A few days later he came home and surprise surprise we had another argument, strangely enough this was one is the one time I don’t remember him physically hurting me, instead he got a bottle of bleach went up to my room and poured bleach over every item of clothing in my wardrobe. Now I think of how devastated I would be if that happened, but at that point of my life I felt it was a miracle that 1, he hadn’t physically hurt me and 2, I hadn’t packed my clothes. Had I have already packed my belongings he would have known I was leaving and what would he of done then? He walked out the house leaving behind his phone, keys and belongings. For some reason this was different and I knew this was the end, I stayed at my Grandma’s that night. The next night I returned home I double checked every door and window was locked. All curtains were shut and lights kept low. I didn’t want him to know I was there. I didn’t sleep a wink that night.  I slept downstairs on the sofa, he turned up banging on the doors begging to let me in tying the door handles. I just laid in silence counting down the hours until morning so I could get out. The next morning I packed my stuff and Stacy’s and I left.

Now I was free I was at home with my mum, what could go wrong? Damage was caused to my property once he knew I had left this happened on more than one occasion. I returned home to my mum a 19 year old a mother, but I was a scared, quite, shy and an anxious little girl. My mum had to mother me like a baby all over again. I needed her more than I had ever needed anyone. Looking back now returning home was a hard process, we argued, we cried and I struggled to be without him. Eventually I started opening up to my mum, telling her the truth about what I had gone through.

Believe it or not I started seeing my ex-partner secretly, he made contact with me so I agreed to see him. I met him in secret places, having secret telephone conversations with him. He wanted me to keep it a secret and promised he would get some help and then we could be together again – as a family all 3 of us, like I had always wanted, we was going to be together forever remember?

A few weeks later he assaulted me again this was the turning point this is when I knew it would never change, I would lose Stacy for good and I had to do something. I rang the police, made a statement, he was arrested and given a warning to stay away from me. At this point I decided it was time to get some legal advice. So I went to a solicitor and got some help – finally 7 years later it clicked!!