Her Choice Was to Pull the Trigger or To Walk Out

She had finished waiting tables for the night and was asked to go to a party.  She hardly knew the people, but … she thought, “Why not?”  The “party” was a small group.  The alcohol was in copious quantities.  She noticed one man staring at her.  She knew him by reputation.  He was “bad news.”  He walked over and made conversation … getting much closer than he needed.  He declared to the group that he was … taking “this one” home.  She looked around for the people who brought her.  They were gone.
 
She hid in a closet.  He found her.  No one seem to notice.  No one seemed to care about this 15- year-old girl.  He grabbed her arm and put her in the car.  He said she was being silly.  He liked her.  He wouldn’t harm her.  He said he wanted her to meet a friend of his, who worked late at night at a radio station building.  He would show her around.
 
The building was dark, with the exception of a few lights.  There was only one person in the building.  She wasn’t quite sure what he did, but he was happy to help “show her around.”  The “tour” was short and ended up in a room with a sofa.  The man who brought her, raped her first.  He told her that screaming would do no good, no one would be able to hear her.  Besides … the other one was waiting his turn, right outside the door.
 
When it was over they took her home to the trailer she was sharing with another girl.  Then, they drove off.
 
She knew where to find the man who took her from the party.  He was always at one particular pool hall.  She also knew where the gun was that her roommate had in a nightstand by her bed.
 
She walked into the pool room.  He saw her and stopped laughing with his friends.  He continued playing pool, but never seemed to take his eyes off of her.  She looked into the bag she was carrying and touched the gun.  She looked at him.  And, then … she turned around and walked out of the pool hall.  It was one of the better decisions she had made that day. 
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Many children choose to leave home because they want to escape sexual abuse … only … to run right into it, all over again.  I believe that these are children who felt they could not tell someone they were being abused, didn’t think they could trust anyone, or … they were ignored.  Parents have got to pay attention to their child and to the signs of child abuse before the child runs away.  No fifteen-year-old should be left on their own.  The story above is a true story.  This story could have an even more tragic ending.  But with the Grace of God … she walked away.  By doing so, she gave herself a gift of time.  Time to get through the life she was living.
 
I urge parents to talk with their children as young as possible … about child predators.  I urge them to look for the signs.  And, I urge everyone to please … don’t … look the other way when a child needs you.  You are setting them up to make some very bad decisions.
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Debbie Barth: 08/10/2017 at 3:35pm EDT © All rights reserved
 
Debbie Barth is the author of The Promise Book; Tell Someone.  She is the host of On The Grid Internet Talk Radio, and is also an Ambassador for India Hicks.