Kara Smith

I remember that morning that came so fast and so furious that I couldn't believe it was me. My ex was the perfect man for the first year and a half. It was like a fairy tale. We worked the same job together so we drove together everyday. It was 4:30 in the morning and I had just finished my workout when he thought he saw a message on my phone from a man. Which it was from a girl named Sam and that's all it took. I don't remember exactly how or why he chose to come at me but he did. He tackled me like a football player, putting my head through the wall. It wasn't even 5 a.m. and I was unconscious for a few seconds. There was a hole in my wall and I laid lifeless on the ground. I stood up to hear his stories and his apologies for what just happened. My face was bruised and swollen and I was crying as I jumped in the car and took him to work with me. I was a supervisor at my factory so when I showed up with marks on my face and my head bleeding I lied and said I had fell and tripped over the dog. That's when I knew that my world was just like a book that I had read for so many times and couldn't understand why so many women stayed. I was that girl. I was that girl. In a moment. In a flash. The one that I never understood how they could be so weak. I had given this man my heart 100%. I thought I had to have done something wrong. I had to do something to deserve this because why would it happen out of nowhere. This was the very first of a horrible beginning. Day after day the bruises started. Day after day the lies and stories started coming out of my mouth till I realized once again I was that girl. It came to a point in my life when my best friend started to video call me every night about 9pm. I didn't realize at the time she was trying to make sure that I was physically okay because she thought he was going to kill me. As the realization hit and I became more aware of the situation I was in and how scary it got, I decided and I knew I had to make a change. I decided it was time to get him out of my house. It did take an army and it took a lot of work but I could never be more thankful that I'm here today, with a smile on my face, and by the grace of God I can see my family grow.