For the past few weeks my walks home were pretty wierd. There's been this man that follows me, but is pretty low profile about it, and tries to make it seem like he's not following me. I can't call the police, because he's always wearing a large trench coat that covers half his face, and a winter hat, so pretty much only his eyes show. I can't call the police because there's not much I can tell them, and if I tell my dad, he won't believe me, and yell at me for making stuff up.
That was just the walks home. Today I saw him outside the window at school during second period. At first I thought that it was some determined student trying to bully me again by scaring me or something, but I'm starting to have doubts.
At lunch I talked to one of my only friends, Lucy, about the man, and she said that she would walk home with me today to see the man for herself. She lives relatively close, but her mom usually drives her to and from school, and since she's pretty much my only friend, that's why I walk alone.
The walk home was pretty interesting, at first we didn't see the man. Actually, it wasn't until we were almost at my house when we saw him. When we passed by a forest near my house, he was at the edge of the woods, barely visible, just staring as we walked by. I didn't want to point him out, fearing of what could have happened so I nudged Lucy and told her to look at the forest. It didn't take her long to see him, and she was definitely scared, because she ran right after, leaving me behind. After she turned the block is when the man started to follow me again.
Luckily my dad had to work late, so I was home alone, and couldn't be harmed by him. But of course the thought of the man crossed my thoughts, and I got paranoid. I started thinking of where he could be, then a quick 'maybe he's outside the house' thought came, and I got scared. The longer I thought, the more paranoid and afraid I got. By the time 10 minutes had passed, I was too afraid to even get up off the couch and stop watching TV.
After about 5 minutes, I got a call from my cell from an unknown number. I picked up and said hello. No response. Not even a faint breath. Just silence. I hung up, and I was even more afraid. I was almost paralysed with fear. This brought more and more thoughts of the man, 'what if that was him' 'what if he's watching me' and so on. This made my paranoia even worse. Just sit back, and watch TV I thought. I actually wanted my dad to come home, just so these thoughts would stop.
Not long after, I saw the headlights shine in from the window, and I was relieved that my dad arrived. I heard the car door close, and then my dad started to yell. Maybe it was the neighbours, or a racoon he was scaring away. My dad opened the front door and asked, "Mark, did you have a friend over while I was gone?"
"No, of course not. Why?" I replied confused
"Why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not lying. I had no one over."
"That's funny," he said sarcastically "because I saw some guy running out from our backyard, and last time I checked, the gate to the backyard was locked, so the only way in is going from inside the house." He exclaimed while walking towards me.
"Dad, I didn't have anyone over I sw-"
He hit me. Right in the face. Before I could even finish my sentence. I was barely conscious, but he dragged me to my room and locked me in. I crawled to my bed, and struggled to get on. That was the first time in a long time that he's punched my face, or anywhere exposed that is. I managed to fall asleep, even with the terrible headache I had.
I woke up with a pounding headache. I looked over at my clock, and it was only 2:07. Seriously. I couldn't even get a good night's sleep. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I saw the man's silhouette standing at the foot of my bed. With no thought I ran to my door and tried to open it. It was still locked from when my dad threw me in. Are you serious. I pounded and kicked as hard as I possibly could. I'm surprised the wooden door didn't break, because of how much force I was putting into it. I could barely hear my dad yelling at me to shut up from his room.
I wanted out. Away from him. I felt him touch my shoulders, and I screamed even louder. Kicked even harder. I needed out of my room. I felt him pull me back, but I resisted and kept kicking and punching the door. He was stronger than I and he pulled me back, and I fell on the ground. He dragged me by the arms to my window. My dad opened my door in a rage, and the man let go of me and jumped out my window.
My dad called the police, and in about an hour they were here inspecting the place. They said they would spend the next few days looking for the man. It's been a few months and they haven't found him. He could still be out there. Watching me walk home, or at school. I'm still afraid.
