For the past year I've been in a relationship with a man with serious drug and anger issues. In hindsight, there were signs from the very beginning that he was abusive.

Within a week of dating him, he had moved into my apartment and was living with me for free. He was addicted to various hard drugs and I wanted to help him get clean. Let me start by saying that I'm a 21 year old girl who was raised by a wonderful family, I go to college, I work full time, I'm all around a good person..all I wanted do was help him. And I thought I could..

Within a few months he had already lied, cheated and stolen from me. I invested so much time into him that I completely stopped seeing my friends and family, everything I did was for him.

After a while I convinced him to get off drugs, and I thought that would fix everything. I thought that the jealousy, mood swings and fights were all because of the drug use..but I was wrong.

Months later when he was clean, the problems didn't go away..they got worse. Our arguments turned into screaming matches. Every time I'd try to leave, he'd make me stay by threatening me. There was also an incident where he followed me into work after a fight, and had to be escorted out by security.

This whole time I knew our relationship wasn't healthy..but I loved him so much and was so convinced that he could change..that I could save him.

Two nights ago, we had our worst fight as of yet and he crossed the line and got physical. I grabbed my car keys and ran. I drove an hour away in nothing but pajamas to my mother's house. When he found out where I was he called my mom, called her names and made threats.

The next day I had to go to work, and tried to stop by our apartment to get clothes. When I entered, he forced me into the bedroom and would not let me leave. He held me against the door and screamed at me..and I snapped. I hit him in the face and then he fought back. He never actually hit me, but pulled out a chunk of my hair and left bruises all over my arms from grabbing me.

Eventually I was able to calm him down so I could get my belongings and rescue my cat.

I'm now safe at my mother's house, but he will not stop contacting me.

He's leaving me messages at least once an hour, in which his mood changes with every one. At times, he's crying and saying he loves me and needs me. At other times he's threatening my life. Other times he's threatening to kill himself.

This is all happening as I'm typing this. I know that I'm safe, and I'm able to stay with my mom for as long as I need...but I don't really know how to cope with this. It is SO hard to ignore him when he's threatening to hurt himself. I'm afraid he'll reel me back in if I speak to him. What do I do?

I'm sorry this is so long..but I could really use advice on how to move forward from here. How do I ignore him? How can I make him leave me alone and have peace? How do I deal with seeing him around town?