I can relate to this SO well. My ex loved buying extravagant gifts but I don't think there was a single one of them that was more for me than him, he was incredibly manipulative and very good at getting in my head. I felt like I was always on edge and got to the point where I couldn't even talk to him when I got upset…

It is, in retrospect. And so insidious the way they ramp up their game to destroy you.

At first I was like, there is NO WAY Callie is scooping everyone on Banksy's identity! but you know what? I clicked through anyway.

Thanks for this! I just broke up with my boyfriend who had been hinting he wanted to get engaged (we were dating quite seriously) because I realized I couldn't spend the rest of my life with him. It was absolutely awful, but it's nice to remember that I'm not the only one who's ever been through that.

Thanks so much everyone!! I'm still finding all the places my work has been posted, and I'm proud to be featured here! :D

When I was 17 and a high school senior, I had an affair with a teacher. He was in mid 30s and married. Though I would have argued with this heatedly at the time, I was in no position to be pulled into a complicated, emotionally challenging adult relationship. I was book-smart but very naive, lonely, more than a bit…

I knew it was coming!