It wasn’t long after I moved my stuff in that I found out I may have bit off more than I could chew when it came to these two and our arrangements.

My friend who I had know since I was 6 years old (lets call him Tom and his girlfriend Stacy to save some time as I write). Tom and I were sitting on the porch smoking a morning bowl as he filled me in on the years I hadn’t been around.

Stacy and him had 2 little boys one was about 3 the other only 1 and had been together on and off for about 5 years. His family didn’t like her, her family didn’t like him that type of stuff.

Tom wasn’t supposed to be in the house due to a restraining order put on him after Stacy accused him of domestic violence but they had gotten over that bump and he moved back in not too long before I had gotten there. Stacy needed help with the boys and didn’t work so she needed him for financial support as well.

Tom informed me that Stacy like her drugs, a lot. Not just weed. She smokes crack and does coke regularly he said. I remember him going off on this rant about the crack and then talking about the coke like it wasn’t the same thing and acceptable like the weed for her to do.

I felt this odd sense for relief knowing that I no longer had to lie about what I do when I am not home. I still wouldn’t dream of bringing those kinds of things into a house with children in it, and assumed Stacy also did her drugs else where. At this time I had a child of my own who lived with my mother because well lets face it I couldn’t take care of him at all. He hardly ever saw me in his young days as I was always off doing drugs and getting into trouble.

Later that day I arrived back home to WW3 in the living room. Tom and Stacy were screaming at each other and the kids were in the bedroom with the door shut just screaming their heads off. I just walked right past them and into the room where the kids were. Stacy began to scream at me to get out of there but Tom intervened and asked me to take the kids in the yard, so I did.

I could hear them screaming even outside. About 30 minutes later a young woman entered the yard and the boys were so excited, I had no clue who she was so I wouldn’t let her take the kids from the yard, she thanked me and proceeded to enter the house to speak with Tom and Stacy.

Tom came out and informed me that this was Stacy’s sister Tina and she was gonna take the boys for the night. Tina thanked me for watching the boys and not just letting someone I didn’t know walk off with them even though they were excited to see her, she said it was “very responsible” of me. I am pretty sure that was one of the first times anyone ever told me I was being responsible.

Tina and The boys left, Tom went to his dads house and Stacy well I have no idea where she went. So I sat there alone in the house wondering what I had gotten myself into here. I had convinced myself at the time that couples fight and that this kind of thing probably didn’t happen often.

Boy was I about to find out just how wrong I was and how bad it could get.

“Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.” – C.S. Lewis