Hi, I’m a 30 years Female and I graduated from GMU in 2017. This is something that happened during my Masters, I met a guy during orientation, and we became good friends. He also met my sister, who lives nearby, and became a part of our family. I used to share everything with him. One day, we attended a house party and ran into my crush. I told my friend that I was going to talk to him to see if he had a girlfriend. If he did, I thought I would move on. My friend agreed and said, “Go ahead.” When I found out my crush had a girlfriend, I was upset.
As we returned home, my friend made a pass at me. I politely declined, but he slapped me so hard I fell off the couch. I asked him to leave, and he stormed off. It took me a week to leave the house, and years to feel comfortable being friendly with another man. We’ve never spoken since that day.
Now, I’m left with a lot of questions:
• Did I do something wrong? Why did he slap me? Is it ever justified to hurt someone just because they reject you?
• Did I lead him on? I never crossed any boundaries with him, and we maintained a respectful distance. Was saying “no” the wrong thing to do? I don’t remember him ever flirting with me or trying to be more than friends. Even now, almost eight and a half years later, it still triggers panic attacks. I keep questioning everything, and I’m still not over it.