Three Years of Hell

By J.C. Schmidt

This is a true story of a young pregnant woman who fell into the
wrong hands of a man who promised to take her home and then
later promised to love her and care for her and her children. Before
she knew it, it was too late! She found herself in a position of being
damned and scared to hell she would die along with her children
once they were born. The tormented abuse over time left her feeling
there was no way out, no hope, no help and no better future to look
forward to. She would not give up on life though, for she had her
children to live for and the strength they gave her to fight her way out
from all his brain washing, his physical, mental and sexual abuse that
was bestowed upon her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456876500

J.C. Schmidt

Born in January 1962 and raised by my grandmother and father until he remarried. I have 3 beautiful daughters 1 handsome stepson and 6 grandchildren who of course are the coolest in their own unique way. I have been blessed many times over with best friends that I can count on both hands and a husband that lifts my heart to the highest. I love gardening, riding my Harley and playing with my grandchildren.

Book preview

THE BEGINNING

My mother abandoned my sister and me when I was only twelve months old and my sister was one month old. My grandmother and father raised us till I was around eight years old. My father remarried, and then we lived with him and his new wife, our stepmother. I then was introduced to our birth mother and met her when I was around ten years old. My sister and I would visit her and then go back to my dad’s when she was tired of us. I felt like a Ping-Pong ball being bounced back and forth. I left home at a young age to be married at sixteen years old. My first husband, Dan, was kind and helpful to me as were his parents. This was not part of my nightmare.

It began quite nicely in a tavern I went to with Dan and his parents. Dan and I were playing pool with each other. Soon another couple came over to challenge us to a game. We accepted and introduced ourselves to each other. Steve was not attractive, twenty-nine years old, medium height, dark brown hair just below the ears that swooped down across his forehead. He had a crooked nose and a cleft palate and a small mustache. Bonnie was Spanish, about twenty-five maybe; she was a very pretty girl with long thick black hair. Steve was a truck driver just passing through town, and Bonnie was just along for the ride.

We played pool for a while and then sat down to get a bite to eat. While sitting, many conversations came up, and one of them was about drugs. Steve was looking for some speed to help him stay awake on the road while driving on his long trips. This just so happened to be right up our alley being that we dealt with marijuana and speed. Dan told me to go out to the car and bring in a couple pills so Steve can try them. At the time, we had little white pills called crosses. I gave Steve two of them to try. We began to play more pool, and after a little while, Steve said that he really liked that speed and would like to purchase some. Dan told him that we never carried the drugs on us, so when we were ready to go and if he was still around, he was welcome to follow us to our home where we could sell him a lot (1 lot = 1,000 pills).

Dan’s mom and dad came over to us and said that they were leaving and for us to be careful and not to stay too long. I heard Dan’s dad tell him to be careful of that guy we met because he does not look right to him. Dan chuckled and said, All right, Dad.

Dan and I stayed at the bar and played some more pool with Steve and Bonnie. We had a few more drinks and then decided to head home. We lived in a real nice home at a trailer park in Omaha, Nebraska. Steve and Bonnie followed us home where we played cards together and had a few more beers to drink. It began to get pretty late at night, and Steve needed to get back on the road; before leaving, he asked Dan if he could still buy some speed and how much it would cost. They agreed on a price and made the deal. Dan grabbed a bag out of the freezer; this is where we stored our drugs. In those days it was cool to hide them there, not only to keep the stash fresh, but that is where they say the cops wouldn’t think to look. Luckily for us, we never had to find out. Dan counted out the pills for Steve in exchange for cash. Bonnie and Steve then left to continue on their travels.

Our home became a regular stop for Steve when he was driving through Nebraska. He would come by at all different times of the day or night. We always had the drugs for him. He seemed to go through a lot of speed quickly; hopefully, he was sharing with someone. The following visits, Steve would come alone. His friend Bonnie lived in Colorado and had two children. She was with him the first time just to get away for a little while.

Dan and I worked at a liver plant together for a long time, and then his father got him a better-paying job where he worked making rubber hoses. I packed frozen liver into boxes to be shipped out to many different stores, and I also ran a vacuum-pack machine that could package a single slice up to six slices of liver in plastic. Sometimes on my line, a few of us would cut the liver into the shape of Mr. Bill and his dog from Saturday Night Live; we would then have it vacuum packed and shipped off. We would laugh so hard just thinking about the person who would open that box and then see Mr. Bill. I had to lie on my application about my age because I was not eighteen yet, and you had to be eighteen to work there. Toward the end of my employment there, I became very ill; I was sick for many days. I couldn’t eat anything without throwing up all the time. I lay on the couch for days trying to eat many different things and hoping I could keep it down. Finally one day I ate some canned peaches; they stayed down. I ate nothing but peaches and toast for about a week thereafter, although I was still nauseous well into the third week. I thought maybe I just had a bad case of the flu or something like that.

About a week and a half later, my sister-in-law Robin came over to visit me. She wanted to know how I was doing and if she could do anything for me. Robin said, I think you might be pregnant, and perhaps you should go to the doctors to get checked out. This was hard for me to believe that I could be pregnant due to the fact that Dan and I did drugs. I smoked a lot of pot back in those days. I was kind of scared; dear God, if I am pregnant, is my child going to be OK? Very confused, I lay on the couch thinking and wishing I was home, home with my parents, living a normal teenage life. But no, I could not tell them I needed or wanted them for any kind of help. I felt I had to prove to myself and the world that I was strong and needed no help of any kind. Robin asked if I would like to go to her house. You might feel better if you just get out for a while, Katherine. I agreed, and off we went. The drive was miserable; I was so nauseous I couldn’t wait to get there so I could just lie back down again.

Once we arrived to her home, I went right to the couch and lay down. Dan’s mom and his other sister Debbie were also there. They all kept saying that I was pregnant; I didn’t want to believe them though. They kept kidding me about it, and they were happy for Dan and me. The best I could do was smile at them. Robin left the room to get me something to eat; just the smell of food would make me sick sometimes. I told her I could eat peaches, so she brought me peaches and saltines. We visited for a short while then Debbie and Mom brought me back home about the time that Dan got home from work. They drove through a drive-through first to bring him something home to eat being I was in no condition to cook. Dan was told by his mom that she thought I was pregnant and she would take me to the doctors for a pregnancy test. A few days prior, Dan began to get very aggravated with me because I wasn’t going to work; I wasn’t cleaning the house or cooking either. I basically just lay on the couch all the time; I never felt so sick in my life.

I went to the doctors, and my pregnancy test was positive. WOW, I couldn’t believe it! Pregnant? Now what? How can I become a mother? I am too young, I don’t know how to be a mother, and I don’t know how to care for a baby. I was so confused and scared. Dan’s mom brought me back home from my appointment, and I just went to back to bed. When Dan came home that evening, I was still lying in bed. Dan came into the bedroom and sat next to me on the bed and asked how the doctor’s appointment went. I told him that it was positive, I am pregnant. Dan then leaned over and kissed me on the forehead and said, You are going to make a beautiful mother for our child, Katherine. Feeling still sick, nauseated, and scared, I rolled over, looked at him for a short time, and said thank you. He then asked me if I was hungry; I said, No, but I will try to eat some peaches, which seemed to be the only thing I could hold down. As time went on, I began to feel better and better, as far as the nausea went anyways.

I still felt confused and scared about the pregnancy. How was I going to take care of a baby, especially with the lifestyle I was living? Dan and I did a lot of partying with friends and his sister Debbie; we indulged ourselves with many types of drugs and alcohol. Debbie had a son around two years old about that time. I remember when Debbie, her husband, and their son was at our home one night, and we were smoking pot from a bong, and Debbie’s son would pass the bong from person to person. In doing so, he would put his mouth at the top of the bong and try to take what smoke was left in the chamber of that bong. I don’t know how much smoke he really got out of the bong, if any at all, but a little was probably too much for a young child. All I knew at that point was that I did not want to raise my child around the drugs.

I asked Dan one day if perhaps we could quit dealing drugs. He said, No, this is a good way to make money, and now that you are pregnant, we will need all the money we can get. I thought maybe if we just moved somewhere else and just get away from the drugs then we could stop dealing them. Dan didn’t want to do that either. I didn’t argue with him; I just took his answers as they were and didn’t mention any more about it. I began thinking to myself about going back home to Michigan where I could get away from this lifestyle and try to give my child a good start in life. I also felt as if I needed my family for support and help. I was so afraid to have a baby; I still felt like a child myself.

FIRST MISTAKE

A few days went by after our conversation about the drugs and moving. Dan was at work, and I was at home contemplating my situation. Steve stopped by to pick up some more speed from us. As we were talking, Steve mentioned that I was not looking so well, and I am sure I didn’t. I was still nauseated from time to time, and I had just been crying before he had arrived. I told him that I was pregnant and I was thinking of leaving Dan to go home to my family. Steve offered to take me there if I wanted to. He said that he travels to Michigan a lot and through Indiana. I could take you home. You would only have to ride with me on the truck for a couple weeks before I could get you there. I thought, What a wonderful idea. I told Steve that I would call my parents and see if it was OK for me to come home and talk it over with Dan. He said he would be back through town in a couple of weeks to get me if I wanted him to. I said, Sure, why not.

Dan came home from work, and Steve was still there. Dan talked with Steve for a little while and then counted out the speed for him. I was on the couch watching television. Dan got up from the table and went to the bathroom. Steve came and sat on the coffee table and told me if I wanted to go with him, he will be back in town in a couple of weeks and for me to be ready to leave with him. I guess we didn’t talk fast enough because Dan came walking down the hallway, wanting to know what all this was about me leaving with Steve. You are my wife, you can’t leave. I love you, Katherine, you are having my baby. I began to cry. I told Dan that I was just thinking about it and I was not going anywhere yet. Steve began arguing with Dan about him taking me home. Steve said if I wanted to go then he would take me no matter what anyone else had to say about it.

I walked back to my bedroom totally confused; this is not how it was supposed to be. I was to talk to Dan and my parents first about this alone and then make a decision. What I couldn’t understand either was why Steve was arguing for me. I sat at the end of my bed, crying. I was terribly troubled. I could still hear Steve and Dan arguing about me. Soon Dan came back to the bedroom angered, grabbed a suitcase, threw it on the bed, and began packing it for me, grabbing clothes out of the closet. He said, if this is what you want to do, then fine, I won’t stop you, but if there is anything I can do to make you change your mind, let me know.

Still crying, I told Dan, I’m not sure what I want to do, Dan. I’m just so confused. I knew I didn’t want to have drugs around my child. I had not spoken to my parents yet about coming home either, but if Dan was helping me pack my bags then perhaps he didn’t want me here anyway. Steve wanted me to go with him, so I began packing my clothes from the dresser in another suitcase. Once the suitcases were full, I brought them into the kitchen and sat them by the door. Steve was looking at me, his eyes set deep and a small smile on his face, and I wasn’t sure what to think. I was eighteen years old, almost three months pregnant, and leaving my home with a man I didn’t know very well except for the fact that he bought drugs from us. I felt I needed to go home to my parents, and he was going to get me there.

Steve asked me if I was ready to go; I replied yes. Dan watched me put on my coat and asked me if I was sure this is what I wanted to do. I said yes even though I was not sure about what I really wanted to do at all. I had no time to think about it. Steve proceeded toward me and grabbed one of my bags, opening the door. I grabbed the other bag, and down the stairs of the deck we went. The truck was to our left at the end of our road in the trailer park. I looked back at my house and then at the big truck, not knowing what was going to happen in my near future.

I had never been in a semi truck before; just the sight of this big rig was intimidating to me. Just as we reached the truck, Steve was opening the door for me, and I could hear Dan yelling, Steve, here, you forgot your hat. Dan gave Steve the hat and then asked me if I would think about what I was doing and if I could take a few weeks while at home and maybe I could consider coming back to him. I said I would and began to cry again. Steve said we had to leave now; he was kind of rude about it. Dan began walking back to the house as Steve was helping me up into the truck. I could see Dan getting farther and farther away. About the time he turned into our yard, Steve had started the truck; still not sure of what was going on or what I was doing, I continued to cry, and Steve assured me he would get me to my parents and all would be OK.

After being on the road for about an hour, Steve suggested that I get some rest. He told me to hop in the back. There is a bed back there you can sleep on. We have a long trip ahead of us, and you should get some sleep. I asked where we were going. He replied, To Denver, Colorado. That is where the Digby Yard is, I drive for them. Little did I know then that this was where one of my many homes would be with Steve the madman.

We stopped at a truck stop in the morning for gas, breakfast, and a shower. Many truck stops offered showers in their restroom area. I found this to be kind of neat; I never knew or saw anything like it before. After my shower and eating breakfast, I asked Steve for some change. I thought maybe I should call my parents and let them know what was going on. He asked if I could wait to talk to them because there was not much time left, and we needed to get back on the road and get the trailer back to Digby Yard so it could be reloaded. I figured, Sure, what the harm. I could just make a call later