Stalker Story

He always seemed so depressed, so withdrawn, walking around with his head down, hiding behind shaded eyes. I felt sorry for him, thinking how sometimes people just need a smile.

He sat down on the same bench every day, eating all alone. I pass him on my way to the parking lot after class at the college. Day after day, I see him sitting there by himself.

Today I planned to meet some friends for lunch, but class ended earlier than expected, so I had a few extra minutes.

Taking advantage of the time, I decided to see if I could possibly brighten his day.

I walked over and sat next to him. His face slowly turned up and I made sure I had my most brilliant mega-watt smile on hoping to make him more comfortable with the situation. I tried to begin a little polite conversation introducing myself and asking him his name.

He said it was Colden, but that people just called him Cole. Then I asked about his day, and on and on I went asking him questions.

He was hesitant. There was no other explanation. He seemed frightened by my kindness. His face was opened and honest in its shyness. After my bombardment of questions, the invisible shell surrounding him began to crack. You could finally see the real him in all its glory.

He transformed from the shy, scared guy I began talking with, to the completely new person sitting before me. He was sweet in his manner. I found out we had quite a bit in common. Both of us loved to eat Mexican food. Our favorite flower was the sunflower. We loved to eat strawberries, and hated pineapple.

I liked spending time with him and thought the both of us could be good friends, but now it was thirty minutes later and I was late, instead of early to my lunch date.

I had to tell him that it was nice meeting him. That I wished I had more time, but I was supposed to be meeting friends, and was already ten minutes late for lunch.

He began to wilt right before my eyes, a flower dying from too much water and not enough sun. He was clamming in his protective shell again. His trust a fragile bubble, it could pop at the slightest hint of mistrust, and his bubble was popping here and now.

I stood up, my heart breaking for him, and turned to leave then, thinking that I had probably hurt this guy more than he had ever been hurt in the past. I felt horrible for having done this to him. He really did seem nice, and I felt we really could be friends.

All at once, a thought burst through and I turned around fast, inspired by my idea. I waited excitedly for him to look up at me and then asked him if he wanted to hang out with me on Friday. I knew I did not have any plans, and I just didn’t want to be the one to put that sorrowful look on his face.

Again, his hesitant eyes had looked at me, not sure, if he should trust my offer. He took just a moment to decide, then perked up and said that he would like that very much. We quickly made plans to meet here again in two days, around the same time, and I felt sure we could be good friends, especially now that he seemed so much more happy and light. I finally left to have lunch with my friends, feeling happier with each step, knowing that I had just made his day.

…That was the day it all began…

 

There was an insistent knocking at the front door. It woke me from my sleep in the back bedroom. I felt groggy and was still fatigued, which made me a little more grouchy than usual, now that I had to answer the door. Thinking it was my irresponsible roommate, who loses her keys every other day; I got up and threw on my robe, in a huff, and walked down the hall quickly to open the door.

Standing in my doorway was Cole, the guy I had met yesterday and planned to see tomorrow. I didn’t have any idea why he was here at my apartment, very nicely dressed with a bouquet of freshly cut sunflowers.

I had been taken by complete surprise. His presence at showing up where I live was unsettling and scared me, sending little tingles of butterflies all through my stomach. I didn’t have the slightest clue as to what time it was or how he had found out where I lived. All the while, I was panicking in my head; he went right along asking me questions and trying to hand me the bouquet.

All I kept thinking was, how do I handle this situation? Do I quickly slam the door shut, lock it, and call the police? On the other hand, do I take the flowers and cautiously ask him to leave so I can get ready, because I am doing something later? Or, do I let him in, because I am being paranoid about the entire scenario, and everything else would be completely hasty and wrong?

He was still talking with a smile on his face. It was as if he were having a conversation with himself. He was asking and answering his own questions. It was insane, and now not only did I have the tingle of butterflies, but also my heart was racing at a startling pace, and fears were setting in. I began to take covert glances of my surroundings. I realized my initial thought was going to have to do.

I took precautions so that my quickly thought out plan wouldn’t backfire in anyway, I slammed the door shut and locked it up real tight. I took a deep breath and sighed in relief, then seizing the opportunity I peeked through the peephole. He was standing there with the most stunned expression. All of a sudden, his face changed. There was nothing nice about it. He was enraged and began yelling at the door.

“Honey!” he shouted, “Open this door right now; you can’t do this to me Honey!” On and on he went. Along with the shouting came the pounding of the door and walls. I was so scared and in complete shock. As if on automatic pilot, I went to the phone, dialed nine-one-one, and told them of the situation. They promised to send down an officer as fast as possible. The man on the phone told me to stay on the line until the police officer was on the scene. He then went about explaining similar cases of women and men who have had the same experiences. Then proceeded to give me some suggestions on what I should do. His best advice was to get a restraining order on the guy. He told me that having to show up for court usually scared them away, but that if I had any more problems I should report it.

By this time the officer had shown up and I realized the noise from outside was gone. The officer took down a description then left. I knew right away that to calm down I needed something normal to do. I went to my room, got some clothes, went to the bathroom, and started a bath. Taking a bath with bubbles, candles, and soft music would definitely calm me down. It worked well putting me in a tranquil serene state of being. I took my time, thinking things through and trying to understand how he could be the guy I had met yesterday to the now completely changed ma that had been at my door this morning?

I stayed in the tub for a good forty minutes before I felt safe enough to get out and get dressed. Now that I had had time to think about what I had been told by both officers about other people’s similar experiences, and I was able to make the decision to go down to the station and do what I could to get a restraining order as quickly as possible.

It took a few hours to get things done. Once I had made the decision and got on the road, traffic was terrible, and then the precinct was horribly busy. The restraining order had to go through court but they would do their best for me. The officers asked me to avoid contact. I was more than happy with that answer.

My afternoon marketing class from yesterday was doing a group project and they were supposed to meet at my place this evening. I had to get home and set up for having company. My friend and roommate, Anisa, made a deal that if I had friends over for a study session she could have a party this weekend, which was okay with me because I had plans to visit my family in Virginia, and she promised to clean it up all by herself.

I drove home and found that Anisa was there, and worrying what had happened to the wall. It was then I explained to her what had gone on this morning. She was very worried for me. Anisa had just turned eighteen and was already a junior in college. She was bright for her age and had graduated two years early from high school. I loved her and new that she like to party so much because she was so young and wanted to fit in. She does the stupidest things sometimes. I looked out for her the best that I could, having made her take self-defense classes with me as an after school activity. I had known her since she was born, and once I had found out she would be going to the same school as me, I promised her parents I would look out for her, but the truth is she can take care of herself.

I made sure she didn’t worry too much by explaining to her of my police station visit this afternoon, while we cleaned everything up. Later she left to go out with friends and of course, her boyfriend this week, I think he is number four. She was feeling better about leaving me.

By five, I had set everything up for the session with my study group, and by five fifteen, they had already begun showing up.

Our class was to split up into groups and then create a product, set up advertisements around campus and town, and then sells it. We had already come up with our product, now we just needed to create it and advertise it.

There were five of us in the group. First to show up, was my favorite study partner and my best friend since third grade, Andy Jenkins. We were partners for everything. It helps that we get along so well. She is the sweetest and she is one of the best marketers in the class. She walked in with the biggest grin, carrying all the materials we would be in need of for our project.

Next to make it, not six minutes later was Schuyler, along with Kyle who had to carpool with her from the library because his car broke down two days ago. Kyle was good at planning, and Schuyler was amazing at using words to hook someone into our product, her message is always meaningful and like a magnet, it sucks you into buying the product, which is good for us.

Last, to show up was James. He was good friends with Kyle and was new to our group. The day before the assignment had been assigned; he and his girlfriend had a bad break up. They were not on speaking terms, since the morning of the break up he found that she had cheated on him with one of his good friends. Both his girlfriend and the friend she had hooked up with were in his old study group. He and Kyle were still good enough friends that we came to a vote and switched Nathan, who wasn’t good for anything at all, in exchange for James.

Kyle knew how much I had been crushing on James. Since my first business class with him freshman year her in college, as it just so happens. Yes, I have dated other people, but I kept that secret part of me that liked him. He has always been nice, and from what I have heard from other groups, he is amazing at presenting the ideas that his group comes up with, something our group has been lacking.

My part in the group was coming up with the ad itself. I design the product and the advertising around it. I knew that my group consisted of fantastic individuals, even though before we had never won any of the class competitions.

          As everyone settled down at the table, I took that time to stand up and thank everyone for their help, and to get things started. We got right down to business. Andy began by showing us her ideas for selling our product. I noticed right off the bat that James was very impressed with the way we handled things. He had never seen any of Andy’s work before this, and I could tell he liked what he saw. I was instantly jealous, but I got over it, stamping down on the little green monster whispering insidious things at me. He had only just met her and although she was pretty, I knew she was totally in love with her boyfriend. I let reason once again reign, and I refocused on what was going on.

What was funny to me right at that moment was that I was jealous of Andy and her beautiful work, and that I had almost forgotten about Cole and his creepiness. However, I wouldn’t have to wait long to be reminded.

For over an hour, we had been working diligently on creating a masterful advertisement for the best and most creative product I had ever designed and my group had helped to perfect. Things were going well, for me especially as I noticed the different way James had been looking at me, one that was making me blush like a schoolgirl with her first crush. When I had gone to the kitchen to refill the refreshments and check on the chicken I was cooking everyone for dinner, Kyle came in, pretending he needed a refill for his drink, just to tell me that James was checking me out. It was weird for Kyle to notice, but that he noticed meant that I wasn’t projecting things that I wanted into reality, it was real.

As I finished filling up the trays with crackers and taking the chicken out to cool, I was heading back into the dining room. That was when the window broke.

Shards of glass went flying. I was next to the window so my face was cut a little from the shards, and I could feel the blood trickling down my face. Schuyler had screamed, while everyone, including myself, had this deer in the headlights look. I had also jumped when the window blew to smithereens, so the food was now all over my clothes. Of course it was one of my nicer, more professional outfits, and now it was drenched in salsa and cheese sauce.

But I didn’t notice any of that. No. I stared at the huge rock that lay at my feet with a piece of paper rubber banded to it. I knew exactly who had sent it.

I bent down, and not even glancing at the guests in my house I picked it up, took the note off, and began to read.

My sweet, dear Honey,

Why were you acting so weird this morning? I came over, brought you your favorite flower and everything. Yesterday was so lovely; we had such a nice time, so much in common. I want to give you another chance. I love you that much. We could be so good together. We will meet tomorrow as we planned all along. You are so beautiful and I will be thinking about you all night. Till tomorrow.

Your one and only,

Cole

P.S. Do not leave me. Remember, if I cannot have you then NO ONE can.

By now, my tears had soaked the paper they were flowing so fast. Everyone was staring at me with very concerned expressions. They were stuck on pause, not moving from where they were. I got up, rather unsteadily, if you asked any of them.

Taking great care not to walk on the glass that surrounded me, I ran to the closet that held my cleaning supplies, and found the broom and dustpan. Quickly and efficiently, I worked to clean up the mess that my now official crazy stalker guy had made. Kyle began to help, always the gentle man, and finally both of us had the glass picked up, and the window covered with a sheet to keep the cool air out of the warm place. I walked into the living room and fell into my comfortable reclining chair.

Everyone followed me, if a little hesitantly, sitting on the couch and other recliner. They all seemed to be waiting for an explanation. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared that if I told them all right here right now, I would break down into hysterics. Knowing they were my friends and would want to help, made it easier, so I told them. I explained from my introduction yesterday to what happened this morning and then here just a few minutes earlier.

They were all sincere in there compassion. Andy was the first to ask what she could do to help. The guys followed suit, while Schuyler was just supportive. Both James and Kyle even surprised me by asking if I needed anyone to stay the night. Kyle was just being his protective self. James was doing the macho thing. I felt flattered by both their offers, but I told them I probably just needed to rest.

Thanking them all for helping with the project, and telling them that I would see them in class tomorrow, I led them out. First out the door was Schuyler. I think she left tread marks, and dust in her wake. Kyle and James were next. Both of them paused before walking out my door, looking at me with apprehensive eyes, uneasy about leaving me on my own. Kyle was the longest pause; he had always worried over me, since I was ten and fell through the ice, skating on the pond in his backyard. James was sweet and his concern made me burst with happiness, which made me have so many conflicting emotions go on in my head.

Finally, all that was left was my best friend. Andy made it seem as if she was going to walk out the door. She was going to give me a hug goodbye, but instead she took the door out of my hand and closed it. I was so grateful not to be alone I burst into tears. She really did come and hug me now. Holding on to me as all my warring emotions played out.

After I got a hold of myself, we walked back to the couch and began talking. She still seemed baffled by the fact that we had only met the one time. She asked me to describe again to her. As I did, I could tell from her expression that she was keeping some vital information from me.

Andy had thought long and hard about her choice of a career. In high school, she had studied both psychology and sociology. She was very good at mental thought patterns. When it came time to go to college she really wanted to go to a school that would let her exploit her gifted artwork. She was going to minor in psychology, but it conflicted with her business schedule so she dumped it.

Andy got up after my description of him. She headed for my scrapbooking closet, and brought out my yearbooks from high school. I thought that maybe she had gone off the deep end. I would have recognized him if he had gone to school with me, I always remembered a face. She went through the mug shots, and sure enough, there he was staring back at me.

I looked at him things began to come back. He changed his name to Cole, because he had never liked Liam. I noticed that he had dyed his hair from that dark brown to the brown highlighted with blonde that it was now. He must have gotten blue colored contacts to replace the glasses and brown eye color he had naturally.

I began to remember a lot more. He was the creepy kid that used to follow me around like a sad lost puppy. My boyfriend all through high school had picked on that kid so badly, and once tried to beat the crap out of him, but I refused to allow that to happen.

During senior year, he had even worked up the courage to ask me out, but I had already said yes to someone else, so I declined his offer. I had felt bad but I couldn’t do anything about it. Back then I had been a jerk though and was glad that I had been asked out by someone else. Since then I had matured though, and began to care about more than myself.

          As I thought more and more about it, I realized I might have caused him to be the way he is. It was my fault that he was crazy, insane, loony, and completely bonkers. It all started in high school. My selfish, rude, uncaring self from high school had made him this way.

I told Andy what I reasoned out in my head. She then told me that I was wrong. He is the way he is because of himself and no one else. The best thing to do for him would be to get him some help. Even though I knew she was right it didn’t stop the way I felt. Not one bit. I was still going to be upset over things. I was feeling sorry for myself. I felt completely awful for having done this to him.

Andy and I sat on my couch for two or three hours just talking and trying to rationalize what was happening. It was around eight thirty by now, and I remembered Andy schedule for Fridays. She had a paper due in her first class in the morning and I didn’t want to feel guilty over anything else. I didn’t want her to be tired or anything so I asked her to leave. She refused to leave me alone. This was horrible because I had no one to be here, knowing that Anisa would be out all night with her current boyfriend.

Andy was stubborn. She needed to sleep, but she wasn’t going to leave me. I would have let her stay, but her paper was at her place and she still needed to work on it. I remembered the boys offer before they left, but I didn’t want to resort to them if I could help it. Therefore, I called Schuyler first, hoping she would help me out, but of course, she wasn’t answering her phone. She must have remembered the experience she had with her creepy boyfriend when I first met her. He was possessive and abusive.

I understood. Realizing I didn’t have any other choice, I called Kyle. We had known each other since we were in kindergarten. He was always watching out for me. He even crushed on me for most of our high school years, asking me out, but I was dating his best friend Hunter. Things were always a little weird, but he has always been my very good friend. He answered on the third ring with a big yawn, and I realized that I had just woke him up.

I asked him if he could come over to spend the night because Andy wouldn’t leave me if I was alone, and he said that he would, but he didn’t have a ride. I felt horrible once I remembered that and told him that I would find someone else, even though in my head I was trying to figure out who could do so. He told me not to worry even a little bit, that he would find a ride.

He hung up before I could say no. I looked at Andy and told her he was finding a ride. Her only reply was a goofy grin that she knew something she wasn’t telling. I asked her why she was grinning, but she just ignored my efforts.

The phone rang three and a half minutes later. It was Kyle telling me that James was going to give him a ride. I was instantly happy. Those butterflies were fluttering again, in a good way. I told her she could leave but she wouldn’t until she was certain. To satisfy her I asked Kyle to speak with her. Once she was appeased that I wouldn’t be leaving me alone, she got up and gave me a big squeeze before she walked out the door. I closed it, relieved to be alone for the next thirty minutes.

I brushed my hair out of my face to realize I was a mess and needed to clean up and get a bed made for Kyle on the couch.

I quickly did everything I needed to, and once I was finished plumping the pillow, there was a knock on the door. I went and opened it to find a sullen looking Kyle standing there.

“Kyle, what is wrong?” I asked, very concerned.

“Work called as soon as James got there. I have to be there at twelve thirty this morning, so I can’t stay here. James said that he could though. I can pick him up after work at eight thirty.” As he told me all about it, I heard this pounding in my head. It got louder and louder till I was sure everyone was able to hear it. I recognized it as my heart beating loudly, at a very fast rhythm than I ever thought possible. It was an amazingly glorious feeling. James the guy I have been crushing on forever was spending the night at my place.

He was walking up behind Kyle as I was having a miniature heart attack. I greeted them both and allowed them both to come in. I was going to tell him about where everything was and get him set up in the living room, when the phone rang. I assumed it would be Andy checking in on me. She would have been counting the minutes up and been doing the math as to when Kyle would reach my house.

I answered automatically, without even glancing at the number on my caller id, saying hello, and what I heard on the other end sent my heart racing in a different sort of frenzy. It had to be Cole. On the other end was only a heavy breathing. Both the guys began walking over to me, concerned by my pause and expression, I was sure. Kyle asked what the matter was. His voice sent my stalker into a furious tirade.

He was yelling and screaming over the phone. Asking me questions of why a man was at my place. Mad at me. Spewing out crap about how he was the only man in my life. I was mortified that James was here to witness my hysterics for a second time. He was never going to want to be with me at the rate my damsel in distress lifestyle was going. Even if I was the fair princess, who wants the easily captured maiden, always in danger? All the while Cole was shouting at me, my heart was breaking for my miserable self, I was feeling a lot of self-pity.

I was pathetic. It took me a whole five minutes before I realized Kyle was trying to calm me down and that the phone was already hung up. The whole time it was just his voice in my head yelling at me repeatedly. The stupid jerk that I had only met the day before, even if we had a slight past, was turning me into a loony, head case all in just barely less than forty-eight hours. I thought this was the worst day imaginable.

We called the police, well Kyle did, explaining what had happened earlier and just now. He demanded that something be done quickly. The police officer on the other line wished to speak with me, to ask questions. I had yet to tell Kyle who he was so that was when I explained to the officer what Andy and I had discovered before they had got there.

The officer said they would send someone over, but I asked if we could do it in the morning. I thanked him then handed the phone back to Kyle. He finished speaking with the officer, and then hung the phone up. He then decided to lecture me, telling me I should contact my parents. I didn’t want to burden them, so I lied and said I would in the morning.

He stayed for another hour and twenty minutes before he had to be off to work. It was just James and me. Kyle had grilled me before he left then I got James situated. It was around midnight now. I was not only tired physically, but emotionally. Not wanting to seem rude, I attempted to stay awake. I went into the kitchen to make some steaming hot chocolate, my favorite late night snack. I offered to make him a cup, but he declined. I think he was feeling as awkward as I was.

We went back to the living room, and I held out as long as I could, but I began nodding off, which was very embarrassing. He told me to go to bed, that he would be fine, and was tired himself. Too tired to care anymore, I went my room willingly. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

~

“Ughhhhhh,” I said, rolling over to find the sun coming through the part in my curtain from the window. It woke me from the dead of sleep. I sat up and went to close the curtain and the intensely bright light that was coming through. That was when the events of the previous days assailed me. Memory after memory enveloped me. The crazy guy that I had once known in high school.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. I remembered James was nearby, and to avoid him, I ran to the bathroom and hopped in for a quick shower. I let the water disguise the tears, allowed them to flow freely, feeling sorry for myself. I was out twenty minutes later, having composed myself, and gotten dressed.

I walked down the hall. There was the most delightful aroma coming from the kitchen, and as I got closer, I could hear the clatter of pots and pans. I peaked in to find James preparing breakfast, and making a total mess of things.

My stomach was growling, and I thought that it was a very sweet gesture. Deciding that I was hungry, I walked in and waited until he turned around. I asked if he needed any help. He said no and that it would be ready soon. I grabbed plates and silverware. Taking it into the dining room, I set places for James, Kyle, and myself. I checked the time, to make sure.