My mom beat me and now I have two black eyes.

[Guest]

My mom and I have been having a rough time getting along with each other ever since she found out I was moving to my dads during June. We would argue a lot and she would bring me down as a person. For example she would call me Fat, ugly, lazy, a **********, a cow, etc. she would do it in front of people and when I’m on FaceTime. One morning I woke up and she was watching a movie. I sat down with her to watch one of the scenes that was about to happen and she asked me to go and take my dog on a walk. I agreed and told her I will after this scene is over as my dog was walked 20 minutes ago and it wasn’t urgent. We had a neighbor walk by our apartment and my dog barked once. My mom then got really furious and started blaming me for her barking. She put my dog in her crate and then came at me and started to attack me with hurtful words. I’m used to this so I just went to the bathroom and started to get ready to take my dog out. As I’m about to brush my teeth she storms in opening the sink cabinets where I’m standing and she hits my knees with them. I then closed one of the cabinets and it didn’t touch her and nor did I. My mom then fell back as if I pushed her and called a ********** as she grabbed me and pushed me against the wall and started slapping me really hard continuously as I’m trying to get her off of me. She then stops and goes to her room. Out of how upset I was I called her a ********** which I probably shouldn’t have. She then turned around and charged at me. I had enough time to get in my room and try to shut my door until she put her arm in the way of me closing it. I can’t hurt her like that so I had no option but to let her in. I let her in and it happened so fast that it doesn’t even feel like a second to where I was pinned down in a corner on the floor getting beat continuously. First it was an open hand slap and it wasn’t one or two. She kept going to the point where my face went numb and my ears are ringing. I started to panic and scream hoping someone would hear me. Then that open hand turned into a closed fist and she grabbed my neck and kept going as she was on top of me. I tried getting her off but I started to panic. I am asthmatic and I have severe anxiety so I don’t know if it was a triggered asthma attack or a panic attack. All I know is that I couldn’t breathe and I needed medical help. I was suffocating as my moms fist continued to hit my face. She then realized that I was having an attack and ran out the room. Instead of bringing me and inhaler she left and closed the door. I was looking for my inhaler like crazy while I felt like I was about to pass out. I then realized she’s not coming to help. I then FaceTimed my best friend who’s family raised me and started screaming “she beat me”. I needed someone to see if I was to pass out and need 911. I found my inhaler and started to breathe again. I was crying as I lifted the phone and then my friend and her mom who was with her gasped. They said my face was all beat up and I had really bad bruises on both my eyes, eyebrows, and that my cheek was scratched up. I then started to panic not knowing what to do because I knew I couldn’t stay. This was not okay. I called my other friend who lives in the same town as me and when she answered she instantly knew something was wrong as I was not an emotional person. I told her everything and she immediately texted her mom. Her mom told me to pack my stuff and that I need to get out of there. I started to get worried like what if the police will come and take me away? What if my mom catches me? I then got a text saying they were in the parking lot. I went to my mom and asked if I could leave for the night and she said no and that she has a bunch of punishments lined up for me that day. She said if I was to go anywhere she would call the police and I would go to juvy because I “physically abused her”. I didn’t want to go to juvy and be blamed so I was scared. I told my friends mom and she has been in situations like this before and said that if anything she is the one that will face consequences. I then left out my window and my friends mom took me to their house. I went to my friends room and sat and cried all day feeling empty. I called my dad and told him everything and he didn’t seem to care. I showed him my bruised up face and it was as if he took this as a little argument. He told me to go home but I couldn’t. I texted my mom saying that I left and need to stay at a friends house and I would be back tomorrow and how she really hurt me. She didn’t reply at all. It is the next day and I still have no reply and I’m terrified to go home because I know she will lash out on me. I can’t not go home because my dogs there and I leave to my dads in two months. I clearly look as though I have been beaten up. My friend made me take pictures of all the marks on my body just in case. I am scared to go home but I know I have to.

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing a little bit about what’s been going on, we know that it takes a lot of courage. It sounds like homelife is usually tense and that it's now crossed over into dangerous and that must be really scary. Our main priority is your safety and we are glad to hear that you are somewhere safe and that your friend and her family are there to support you.

Your mom's behavior is completely unacceptable. Absolutely no one deserves to be abused. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. You have the right to report the abuse from your mom. If you feel like this is an option you want to explore, you may find this website helpful: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/. We can also help you to file a report if that’s the route you are considering. It was very smart of your friend to take pictures of the abuse as it may be helpful to a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation. It may also be a good idea to explore options for staying with another family member or someone you trust (like maybe your friend's parents) as far as transferring custody.

We aren’t legal experts here at NRS, but generally speaking, if you do opt to leave your home your mom can file a runaway report, which is essentially a missing person report. Running away is a status offense; this means that it isn’t illegal, but it’s something you can’t do while still a minor. If a runaway report is filed and you are located by the authorities you could be brought back home but most likely the police would contact CPS to report the abuse and then they would decide what the next steps would be.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

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Stay safe,
NRS