The house had no electricity, heat, or water. It was abandoned. Windows broken in, trash littering the yard, shaky floorboards. 2 bedroom, one bath.

"Welcome to your new home."

Me, my sickmom, my aunt, my aunt's drunk boyfriend, an obese highwoman, a bearded man, a skinny guy, and a black man.Packed in one room. Cigarette smoke blowing in my face. 2 small dogs in the room, being kicked and tossed around.

"Get in my truck," said the drunk to me as he touched himself.

"Hold on now. She just got here."

"Shut up nigger."

The drunk and the black man go outside to fight.

"Sorry about that. He doesnt want to have sex with me because I'm too old. He thinks I gave him to you as a gift," said my aunt.

Gift, present. My aunt told him that he could have sex with her virgin neice. She thought that would fix their relationship problems.

"What kind of cancer do you have? How long do u have to live? You need to pay me $500 for rent. And give me pain pills," said the fat ass woman on the couch to my mom.

Cancer? Yeah, she's sick and half-dead, but she doesnt have cancer. And she doesnt have $500! We just became homeless, give us a break.

My mom was half-dead, I was cornered by these scary bizarre people, I had nothing to defend myself. I had to get out. Before I was raped and my mom murdered.

"This is the real world," they told me.

Is this the real world? Drugs, rape, fear, darkness, dirtiness? Does the real world have empty beer cans in the bird bath in the front yard? Have I been living a lie my whole life? Had I been too sheltered?

Before, I was an honor student who lived in a safe community in an apartment complex. 2 bedroom, 2 bath, swimming pool, indoor gym, walking trails. Employees at the complex gave us free banana nut muffins and soda and candy.

Now I was homeless in an abandoned house, a highschool drop out, mom dying, scared, dirty, broke, at the mercy of my evil aunt and her drunk boyfriend.

I got out 12 hours later. I got out with my mom. They stole everything we had. My cat died. I wasn't raped. But I wish I was. Maybe then people wouldn't tell me to suck it up, to get over it.

I couldn't breathe, my chest was tight. I couldnt stop crying. I need a gun, I need a knife, I need a whistle. Im in a safer place now. But I still check behind the shower curtain and in closets. I dont trust anyone. They'll steal my stuff.

I'm over reacting. My mom didnt die, she just suffered so much and was so sick. I wasnt raped, never stepped foot in his truck and was never touched. I dropped out, but re enrolled 2 weeks later. I wasnt homeless, a wealthy couple took us in until i graduated, I never spent a night in a shelter or outside. Everything from blankets to clothes, DVDs to Kinect games, laptops and flat screen TVs. They took the expensive heater I got my mom. She was always so cold because of the starvation. They took cheap braceletsto real diamond necklaces. Stop being so materialistic. Your cat died, but she died peacefully. Stop being a cry baby. This is the real world: thieves and murderers and mean people and manipulative people.

July 2013-July 2014.