09/03/2025
Trigger Warning: That Night Is One Reason I Teach Self-Defense
I lost my friends that night. Somewhere in the chaos, we drifted apart. We went our own ways. We can’t blame each other for not being better. We didn’t know better. It could never be me. It would never be us. We were untouchable. Small town, big names. Farm girls and country boys. We thought we were safe. So trusting. So naive.
When he said he could take me home, I believed him. A stranger I’d just met.
Too many drinks. Too many winks.
My red flags lifted, but didn’t fully rise.
He bought me a drink. “Just one.”
Then, “Hey, how about another?”
After all, he knew my grandmother. Wink.
“No really, I insist. I thought you liked me.”
Wink.
“Then prove it, princess.”
Wink.
“Where are your friends?”
Wink.
“It’s half past time to leave. Sounds like you need a knight in shining armor.”
But the night was cold, and the darkness was heavy. I couldn’t see his eyes. They stayed shadowed. But his hands were warm.
He could take me home.
He drove me to the apartment complex I’d been at earlier. Just hours before, I was there with my friends, getting ready for a night of laughter, dancing, and memories. That’s what we were chasing, wasn’t it? Memories?
I tried to misdirect.
Don’t go inside.
I searched for an escape. The apartment from earlier was just across the street. A girl lived there. A friend of a friend. Maybe I’d get lucky. Maybe she’d let me in.
But no one was home.
My phone was dead.
I was alone in the middle of the night. With a man who didn’t care what I had to say.
He wouldn’t wait anymore.
Despite my protests.
Despite my fingernails.
Despite everything I thought I could do.
It was later when I convinced him to take me home. He drove me to my house.
I ran for the door.
I sprained my ankle in those sky-high heels.
I teach self-defense because I needed self-defense.
I’ve had my life flash before my eyes.
I’ve been in situations I never thought I’d survive.
I’ve felt pain so deep my tears offered no relief, if I could even cry at all.
Now, I advocate for affordable and accessible self defense training. But more than advocate, I can teach. So we can better prepared.
And we make it home.
