*Let it be known that there are no gender specific pronouns contained in this article, because abuse in relationships is an all too real occurrence that victimizes both men and women.

Their grip tightens around your throat every time you find the courage to shut your eyes.
Their voice booms through your head as you sleep-
You can't even escape when you try to escape.
You tremble when your best friend attempts to comfort you;
You're being haunted before the body is even cold.
You hide your bruises with a smile.
You feel lost in the arms you once called home.
They justify their actions by calling it love.
They feed off your insecurities,
Know every word that can break you,
And they exploit that.
Suddenly the answer to 'What's your biggest fear?'
Becomes a name.
The answer to 'What do you hate most about yourself?'
Becomes their name.
They justify their words by calling it love.
Your pillow is wet with tears and blood every night.
You walk on the eggshells they've already broken.
Everything you do is wrong,
You're in a relationship yet you feel more alone than ever.
You bow your head during discussions about violence or abuse
While flashbacks appear before your eyes.
You justify their words and actions by calling it love.
You stay because they've convinced you that this is love.
This is what true love looks like,
This is normal, this is healthy.
Darling, this is not love.
Love is not knowing happiness without it.
Love is not searching for an escape,
Love is the escape.
While most associate it with heartache and rejection,
Love does not hurt.
Love is why we allow ourselves to hurt.
Without it, what a shallow world we would live in.
How worthless we would all be.
When your partner hits you,
Screams at you,
Belittles you,
Criticizes you,
Understand that this is not love.
Understand that the line between love and abuse is thick,
And the two never intertwine.
We do not get butterflies or see sparks when an open hand makes its way across our faces.
We are not bursting to tell the world about the things they hate about us.
Them raising their voice will never be the background chorus of a love song.
Please, hear me when I say that they do not love you.
They beat you, they destroyed you,
They abused you.
And that is smearing the good name of love.
You do not love them,
You are simply too afraid, too quiet, too insecure to leave.
That is masking emotion with one more powerful.
Know that there are outlets for you.
There are people willing to help you.
Your over-correction is waiting for you.
For every time you thought about giving up,
They've thought about finding you.
Give them the chance.
Give yourself the chance to experience all real love has to offer.
Future you is living a happy life,
But they do not exist without you.
Don't take them away.
Stay alive, because you've earned it.
You are so much stronger than you realize.
Who you are is not what they did to you.
Time is the most effective drug of all;
Don't waste it on any others.
Know that you are more than what you've been through.
Know that you are not alone.
Know that love is waiting for you,
And when he, or she, or it gets here
You won't remember life without it.