My Shitty Storytime.
So, I have to quit my job officially which sucks a lot because I really liked my job and it made me really happy for a while there and then I met her someone who effectively ruined my life. I made a "friend" at work or what I thought was a friend. Turns out I just met someone who wanted a romantic relationship from me and just wanted stuff I would never give them. We stayed friends because I didn't see it as the problem it would turn out to be. We were friends for a while longer and then she asked for more.. demanded more of me which made her eventually take from me. Things happened that I never consented to and the situation had just gotten worst. I tried so hard to put more space between us for her to understand that we weren't like that and we were not going to be like that. That I wanted nothing to do with her and I told her every single time she got into one of her, "im in love with you" fits that we were just friends and or we were nothing just coworkers and she would cry and try to make me feel guilty for not feeling the same. It got harder to deal with her unreasonable attachment to me but eventually she backed off a bit because she got a boyfriend. I thought that it would be the end and she would forget about me but no it wasn't the end. Eventually, I lost complete control of the situation so I did what anyone in my position would do.. I reported it. I reported it to my employer and they blamed me. I told them I was being sexually harassed and they blamed me because I was her friend. I don't know how to explain to them that typically abusers aren't the monsters of the world but "friends" or people you know. Somehow because I consented to friendship in their world it was like I consented to other things. As someone who is engaged this seemed so ridiculous to me. As someone with a partner and a commitment to that person I could not believe this crap. They opened an investigation and they continued to blame me even as I gave my original statement which detailed my abuse. I wrote six pages of my abuse and it was like nothing to them. It's really difficult for me to comprehend what happened next. The investigation went silent for a while almost three months passed and here we are at the end result. I got in trouble for the whole thing. I reported my abuse and I got disciplinary action. I was told that I displayed romantic and sexual behavior and I was shocked. I was physically ill at this point. Having suffered in silence all this time and then I finally get the courage to say something and it's my fault. As someone who is extremely introverted who suffers anxiety and depression this was like a slap in the face from the people who were supposed to save me and help me. It was like I was reliving every horrible moment that person had put me through all over again. My friends who endured similar abuse and obsession on her part could not believe it either. They reported their abuse and it was like it meant nothing. I guess maybe she was better at lying then we had the ability to tell the truth. I guess she was more believable than us, than me. My only plan now is to find and new job and quit which is extremely hard. I had been looking for a new job since this happened.. no luck. Still currently looking. I have to return to that job and be around my abuser again like I have the last few months and pretend like I'm okay. I'm probably going to start therapy and taking anxiety medicine again which is something I didn't want to do but I have to look out for my mental health. Now that the "investigation" is over we can put it all behind us said my store manager. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. When I was told I was being given disciplinary action for "consenting" to my abuse I wanted to break down but I held it together as best I could. I left that office in silence and sobbed in the restroom a few seconds later. I continued my work day basically brain dead and just couldn't process what the hell had happened. I don't want to go back even though I have to. I was humiliated. I was told that my abuse was consensual and I don't understand how that's possible. The moral of my story time is don't report unless you have tons of video and audio recordings of your abuse because they'll just sweep it away and dismiss you. Big corporations are only looking out for themselves. Whatever anyone at work tells you about reporting don't trust them and be prepared to lose your job. They'll most likely protect your abuser and further victimize you. Report if you are prepared to lose it all.
