I Lived with a Junkie (Heroin) for 3 years

A little over 3 years ago I was fresh out of college, moving to a new city and didn't know a lot of people. I found a craigslist ad for a room for rent at a pretty good price so I took it. Come to find out that the "landlord" was a 25 year old girl that had been shooting heroin for ~5 years. The house we were living in was her deceased grandfathers and she had been allowed to live there as long as she paid the taxes on it each year, which she did with financial help from her folks. So in effect she was living there basically rent free. Her folks cut her off when she was 22 because she was a junkie. They tried to get her into treatment several times but she always ended up on the streets or back to her old ways. <br><br>I guess at this point you're probably wondering why I stayed. I was in a new city and didn't know anyone, the price was great ($300 for a private room), and my work was extremely demanding. I got home late at night (8-10) and usually went straight to bed so it worked for me. In the beginning she didn't use much at all, maybe 1/4 gram a day which is not a lot, relatively speaking. She was always punctual with the rent and never tried to hit me up for money. She never brought her tracks or Kit into the kitchen or any common areas. Heroin doesn't really turn people into theists, they're more just zombie like so I wasn't too concerned with her stealing from me. <br><br>As time went on though, things got worse. She had a few different boyfriends throughout my time there and none of them worked. So that meant she was having to work more to support them as well. She was a waitress and always made good money but when you shoot 1/2 gram or more a day you need to make more money to support your habit. I remember her telling me she was making $800 a month just from tips alone but that was with her working 6 days a week. She was also selling heroin, not a lot, but enough to make some extra money. Heroin is cheap where we lived. A gram was $60. So her and her BF could get high all day for $60. That was obviously not sustainable.<br><br>We had a lot of close calls. There was this one time where we were running really low and her BF was withdrawing really bad. He was in bed for 2 days not moving. He had no money and she didn't have any either. She went out to sell her phone, TV and jewelry to get some money for a fix. I gave her $40 so that she could get enough to stop withdrawing. She came back a couple hours later with a gram. I was like "this isn't even going to last you guys the day" and she's like "I know but at least he'll be able to get out of bed and we can go out and make some more money". Sure enough he felt a little better after the fix and they went out to panhandle. They came back with $60 an hour later and were high again. It was a vicious cycle.<br><br>Another time the water company came to turn off our water because she hadn't paid the bill in 3 months. She went out and sold her last remaining item of value, a gold chain, and was able to pay the bill and get the water turned back on. <br><br>One of my last memories was of her BF getting arrested for shop lifting. He went in the corner store and tried to walk out with a 1/2 gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. The cameras caught him. They called the cops. They came and took him to jail. She was furious. She went to the corner store and yelled at everyone inside. She was fed up to be honest. I think her BF spent 30 days in jail for that one. When he got out he didn't come back. She was actually doing a little better. She had just gotten a promotion at work and was making more money. She had cut her heroin intake way back and was actually running a surplus every month. She got a new car and was saving up for a trip out west. She was getting her shit together. Then her BF came back. She started using more again and I could tell she was fed up with him. He didn't work, he didn't do any chores, he always had to be high. I could tell she wanted him out but as we all know it's hard to get over someone you love. <br><br>About a month after that I told her I'd be moving out. I didn't want to anymore. I had someone that was a junkie, living with a junkie. I didn't want to be around that anymore. So I moved out. <br><br>That was over a year ago. I haven't talked to her much since I moved out. I check her FB from time to time. Looks like the BF is still around. She's still working at the restaurant. She posts a lot about heroin and recovery. I hope she gets clean someday. I wish things could have turned out different. I wish I could have helped her more. I wish a lot of things.<br><br>Edit 1: Wow, this has blown up. I'll probably answer some questions here and then maybe answer more in the comments. 1. She's from a middle class family. Her folks live in a nice house, they're pretty well off. 2. Yes she has been to rehab. 3 times. It didn't work. Her last 2 trips were to in patient facilities, fully paid by her parents. 3. I would guess that there are A LOT of functioning heroine addicts. Unless you knew she was a junkie you wouldn't be able to tell. 4. I didn't call the cops on her because quite frankly it's none of my business. 5. Yes I looked into an eviction but that's a 6 month process and honestly I didn't have the desire to do that. I also felt bad that she would be homeless if I did that. 6. Lastly, I didn't live there for free. Those of you that say I'm an asshole for not helping her need to get off your high horse. I had a place to live and I paid for it like anyone else.