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Domestic Violence Survivors - Remy Zimmerman

Remy Zimmerman
Domestic violence survivor

Abusive relationships

I haven’t been in that many relationships with guys, but the ones that have been serious have been abusive. The one, well only two of them have been abusive. The first one when I was younger, I was like 17 years old and that was for almost two years. And the other one, that’s why I’m in the shelter now, that one was for about 4 months..

I covered it up

I had to go to work, I woke up and got ready, I was going out to my car and he took my keys because he thought I was talking to other people at work. And I didn’t want to be with him anymore, and he was really jealous. And he took my keys, and he held on, he punched me in my eye, then he held onto me, and I was driving down the driveway and he held onto my hair the whole entire time. We got to the end of the driveway; I almost ran him over, but the way that he was I couldn’t, and by the time we got to the end of the driveway he just looked at me, and punched me in my face. And I went back to him. I went to work. I had two black eyes. I covered it up. And I don’t even remember what I said, but I used to cover it up all the time. I bruise really easily. So I usually just — I bumped my arm on a door or fell down. Everyone knew what was going on, but I just didn’t want to believe it, everyone told me how he was, “he’s not a good person,” “stay away from him.” “He’s no good.” “It’s just going to keep getting worse.” And I just thought it was going to get better.

He flipped out

And then one day it was, I don’t know, probably about two years after being with him, he flipped out, I don’t even remember what we even said, or fighting about. We fought for two days straight. We were out in my car, and we were doing okay. And then something like triggered him and he flipped out, and he smashed my head against the windshield, or the side of the driver’s side window, and he kept kicking me in my back. And finally the cops were called. Because my friend from the lake came to where we were. We were in Brook Park. And came there and got me out of there, we went and we filed a report at the police station.

Part of my skull is missing

I went to the hospital and he fractured my skull. There’s just a little part of my skull missing from where he hit my head so hard against the door. I didn’t talk to no cops the whole time I was in the hospital. The nurses and the doctors. they just, you know, gave me some pain medicine and told me if I needed anything else to go back. So I left. I went to the police station, filed the report, he was arrested, he went to jail and that was all. Nobody went any further even when he went to court and told about it. His charges were assault, but I didn’t get talked to, or get told to go somewhere, or asked do you need anybody to talk to. Just okay, have a nice day and that was it.

He turned on me

My current relationship, why I’m in here. It was probably even, getting like kicked and hit was probably one of the worst. Just because, the way he talked to me. We were only together for four months, but he just made me believe everything. And then he turned on me…I told him I didn’t want to be with him anymore. He’s like, “Well, if nobody, if I can’t be with you, nobody can have you.” “Nobody’s going to want to be with you, you’re nothing.” “You moved up here to be with me now what are you going to have nothing, you don’t know anybody up here. You’re stuck.” And then he looked at me, he was just, you know, right next to me in the car and he punched me in my mouth like I was in a guy. Like I didn’t mean anything to him ever.