Florida to Arkansas

There are times when people end up in  places where they never dreamed of being. Take Chris and I for example. We were a young couple, 17 at the time and we were in love. We were both having problems with our family and they didn't’t want Chris and I to be together for whatever reason they had. They tried to do anything they could to keep us apart but nothing ever worked. Our love for each other was too strong. After I turned 18 years old, Chris and I were determined to move out together. We moved into a small apartment in the same complex where my mother was living. It was the most inexpensive place in Florida to get an apartment so when we found out that we were accepted, we were really excited. We both had job’s and everything was going well for the first two weeks. It was after that when things started to go downhill. Chris and I didn't’t have any transportation to get to and from work so getting to work was like a mission. We both worked at the same telemarketing place so it was a little soothing to know that we could walk to work together. The the walk from where we lived to where we worked was not an easy one. That was when we decided that we couldn't’t work there anymore.  We ended up quitting and that left us with no money. We couldn't’t pay our bills and there were times when we didn't’t have any electricity. Things were starting to get really difficult. Before we quit our jobs, we didn't’t think about the consequences we would have to go through. We were depressed and so uptight that we didn't’t have any motivation to go out and look for a new job. There were times when Chris’ grandmother would help us out with grocery’s and she even paid our rent a couple times but she wasn’t going to pay it every month and we knew that. We didn't’t want to live off of anyone. We wanted to pay our own bills, have our own life and we wanted our family to be proud of us.1

I had been communicating with this woman on the Internet for eight months and we were pretty close. She and I talked about everything, shared a lot in common and we were pretty good friends. She had two adopted daughters and I cared for them so much. This woman knew of Chris and I’s troubles that we were having and that is when she offered for Chris and I to come live with her, her husband and her two daughters. Chris and I sat down and talked about it and figured that it was the only option we had. We knew that it would give us a good chance to save up some money to get back on our feet and to get our own place. So, we scheduled to move to Arkansas with this woman and her family on July 1, 2004. Of course it was hard telling our family the truth and what we were doing but we knew we had no other option. It was a sad day when we had to say good bye to everyone we loved so much but we knew that everything would be alright as soon as we got to Arkansas. (Or so I thought)2

We arrived in Arkansas on July 3, 2004 and this woman was just what I expected her to be. Nice, friendly and compassionate. In time,  Chris and I both got jobs, we worked and saved our money and did everything we were supposed to. We lived with them for about three months when we started having problems with them. We caught them stealing money out of our lock box in our room and when we confronted them about it, they kicked us out. Chris and I had a car at the time. We had just bought it two days prior to the incident and we were so glad we had it. They made us pack our stuff (While they sat there and watched us) and they threw us out! Chris and I were forced to move into a motel for three months. It wasn't’t a mansion or anything but it was a roof over our head so that’s all that mattered at the time. We than saved up for an apartment and that is where we are currently living right now. I’ve learned a lot of lessons. I always seem to learn them the hard way to but I can’t blame anyone for that except myself. So, that is how Chris and I ended up in Arkansas!3