I’ve been on the run for a few years, because I’ve a lunatic for an ex-partner. He was very violent, I spent 4 years of daily abuse which ranged from verbal, sexual, physical and emotional.
We met in a day centre, we were both rough sleepers. Tim never drank or was a user, he was really twisted. Suddenly his face would change, his eyes would go all wide and I knew I was in trouble.
He never let me out of his sight, I wasn’t allowed to be on my own, he would leave me with his friends when he went off to do things. He controlled everything in my life. I finally had a chance to run and I did I just ran, we had gone away for the weekend, he let me out of his sight for 10 minutes as he avoided paying a hotel bill.
I was instructed to wait around the corner for him. All I had was my ID, pair of shorts and flip flops, I ran and ran. The next big hotel I came to I ran in and made a call to woman’s aid and jumped in a taxi to safety, my body trembling. I stayed in a safehouse and began the journey to re-build my life and my strength. Its kept me off the street and meant I’ve remained one step ahead of him.
Hopefully I’ll be able to be in my own house one day and be able to see my children again and I hope they’ll have enough dignity to understand.