Hey everyone, just coming to see what people think about my situation because I’m still very unsure myself. I have lived with my great grandmother since I was about 8 months old (I’m 19 now) and she’s always been what I would call abusive? She’s always neglected my emotional needs, she’s very controlling and manipulative, and she’s gotten physical with me more times than I can count but it’s never been anything super medically serious. She tries to control where I go, who I go see, when I can leave, she goes through my stuff and throws things away that she doesn’t like, and she always makes herself the victim when I bring any of this up to her.

Last month she snapped after we had an argument about my room being slightly messy, and she assaulted me. I got the police involved and had a protective order against her which has since expired. I decided not to press full charges because as awful as she’s been to me, I didn’t feel right sending an 85 year old to prison. I did however court order her to go to therapy. After finding out the verdict, she was absolutely pissed for the next two days. She would wake me up very early by blasting music outside my room, come into my room just to yell at me, and was overall just being difficult. It was very similar to how she was acting before the assault so I left. I ended up not feeling safe at home anymore so I have sought out help at a local DV shelter that helped me in court last week.

She has been calling me everyday telling me that I need to come home, that she doesn’t have much time left and that I’m not helping our relationship get any better by running away. She wants me to just come home and talk but I know she never sticks to any promises she makes regarding these issues. I know her health has been declining, she just recently had to have a brain tumor removed, but I genuinely don’t think I can go back to living with her. My mother stays with her now as well and she also seems to think I’m in the wrong for leaving. I just wanted to see what y’all thought, should I go back or should I continue living in the shelter until I can get my own place?