Prince Rotten Made Me Homeless
© personal experience from KC
In late March of 1994, I believed I was worthless as a human being. I was living with my boyfriend. At first I believed he was my Prince Charming. He was the one that was supposed to provide me with the picture perfect life, a resemblance of a Norman Rockwell painting.
We moved into a tiny basement apartment and my Prince Charming turned out to be Prince Rotten. The change in him started with fierce mood swings. While making dinner the mood would be light hearted. In a flash he would become furious. The cause? Perhaps it was the way I stood at the stove or the amount of spice I put into the meal. I did not understand the true reason for the outbursts, only feared them.
Put downs and degrading comments followed the mood swings. To him, I was never good enough, even at the simplest tasks.
I had no confidence or self-esteem left. Several times I contemplated suicide. But I didn't even have enough courage for that.
I invested two years of my life into this man. He said he would change. He said he loved me. My Prince Charming and the house with the white picket fence would be a reality. I was kidding myself.
I did not realize my situation was quite evident to other people. I never mentioned my home life or what was happening to me.
It was at my job that my eyes began to open. I was sitting outside on my half hour break when I noticed someone who looked quite familiar. Sitting across from me was my very first crush. His name was Rey Cyr. I met him as a child one summer. We became instant friends as children. I would look forward to seeing him each afternoon. He was sweet and polite. He saved my life when I was thirteen. A memory my heart has never forgotten.
We were at the local pool. I was about to jump off the diving board. Someone jumped on the board behind me. Before I knew what was happening, I was rolling sideways into the water. I felt no pain but knew I was in trouble. I couldn't breath, couldn't get to the surface. Hands grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. It was Rey. He had saved me from drowning. When I reached the side of the pool my right leg was covered in blood. I was scraped and bruised from thigh to toe. Rey sat with me while the lifeguards tended to my wounds. Each day for three weeks he stayed by my side until my leg was healed enough to go back into the water.
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