Why I don't talk to my family anymore: the terrifying and abusive neighbor who wouldn't take no for an answer

I'm an LGBT person. She wasn't. She was a single mother of 5 who was desperate and took to me one night when she spotted me walking alone in a parking lot. She was mad that I wasn't wearing a bra and attacked me. <br><br>I fought back, broke her nose, and fled. I called my family and they didn't believe me. Instead, they called my attacker and got angry with me when she denied everything. I ran away from home and never went back. She was eventually arrested for emotionally abusing her children and is now in prison.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit: okay, I guess I got some more story to tell. I'll apologize for this story before I begin because it's going to be very hard for me to write these things and I'd appreciate some regard as I do. <br><br>When I was 14 I started coming out to my family. They didn't take it well. It got worse for me when I realized I was adopted. Looking back on it I can now see that I was in the midst of an abusive relationship. I'm not sure what counts as abuse, but I was consistently belittled and shamed. I was constantly called a slut, and they encouraged me to be very reclusive. They monitored everything I did and kept a very close watch on me.<br><br>When I divorced myself from my family I moved to Texas. My life became very quiet, and I started spending a lot of time at the library. This is where I meet her and her children. I was reading a book about the history of my country on a couch in the library, and she sat down next to me. She had 5 children with her, all of whom were under the age of 10. She would talk for hours about how much she hated her children and wished she'd never had them. Her children would beg her to stop, and she would do so. But she would shame them by calling them bastards and damn them in Jesus' name. I was horrified by this. <br><br>Eventually she took my number, and we started talking. She ended up sucking me into her web of lies and I was eventually going over to her place and spending some time with her. She was a bastard, and would often talk about how she'd kill the children if I ever left her. She was threatening me by telling me she'd kill them if I left because she knew how much I cared for the children. I would try to call CPS, but the kids would answer by saying they were perfectly fine, and that she never touched them. <br><br>I almost went through with having sex with her, but she showed up at my job one night and started yelling at me. She took out a knife, and I was able to fight her off and get it away from her. I stabbed her in the gut, and then I left. I didn't want to do it. I've always had an interest in forensics, and I found that her wounds matched the injuries of a person who had been stabbed with their own knife. She was investigated for child abuse, but the children denied it. She was attacked by multiple people claiming she was a pedophile. She was attacked and eventually left town for New Mexico. I went to Texas. <br><br>When I moved to Texas I assumed she was gone for good. I started going to classes for photography and painting, and I met someone who I fell in love with. When she found out, she moved to Texas and began taking classes. She eventually took a class in photography, and spotted me. She attacked me in a parking lot, and when I came to I was in the hospital. She was arrested and charged with attempted manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. The investigation went on for weeks. When she was sentenced she received a 15 year sentence. I was going to visit her when I got a call from someone claiming to be her brother. He told me that they had been a victim of exploitation for many years and that they were sorry. They said that they didn't know me and that they were still processing the fact that their children were emotionally abused. They said that I was their brother's best friend in the world. I hung up. <br><br>It was around this time I realized that I had been living in fear for a very long time. I finally took the courage to call CPS about my family. I told them everything, and I realized that I had been a victim of trafficking and abuse my whole life. She had grown up in the same household as I. <br><br>She was a monster. She called me a monster for some reason. I thought she was calling me gay, but now I'm not so sure. <br><br>I don't know what she wanted from me. I don't know why she did what she did. I realize now that I'm in a process that is called trauma bonding. I've been trying to get her off my mind for a very long time. I was headed to therapy when she would visit me. I'm going to therapy now. I know I'll be okay.