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Wednesday, May 21st 2008

The year was 1991 and the dresses were just as big as the hair styles. She was starry-eyed, excited, nervous and 17. It was her Senior Prom.

They had been dating since September. He was a 20 year old college student who was working to become a police officer. She was planning to pursue a career in theater after high school. In her small world, on that sunny day in May, life was perfect and anything was possible.

Their relationship had its ups and downs but to her, that was normal. Every couple had problems but she truly believed that they loved each other.

He had only laid a hand on her once before prom. They were at a club, he had too much to drink and he pushed her. Just one time and he was really sorry. He promised it would never happen again.

The day of the prom was perfect for her. She had her hair done, painted her nails and primped for hours in her room, giddy with excitement. A group of 8 couples met beforehand for photos and as the line of limos pulled off for the dance, their parents smiled, cried and waved goodbye.

The prom was like a fairytale. She felt like Cinderella herself when she looked at the clock and realized the dance was almost over.

There was a party planned for after the prom and everyone they knew would be there. On the way to the party in the limo, the couples had a drink. She had a glass of wine and was buzzed by the time they arrived. She was unaware that he had been drinking all night.

At the party, she sat with her friend on the floor in front of the boys. They were making jokes and being silly as the guys talked about sports. The girls were too involved in their giggling to notice that they were annoying their dates.

She didn’t realize anything until she felt his foot connect with her back. He kicked her 3 or 4 times before she could even react. When she finally was able to stand up from the floor, all eyes were on them. Everyone looked horrified but no one spoke a word.

Tears of humiliation stung her cheek as she ran from the house out into an unknown neighborhood. She made it to the woods before she let herself stop and feel what had just happened. Her back was bruised and sore, her heart was crushed and her spirit broken.

She must have sobbed by that tree for a half an hour before they found her. A couple of her friends comforted her and convinced her to come back inside. They told her how sorry he was. How he was crying and said he’d do anything if she forgave him. He said he lost his temper because he thought she was making fun of him.

She didn’t know what to do but she knew that she wanted her night, the night that would only happen once in a lifetime, to turn out better than alone in the woods.

She swallowed her shame and returned to the party. No one even mentioned the incident. It was like none of it had even happened. She let him apologize and told herself that after tonight she would break up with him.

The later it got, the more he drank and the harder it was to look at him. He knew she was angry so when the other couples were going home or finding a place in the house to sleep for the night, he asked her to talk in the bathroom.

They argued. He pushed. She tried to leave. He hit. She wanted to go home. He took her keys. She wanted to call her parents. He locked her in the bathroom for the rest of the night.

The next day, she spoke nothing of what had happened to her that night. It was months before she told her mother. She never brought it up to her “friends” - the ones who were there but did nothing to help. The ones who heard her in the bathroom that night, looked at her like an after-school special but didn’t have the decency to stand up for a friend. She held it all inside and let it eat away at her self-worth.

Although she never once saw the world through the eyes of Cinderella again, she did later find her real Prince Charming - a man who would always cherish and defend her.

He married as well and later became that police officer.

Each year, when she sees the girls in town getting ready for their prom, she can’t help but think about that night. After she tucks her own daughters into a warm, snug bed, she says a prayer for the girl he married and thanks the good Lord above for better.

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