It’s easy to say you should leave someone that plays with you mind and makes you suffer, but things aren’t that simple. I never thought I would be in that situation.

Last fall, I met a Moroccan exchange student I just rapidly fell in love with. Just like me he wasn’t from the U.S., and was studying in Arizona. Everything was wonderful, but I didn’t have a clue what was to come, with everything from drugs and a trip to Africa. We dated for two months, when I one day opened my facebook and found his brother had written to me.

He notified me that this guy had dropped out of school and was missing, while his family and immigration searched for him.

How should I deal with this? I had never experienced anything similar to this before. He arrived in Santa Barbara, so I decided to confront him, which turned out to be a disaster.

At first, he didn’t say much other than he would call his parents and let them know where he was. I pushed him to go back to Arizona, and he broke down in tears. I promised to help him get back.

He partied the night before, so there I was, stuck driving through the desert with my coked out boyfriend. He tried to reach for his reefer, but I threw it out the car window which pissed him off even more. We made it to Arizona in the middle of the night. The reunion between him and his parents was emotional.

Their prodigal son had returned, but I don’t think they understood the problems he had.

Now you might assume we were done with each other, and it was a happy ending. But this was only the beginning, I just couldn’t let him go after what we went through. During Christmas break last year, I was invited to Morocco to visit him and his family. He never showed up at the airport, and I have never felt as little as I did, standing in the middle of the airport crying.

I couldn’t ask anyone for help because I dont speak French or Arabic, and hardly anyone knows English there.

Somehow I made it to Casablanca where I found a hotel and was able to contact him on the Internet. What I thought would be an enjoyable trip turned out to be the most exhausting three weeks of my life. It’s sad to say, but I was relieved when those three weeks were over. Along with dealing with his drug and personal issues, I slept on floors, got poisoned from the water and was sick for over a week without medication.

My last night was a nightmare. He and his friends had a “coke party”, and I broke down in tears and said I wanted out. I had said the same thing many times during my stay, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. Once again he convinced me to stay, by crying, telling me he needed me.

It’s hard to resist tears. I came back to Santa Barbara, but he was still in my life. He began to ask me for money, and naive as I was, I agreed. I was on my way to losing grip of my life, but thanks to a really good friend, I made the decission to break up and cut all ties with him.

People might say I was stupid to go to Morocco, and deal with all his problems. However, it’s easier said than done to leave someone you get emotional attached to.