.” People even threatened her. It took a long time before Amanda finally went and got help from a therapist but she did.
People are so “ok” with violence against women that even her best friend’s turned against her and defended Patrick. They immediately believed she was lying. It was that saddest thing I even witnessed a friend go through.
Even though I have never been abused to the point I have had a gun or a knife held to me. I have been abused personally by guys in relationships. I have experienced mental, emotional, and physical abuse from my past relationships. I was with one of my ex-boyfriends for a year and he convinced me I owed him and had to have sex with him before I left him. I have also been beaten and sexually assaulted by two of my best friends. I can definitely relate to this story and that's why I don't cover for anyone when they ask me to. I wish women could stand up for themselves more and take care of themselves.
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