My name is Derrione Watkins and I'm 16 years old. A couple of months ago I had an argument with my boyfriend, Tyree, that didn't end well. Looking back on it, we always argued over stupid stuff, but this particular argument was different, because Tyree hit me. We were with a few friends at the mall laughing, joking and eating pizza. Nothing out of the ordinary. One of my friends named Marc from my English class was there with his sister and came over to me to say hello while I was chatting with my friend Shannon. Tyree was kicking it with his boys at the time just a few feet away from me. Marc waived, came over and gave me a hug and started talking to me about our English papers that were due in less than a week. I'm pretty good in English and Marc asked me if I would take a look at his paper and we agreed to meet at lunch the next day at school so I could go over it. 

What I did not think about was that Tyree was watching the whole thing. It was no big deal anyway - it wasn't like anything was going on between Marc and I. We ended our conversation and Shannon and I continued talking. Tyree walked over and I grabbed his hand like I always do, but he snatched it away from me and kept talking to our friend Tony. I ignored it and continued talking to Shannon. A few minutes later we all decided to leave. Later when Tyree and I were alone at his house, he didn't have much to say to me. We were sitting on the couch and I asked him what was wrong and he said he saw me smiling and talking to Marc. I told him that Marc was only asking about our English assignment. Tyree said he saw me hugging Marc and he didn't like it and that I disrespected him by hugging Marc. I explained that it was a friendly hug and no big deal. Tyree asked me if I thought he was a fool and when I got ready to respond, he told me to shut up and then he slapped me. 

I was shocked and couldn't believe he had just slapped me. When I got ready to leave, Tyree begged me not to leave and kept apologizing and kissing me telling me he was sorry. I hate to admit it, but that was the first time, but not the last time Tyree hit me. We dated for a year and I spent the majority of my Sweet 16 scared to say or do the wrong thing so I would not make Tyree mad. He threatened to break up with me if I told anyone. This went on for another four months until my mother noticed a few bruises on my neck that I tried to hide from Tyree choking me. He grabbed me by the neck and started choking me saying that I was disrespecting him during an argument. My mother talked to his parents and we ended the relationship and Tyree was suppose to go to counseling and anger management classes. My mother and I took some therapy sessions and I learned a lot about domestic violence in teen relationships. I was blown, because I always thought that kind of stuff happened only in adult relationships.

I hope my story can help another girl who is dealing with the same thing. Help is available."

If you are in danger, dial 911 immediately! If you have experienced something similar to Derrione, please tell an adult right away. For more information on Teen Dating Violence, visit Love Is Respect. Call 1-866-331-9474 to speak with someone, or chat with a counselor at loveisrespect.org or text “loveis” to 22522, any time, 24/7/365.