Just Another L.A. Tragedy

This is the first time I have spoken out in detail about what happened to me one year ago, but here I go. Please bear with me, it’s not the easiest thing to talk about and it’s definitely not the most pleasant. I had wanted to get to Los Angeles since I was a little kid in St. Louis, Missouri, before I even knew anything about the place. All I knew is that people who had a dream to be an artist of some kind; headed over there with oversized dreams. I was twenty seven and time was ticking away, I knew if I didn’t go then…I’d probably never get there.

It all happened fast, all I did was put it in my mind that I’d get there no matter what it took. I found someone looking for a roommate in the San Fernando Valley area. A guy my age that was in the real estate business and things were really looking up for him. He had another roommate, but had plenty of room, as his house was huge! He sent me pictures of his property, it was beautiful. He told me it would be a great place for me to write and be inspired, I agreed. We made an arrangement for me to fly out to L.A. and meet…check everything out and see if it was a place I’d like to live. He even offered me a job working for him, until I found my own thing to do. I got my plane ticket and was to fly out on May 24, 2007. I was tired of my life in Missouri, I was unhappy and wanted to leave and never look back. I was nervous about leaving my home of twenty seven years and stepping out into the world, but I knew it was the only way I could break away and be me…to do what I wanted. Trust me; I had never wanted anything more in my whole life; twenty years of wanting something that bad and you get desperate.

I packed as much as I could, because I didn’t know if I’d be staying for good or not. I got on that plane early in the morning and my journey began. It wasn’t my first time in California; I had spent a week there in 1999, but didn’t get to do much. I was nervous through the whole flight and right before the plane landed; I knew there was no turning back. I got off the plane and was greeted by a friend of the guy I had arranged to stay with. He carried my suitcase to his car and drove me to the house I was to be staying at. The house was as beautiful as the pictures portrayed it to be. I met the guy I had talked to on the phone; he was very professional-yet down to earth. The first night I was there, we spent talking, laughing, and getting to know each other for hours. It’s not what you think; this was strictly friendship, as he knew I had a boyfriend and never once crossed the line.