Kayla Hayes was close to turning 19-years-old when she decided to end her abusive relationship.
She had been dating Aaron Fleury for about a year and the relationship continued to get more controlling and abusive.
She eventually developed the courage to leave her boyfriend.
Aaron asked Kayla to meet him for one more meeting in a parking lot near their home town of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Kayla obliged although she was confident that this would be their last meeting.
Aaron knew that he was going to lose his girlfriend and decided to lash out.
He had the determination to leave a mark on his ex-girlfriend that would never heal.
During a pretend kiss goodbye, Aaron bit Kayla’s lower lip and bit a chunk off.
His cruelty didn’t stop there.
He pulled Kayla out of the car and hit her face with the door.
Aaron ran away from the scene as Kayla recovered from the shock and pain.
Kayla started screaming for help at the top of her lungs after Aaron bit her bottom lip.
She was scared for her life.
Aaron didn’t want people to hear the screaming, so he slammed the car door into Kayla’s head.
Kayla was terrified and in a tremendous amount of pain after the attack.
She was sitting in her own blood in an empty parking lot with a large chunk of her lip resting on her leg.
An innocent bystander rushed to the scene after hearing Kayla’s desperate screams.
He immediately called an ambulance and Kayla was rushed to the emergency room.
She required a few extensive surgeries, but the doctors were unable to reattach her lip in the end.
The injury required over 300 individual stitches.
Kayla said that the attack took her by surprise.
Nobody expects that their significant other would turn into an animal and bit their lip with the force of a grown dog.
Instead of allowing her ex-boyfriend to hold power over her, Kayla has made the valiant decision to rise above these challenges.
In fact, she has adopted an inspirational motto: “Rise above. Wear your scars as your wings”.
Instead of allowing this horrific attack to define her life, Kayla has made the courageous decision to rise above the event.
She is taking control of her future.
Kayla has started a Facebook page called Rise Above where she hopes to encourage others to get out of abusive relationships.
She wants to help others who are suffering from these awful situations.
You can join the movement by following Kayla’s Facebook page.