At the beginning of the summer, my first boyfriend, the one who I was obsessed with in high school, who knew Don and what he was, he was going to be at my mom's, and she asked me if I wanted to come and see him. Apparently, he wanted to talk to me. So, I went for a job interview one day and went to my parents'. He and I sat in the basement and had a very serious discussion. He had gotten his life back on track, and he was worried about me. He told me that he would always love and care about me. And he took me back to my apartment. What I really wanted to do was have him get me outta there, but I didn't tell him that.
Don was furious when he found out where I had been! I'm sure some great fight ensued, but I don't remember.
When I couldn't find a job, I went back to my manager at the part-time job I'd had, told him the whole story about what had happened, and he gave me my old job back. Yes, it was only part-time, but I was glad that he believed in me. I had virtually no way to get to work, so there were many days that I walked to work and/or home. I also worked with some nice people who gave me a ride occasionally. I think it was about three miles one way to the mall.
Don didn't look for a job at all. He spent his days lounging at the pool getting a tan and drinking beer, doing who knows what else, while I was working part-time for $3.35/hour. We hadn't been able to pay our rent or really even survive very well at all.
At the end of the summer, my grandma offered for Don and I to move in with her, and she would help us. So, she got us a storage unit, we put everything in it, which wasn't much, and we moved to another state with her. Little did I know, my life was about to change yet again. This time, it was good and bad all at the same time. I didn't really expect that he would be able to physically harm me at my grandma's. At least, I hoped not.
We were there for a couple of weeks when Grandma was going to visit her sister. I wanted to go back and visit Don's family, but he didn't want to go. So, Grandma dropped me at Don's mom's, and he stayed behind. The first day I was there, my dad called me because one of the places I had applied for a job called him when they couldn't reach me. I got a job interview!
I was so excited about this because I had gone so long with no one wanting to talk to me. It was in a savings and loan for a mortgage department. The man who interviewed me was so nice, and he obviously liked me, too. I got the job! I guess we were moving back home again!
Don's mom was very nice in letting us stay with her for a couple of weeks. I rode the bus to work and basically took care of my own needs fairly well. I guess that he spent his days lying around and sleeping. This made his step-father very upset.
The first weekend we were there, Don's sister and her husband had their first baby. It was so exciting! I longed for something like that to happen for me, and I think I knew that being with him was not the way for my dreams to come true, but I kept on going.
Don's mom, bless her heart, and I found this out later, she thought that making us leave would force me to go home to my parents and get my life together. She loved me, too, and I know she wanted the best for me at that time.
I got back to their house on Friday after work, and it was the weekend of turning the clocks back. She told us that we would have to take our things and leave. This had nothing to do with me, but her husband just didn't want us there anymore. Don took it out on me, calling me all kinds of foul names, threw me down on his sister's bed, choking me, when his mother walked in on it and started yelling at him to get out. He cursed at her, too. And I was stuck with him... homeless now.
Looking back, I WISH I would have called my dad. I wish I would have. I know he would have dropped everything and picked me up so fast, but my pride wouldn't let me...once again.
We had nowhere to go, and no one to call. Our friends (who rescued me from him the night where I hid in the laundry room) had moved to that side of town, and they said we could leave our things at their house, but we could not spend the night. They didn't trust him. So, standing on a street corner, with a suitcase and stuff, he yelled at me and pushed me to the ground. He said this was all MY fault.
We spent the night roaming around the east side of town, sitting for a while in the park, almost got attacked by a dog, and I was freezing. All I had was this little suede coat, and it wasn't cutting it.
The next day, our friends let us make some calls. I called my sister, but I couldn't really bear to tell her what was going on. And I called my best friend, and I couldn't tell her what was going on. So, we were off again. We found a motel, I gave them my revoked VISA card, and I went to bed at 8:00 that night, waking up at 9:00am. That morning, there was a note on the door regarding the card, and we took off. I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't do anything about it. I was desperate and cold. And we started walking again.
A man picked us up in his truck and took us downtown because I had to go to work on Monday. We went to another motel, they knew something was wrong with my card, and we were stuck. We called the friend of his who was my "bodyguard" when he broke down my apartment door. She picked us up and took us home with her, and we had a place to stay. I could get to work, and I could make money to get a place.
Can you take one guess as to whether or not he looked for a job? No, they went out drinking almost every night while I went to bed, so I could go to work the next day.
My grandma loaned me some money, and I got an apartment for us. Finally, out "on my own" again. I was so grateful for our friend, who helped us through a very bad time. I know she knew what he was, and she knew what he did to me. But she still saved me through a very bad time.
And I had a job, a really good job, a job that I really liked and appreciated. And they appreciated me, too. And they treated me well.
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