Valentine's Day, 2011.

My boyfriend at the time was an abusive dickhead. I figured since it was Valentine's Day, he'd possibly be a bit nicer- not that I had high expectations or anything.

So in the morning, he was sweet. Flowers, a super beautiful gift, which were both very unexpected, so I assumed the day wouldn't go horribly, at least.

That evening, we go down the street to our friend's apartment. There's a massive nitrous tank that people have been huffing from for over a week, and my boyfriend had been pretty much obsessed with it but I'd always refuse to huff any and try to encourage him to stop.

Between huffs, he pressures me to partake, as usual, but for the first time I said "what the hell" and tried it. It was okay. I maintained that I thought it was dangerous and I'd prefer he not keep doing it constantly (he was passing out a lot from it), but that yes it was kind of fun.

He proceeded to freak the fuck out on me, call me s hypocrite for enjoying it, punched me in the face in front of our friend, and then left the apartment after cussing me out horribly. With a fat, bleeding lip and bare feet, I chased him several blocks through about a foot of snow, trying to convince him to come back and that I would forget about it.

It was a shitshow. Yes, in hindsight my reaction can be seen as rather pathetic, but I'd also been in that relationship for over a year at that point and was so used to the abuse and especially the cycle of abuse.

Of course over the next year, things got so, so much worse than this and the police had to get involved and all that. If you know someone in an abusive relationship, please be understanding of them and try to help them. It's not as easy as "just leaving." Most abuse victims are essentially brainwashed.