Outside the Window

Part 2

perfect!" Mr. Denton said. "Mandy, I couldn't ask for a better place! And the price, seven fifty, that's great! We offered up ten thousand! And you know what, this place is so good I'm going to give you ten thousand! Thank you, we will definitely call you when we need to go somewhere else." He was practically crying he was so happy. "Just doing my job, sir." Mandy said. When she hung up, she picked up Ginger and started doing a happy dance. "Ginger, I'm going to get ten thousand dollars!" Now Mandy was about to start crying tears of joy! 

    The next day the Denton's were getting on their flight by the time Mandy woke up. "Oh crap!" Mandy drove extremely fast to the airport, and caught up with Mr. Denton. 

"Oh, hi Mandy. Here's your cash." He handed Mandy a hundred hundred dollar bills. "I didn't think you were going to make it!" He laughed. "Well, gtg as those young people say. Bye, and thanks!" Mandy pocketed the bills and drove to the bank. "Deposit, please."

"OK, you know what to do." the teller said. She handed her deposit ticket with the bills. "Thank you for using Iberia Bank." I then sped off in my grey Prius, home bound. When she arrived home, there was someone standing at her doorstep, holding flowers. Mandy blushed, and wondered who it was. She stopped by her house, and waited for him to leave. After ten minutes, he was still their. She decided  to pull out, so she went into the driveway. The guy didn't even notice! His eyes were trained on her door. She tiptoed to her backdoor, and went in through there. Then, she messed up her hair and acted groggily when she opened the door. "Hello? Do I know you?" Mandy asked, yawning. "No, I am Sam's son, Paul Denton. I wanted to thank you for the amazing room you got them." He said, never losing his smile. "Oh, thanks for the flowers." Mandy took them and closed the door. She went upstairs into her room, and looked out the window. He was still standing there, until sometime after five minutes. Then, he turned around and walked home. He was a strange man, with tangled brown hair and a 5 o' clock shadow. Mandy thought about calling the police, but she realized he was no threat, just a little... off. 

Night came, and she had no new people to help plan trips, so she lay down watching YouTube videos with Ginger. Ding dong! The doorbell rang, and Mandy ran to open it. It was Paul! What was he doing back? "Hey, Mandy. I bought you some more flowers." He said, and once again never lost his smile, until I said "Thanks, but that's enough flowers. Just, stay away please." He looked sad, and took the flowers back. He slammed the door on Mandy's face. She ran upstairs, unsure what to do. She looked out the window, and Paul was burning the flowers in her front yard! "Hey, what the hell are you doing!" Mandy yelled. He looked up, and ran, leaving the lighter and the flowers. She ran to the phone and dialed 911. "Yes, some crazy guy named Paul Denton just burnt my front yard!" 

"We'll be right over, sir." the officer said. "I'm a she, not a sir!" "Sorry, ma'm?" the officer said ma'm an a bad tone. The officers arrived and looked around. "Well, he didn't steal anything, but we found singed grass. We'll find him and talk to him." "Thanks, sir." Mandy purposely added to the woman that called her a man on the phone. She scowled, then called her team over and left.

     Mandy slept rough that night, with the knowledge she was being 'hunted'. It was kind of frightening, only someone the victim would understand. "Well," she spoke to herself, not waking Ginger. "I am being hunted by a strange man, the son of my client." She woke the next day, and went downstairs, and made herself coffee. She didn't think of looking out the window, which she soon regretted. She went upstairs, but before she did she fed Ginger. She looked out the window, and gasped. Why is he back? I thought the police had him.  Mandy thought to herself. He looked from her lawn to the window where she was, but Mandy was to frightened to look away, run, or call the police. Then, Paul advanced towards the door. 

       She scrambled around the house, looking for a weapon or something to defend herself with. She didn't know if he was armed or not, but he was surely a figure of danger. She eventually found a bottle of pepper spray and a fire extinguisher, but that's it. He reached the door after a slow walk, and knocked calmly. Mandy walked to the door, not opening it, and asked through the door "Don't try anything, because I could call the police." "Oh, don't worry." Paul said. "I just want a chat." She opened the door, and before he walked in, he nodded. He didn't seem insane, but kept the spray in her back pocket and the extinguisher under the table where they sat. "I am full of regret about my behavior, but I wasn't very pleased when you turned down my offer about the flowers." Paul said. "Yeah, I could tell." Mandy joked. His face was still and undeterred. "The police have me under house arrest temporarily, but-" "Wait, then how are you here?" Mandy asked. Paul simply lifted his leg, and pulled away the pants leg, revealing an imprint of what must be the tracker. "Oh." Mandy just stared at the mark until he put his leg down. "Anyways, I needed to come back and apologize. My behavior was rude." With that, he got up and walked out her door. Mandy was confused, and sat at the table for a little longer. He may be quirky, but he sure had manners. She went upstairs (after putting up the weapons) and petted Ginger. She looked out the window, and there he was, sitting in her yard, eyes closed, legs criss-crossed. He would have looked like he was meditating, but his hands lay peacefully at his side. She just looked out the window for a few minutes, and then went to get breakfast. She ate, showered, and drove off to do some errands, carefully locking each door and turning on the alarm in case he had any intentions to steal something.

      She got back around noon, and he was still there, in the same position. He looked up, saw her car, and got up and left. He had nothing in his pockets or hands, so he didn't steal anything. She double-checked her house for any damage or rearranged items, but everything was in place. "Weird." she said to herself. Ginger was wide awake, staring at a corner, barking. She hushed him, but then he walked over and smelled... a cat? It was just lying there, not bothered by Ginger smelling it. A note attached to the cat by tape read For my sweet Mandy. She checked the cat, and it was a girl. It was a grey Siberian cat, not much older than Ginger. After a while Ginger got used to the cat, and stopped barking. The cat seemed used to Ginger, and tame. It wasn't hungry (she fed it some of Ginger's food), but it was a little thirsty. She went to Pet Co and bought a collar for the cat; it said Smoky. She named her Smoky because of her gray fur. She also picked up some food and water. While she did this, she wondered how Paul got into her house. Smoky was a nice gift, but if he could get into her house without breaking anything or triggering the alarm, he could be a potential threat. Thinking about it gave her an idea.

        The next day, Mandy called a technician to install some security cameras. "Small and high up, like on the second floor. And, like I said, small, so no one can see it. And fast. I'll pay extra." She didn't want Paul to be able to see, locate, or disable the cameras. She paid extra to have it done quick, in case Paul came to her house for another 'visit' and luckily he didn't. It took a whole two hours for the installation, and she had a program downloaded on her computer so she could monitor what the cameras saw. She went to sleep soundly, knowing if Paul came again she'd have evidence.

TO BE CONTINUED...