A Stalker's Love

3

Lucy opened the door, but it was not the food delivery guy. 

"Hi there, I'm... your new neighbour! I wanted to introduce myself."

"Oh hi! I'm Lucy."

"Hi, Lucy. Now, I must admit that I didn't have the purest of intentions when I came here." Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry, I'm not a serial killer. My hot water isn't working, and I was hoping you might know the right number to call to get it fixed."

"Oh sure, let me write it down for you." Lucy took a step back into her apartment, but the man in front of her grabbed her arm. 

"Would it be alright if you came down to my apartment and wrote it down there? I'm afraid I'll lose the paper somehow on my way down." He laughed. 

Lucy laughed awkwardly, starting to feel uncomfortable. "Look, I'll write it down here but I'm not comfortable going back to your apartment. It's nothing personal, I just-"

"Hey, I completely get it. You have guests round, and I'm a complete stranger to you. Look, you can even tell Tim where you're going, if it will make you feel better. I'm just such a clumsy person. I'll owe you big time."

Lucy paused, thinking it over. "Okay, just give me a minute to tell Tim."
"Thank you, so much." Lucy closed the door.

"Hey, Tim? I'll be back in a minute. A new neighbour needs help with something." Lucy called. Tim looked round from the sofa, concerned. 

"What? Lucy, you can't be serious."

"Tim, he just needs a little help. If anything goes wrong, you know where I am, okay?"

"Lucy-" Before he can finish, Lucy had already closed the door behind her and was following her neighbour to his apartment. 

At first, she didn't suspect anything. But when they started heading down multiple flights of stairs, Lucy started to grow concerned. "Hey, why did you come all the way up to my apartment? There must have been other neighbours."

"Yes, but I knew you would help me, Lucy." He said plainly.

"Hey, how did you know Tim was at my apartment? Who the hell are you?" Lucy yelled, stopping in her tracks.

"I know everything about you, Lucy Chen." He took a step closer to her. "Oh, and my name is Tom." And with that Tom sprayed something in her face, knocking her unconscious immediately.

A few hours later Lucy woke up in a bed, changed into pyjamas she doesn't recognise. She sat up, her head pounding. Sitting across from her on a rocking chair was a man she thought looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Do you know where you are?" He asked.

"N-No..." She mumbled.