L'Amour Fou (bxb)

Chapter 18

Gathering enough courage to pull the handle, I finally swung open the door.

What the fuck.

There were pictures everywhere around the room.

Pictures of me.

How the fuck did he get those from.
On the streets. Inside shops.
Inside my home.

The walls were so covered with photos that the wallpaper was absent. His usual piercing white-coloured wallpaper. How did I not notice that someone was taking pictures of me?

Almost everywhere I went there's a photo of me. On the top-right corner of every single photo, I noticed there was a date and time on each one. Handwritten. There wasn't a single photo where my face was blurred or not visible. I don't even remember half of these photos let alone what I was doing at that time. Someone this obsessed over me? To the extent where they could even commit a crime? This guy's a sociopath and I definitely know that I should get away from him if I want to live peacefully.

Carefully examining the photos, I tried to see the earliest date. In this way I could see when the stalking began, and if we potentially met around that time that caused his obsession. January, November, July, May. It wasn't before I moved out, as that was several years ago and these seem recent. The earliest date I found was December 4th, which was 3 years ago. I quickly got my phone out and searched up my chats with everyone on that date to see if we had any plans.

[December 1 2018]

'Do you guys wanna meet up tmr?'
'Yeah sure, where we going?'
'Yeahh, I'm down'
'Sorry I can't, got work :('
'I need to buy a book and was thinking of grabbing a cup of coffee and since it's Christmas time I thought we could all see the lights and shit'
'Ahh ok, what time?'
'12 ish? Whatever's convenient for you guys'
'That's fine, see you tomorrow!'
'Sorry for the short notice guys, but yeah 12 then.'

So I was the one who initiated a plan, but it wasn't on the 4th. Scrolling through my camera roll, I wanted to check if I took any photos that day. There was one of the book which I was buying that day and the rest were pics of the city with Christmas lights. Even though the photos jogged my memories, I didn't recall meeting anyone. I looked at the time and realized I didn't have long til he was going to come back; I'd waste more time trying to recall that event.

I noticed a large bulletin board which was filled with strings attached to pins and a map of New York City. On a sticky note I noticed the date 'January 14th'. That was the date I got kidnapped. Was he planning this for a while? He had my address on a map as well as my workplace and even where my parents live. It seemed like he even had places which I frequently go to like the café, which was marked with a black pin. For each place, he wrote when I'm there and how often. I then saw a piece of A4 Paper titled 'Daily Routine'.

Daily Routine
• usually gets up at 6:30 for work but if tired then 7:00.
• if in a rush, usually skips breakfast and eats something on the way, usually a breakfast bar.
• otherwise, has toast or pastries for breakfast like a croissant. During his days off, loves making crêpes - favorite flavor is lemon and sugar.
• takes the metro to go to work if late, otherwise he walks it. Sometimes takes the bike.
• at work, usually talks to David. Get easily distracted by a text message from one of his friends, usually Aurora, or by social media, but otherwise works efficiently.
• usually has coffee - loves toffee latte and cappuccino.
• loves looking out the city.
• leaves at 5.
• showers as soon as he comes home - big germophobe, also repetitive behavior - might be OCD? Need to check if he takes any medications or goes to therapy
• makes and eats dinner whilst watching TV
• reads a book at 9 pm - favorite genre is thriller.
• video call with friends at 10
• sleeps at midnight, sometimes earlier or later depending on energy level throughout the day.
• listens to music to go to sleep.