From around the age of five and onward, I became aware of my father's severe drug and alcohol addiction. There were many days when my father would come home violently drunk or high on drugs. On those bad days, I could always tell something terrible was about to happen because it always started with heated arguments between my parents.
One time my parents were in the middle of one of those intense fights. I can't remember what the argument was about, but that doesn't really matter. All I know is that I tried to step in and stop my father from swinging at my mom when in a matter of seconds I have pushed forcefully away, knocked out, and was lying on top of the table. This became a common occurrence.
Later, when I was about 7 years old, I was again trying to protect my mom. The fight took a turn for the worse for me and I became so severely injured that teachers took notice. My father had tried to choke me and left purple marks on my neck and visible bruises on my arms. My eyes were swollen and my clothing was ripped and torn.
Teachers became alarmed and started questioning me about what had happened to me and why had been coming to school every day with bruises and marks all over my body. I was scared to mention to them about my father's substance abuse and behavior and told them only that my dad tended to beat me up.
I had no idea my father would get in trouble for that because this abuse had become normal for me. I didn't have any awareness of the consequences this would bring to the family. My relatives never reported it. I never had anyone defend me except for my mom so I thought this was just how life was.
Consequently, the teachers decided to call the police despite my pleading with them not to. I was clearly living in tremendous fear of my father and did not know if my family would be protected from him.
Additionally, I was terrified that my mother would pay the penalty for my reporting to the teachers but the teachers reassured me that my father would go to jail and that he would then never be able to harm her again. So I could live with that then. I love my mom and couldn't bear the thought of him hurting her one more time.
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The Story Of My Life
Non-Fiction"The Story Of My Life" is a non-fiction story that captures the background of my early childhood. You may had not know by reading this story you will be impacting my life. I simply start mentioning of how I felt down the stairs that dramatically eff...
