RICHES TO RAGS: THEN BACK TO RICHES

Never in a million years did I ever expect to be homeless. Living in a tent under a bridge/a dried up canal on K and 10th street in Lancaster California. I was living what I thought was a happy life with my girlfriend in her hometown of Williamsport Pennsylvania. We had a perfect life; I thought anyway. We had our own place. It was perfect for us. It was a one-bedroom house with a laundry room off the kitchen, the bedroom had a small walk-in closet, the bathroom was off the bedroom, and the living room was big for a small house. I thought we would spend our lives together in that house eventually up grading to something bigger as we adopted to grow our family.

That never happened she met someone in Lancaster California. She told me that she was a friend and she needed help. She said that we were going to move in with her and help her out. We were supposed to get jobs and split the rent and bills to help her out. Well… we get there and I found out that was a lie… this woman she met was living with someone and they were paying all the bills and rent. We had gotten there in the middle of the night, and the people that she lived with told us that we could only stay for the night. So, we got settled in for the night. When morning came, we gathered our stuff up and left.

She decided to come with us. We found shopping carts to carry our stuff in, and we set out looking for a place to get out of the heat (it was the middle of June; in the desert). We found a Starbucks, so we sat there drinking a cup of ice water; trying to figure out our next move; how we were going to eat and where were going to sleep. I called everyone I knew; no one could help, so were up shit creek without a paddle. We found a little area off the freeway that was surrounded by trees for the first night.

I learned how to panhandle for money so we could at least eat; until we were able to get food stamps. As it started to get dark, we were sitting on the ground in our little spot trying to figure out something more private and less out in the open. They said they were going to walk up a little bit further to see if it was more excluded from the street. I sat there waiting for them to come back, it seemed like it was taking too long so I went looking for them to make sure they were ok. As I was walking, I heard noises I thought it was an animal of some kind, but I was so wrong. I found them having sex. I turned around and walked back to our stuff; she came running after me. She told me she was sorry she didn’t know how to tell me; that she knew that if I knew the truth I would have never agreed to come and she still loved me and wanted to be with me as well.

I was devastated. I was torn. I wanted to leave and go back to Fresno by myself, because I knew my mom would have let me come home if it was just me, but I also knew that if something would have happened to her that I would have never been able to forgive myself, so I stayed and stuck it out for what would be come six months. We found the dried-up canal a couple of days later. I had gotten my last check from the job I had in Pa. I bought us a tent, some stuff we needed to survive, a hot meal, and paid for a motel for a week so we could have a shower and be in air conditioning for a week. When our week was up, we went to the dried-up canal we found and set up camp.

We met a guy who kind of helped us out for a while, but he had us scared to the point where we were always looking over our shoulders. He had her and the other woman shoplifting and then they would sell the stuff on the streets, and we used the money for whatever we needed. I always refused to do it. He always threaten me by saying if we get caught, I know who to come after. He would always threaten us by saying “I have a few murders under my belt I’m not afraid to add three more.”

Later, about three months into this experience we met a lady who was also homeless, but she had a car to sleep in; she also had a boyfriend. They eventually took us in and got us away from the psychopath we were with. We went with them to LA. We would be with them for another two months. While with them we always had a motel. We would panhandle for money. We would put all the money we got together to get gas for their suburban, a room, coffee for the next morning and cigarettes. All of us had food stamps so we were set on food.

They eventually introduced us to a friend of theirs that had an RV. He would take us in. The other woman left. He took us to San Bernadino and, she would fall in love with him, and I finally had had enough; I felt like she was finally safe, so I called my mom and told her I wanted to come home, she told me that her door was always open. He bought me a bus ticket to Fresno. Once back in Fresno; I was finally safe; the whole experience was in my past where it would stay forever.

Rachel Mullendore was born in Rockford Illinois, but lives in California with her girlfriend. When she’s not writing, she can be found watching Grey’s Anatomy. Follow her on Instagram @rachel_09_19_87