I was groomed at 15 by my “cool” next door neighbor - hated being at home because of the constant arguing and fighting from my parents and sibling. Thought what he was doing to me was okay and looked at his house as an escape

Didn’t leave that situation until I was 22 - once I did I learned how fucked up that whole situation was, how controlling, abusive, manipulative and damagIng that was to my self.

I’m 27 now and am struggling not to have resentment towards my family for not seeing the signs, for being the reason I felt like I needed to escape. I have an amazing boyfriend, a great job and am very happy today. But the trauma and regret and mental health issues are still an everyday battle and nightmares of being back there are still common

No one should have to go through that, and the weird thing is, I’m one of the lucky ones. So many kids, young girls and boys have suffered much much worse than I have and are still going through all of that pain. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy