"Finally 29"

Listening to Demi Lovato's new song triggered a memory of me being 17 going through the same thing. It didn't take me being 29 to open my eyes and see that I was being groomed.

I was lucky to get out of the relationship quickly.

He had a bad reputation. Bad enough for multiple people (most being his previous friends) to warn me about his history of grooming girls below 16 at 28 years old. Not long after, I told him that I wanted to break up because he lied to me about his age. I had to find out his true age through those people.

When I confronted him, I only spoke about his age, but said nothing about what those people really warned me about. When he said it was true that he was 11 years older than me. I said I don't date people 10 years older, which was the truth but it was also because of the red flags. Lying about his age and people warning me privately? You got to give me credit for being a smart teenager to run as fast as I can out of there.

Him confirming his age indirectly confirmed the rumors relayed to me being true. So, I was REALLY smart with how I uncovered the whole truth about him. We've only been online, but he had quick plans to meet me. I was a virgin and that alone had always attracted the attention of creeps who feed on innocence. He was one of them. No doubt in my mind, he was. He was smart to always predator according to their country/state's legal age of consent, but it was still wrong especially with our age difference.

I knew he enjoyed the innocence I had, and even called me a tease or jailbait for it. As a teenager, the attention was the thrill. Wanting to become more grown up was the mindset, but that's why they tend to fall prey into these types of people. I thank my young self for being wise enough to be wary of these people.

I'm 24 now. I decided to google him up again and to my surprise an article surfaced in 2021. He was involved in arson and stalking. Google it, I will not shield this man even though he didn't taint me. Not because he wouldn't, but because he didn't get the chance to.

Just like the song lyrics: "Thought it was a teenage dream, a fantasy

But it was yours, it wasn't mine."