Watch Me ✔️

Chapter 10

I got home and was in a slight panic from the note on my car. I called my mom on the drive home and had told her about the note and creepy messages. She was concerned and suggested I double check my door and windows and have someone stay with me just in case.

I called Mallory as I walked into my building.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Do you work tonight? Can you come over? Or can I come there? Or go somewhere maybe?" I asked in succession, waiting for the elevator.

"What? Hello? Are you there?" She asked.

"Dang, I shouldn't have called before getting on the elevator." I said, realizing the issue.

"Okay, well just text me then since I can't hear anything. Love you." She said. I groaned and put my phone away. The elevator door slid shut and I hit my button. It began to move up, but then suddenly jolted seconds later and stopped with me stuck inside.

Feeling myself start to panic, I hit the help button on the elevator only to find it not working. The lights went dark, effectively trapping me inside with no ability to call for help. Then, my phone started ringing. It was the unknown number. I picked up.

"Hello?" I asked nervously. I backed up into the far wall, my left hand gripping the handle and my right hand on my phone. My heart was beating fast and I had no idea what to expect on the other line.

"Hello, Leilani?." The voice said. It was definitely male and sounded familiar.

"Yeah, it's me." I responded, trying to keep my cool. Maybe I could get some answers from this creep.

"It's Harper, we are going out tonight, want to come?" He said. I immediately relaxed, there's no way Harper was my stalker.

"Yeah sure, but listen I'm stuck in my building's elevator right now. Could you come over and get me out?" I asked desperately.

"Yeah of course! I'm bored out of my mind right now, I'll be there as soon as I can!" He said, then hung up.

I slid down onto the floor and stared at my phone. I didn't know why his number came through as unknown, maybe cause service sucked, but that didn't make much sense. Maybe he called from someone else's phone? Maybe he knows my stalker and doesn't realize it.

There was a small camera in the corner of the elevator, it usually had a red light letting people know it was recording. Since the building didn't have a doorman, nobody watched it unless requested. I was looking forward in the darkness when I saw the small red light appear. The lights were still out and there the elevator hum was silent. I heard the camera move and saw the light tilt down towards me.

Suddenly the speaker came on and I heard, "You make it so easy." Then the lights came on and the elevator started to hum again. The door was opened by the maintenance man with a special tool. Harper stood behind him with a big grin on his face. I had to hop down with their help as the elevator had moved up a few feet. I thanked the maintenance man and invited Harper upstairs to my apartment since he was there. We took the stairs.

I let Harper into my apartment and threw my purse and coat onto my kitchen chair. He got comfortable on my couch and started petting Biscuit. She absolutely adored Harper even though she'd only met him one other time.

"Thanks again for coming over. I was really freaking out in there." I said sitting across from him on my desk chair.

"It's no problem, happy to help." He replied.

"So why aren't you at work?" I asked him.

"Well we were on our lunch break when we called, so I just decided to come over and save you and take the rest of the day off." He stated with a chuckle.

"We?" I asked.

"Yeah me and Peyton. We used his phone to call you, I figured you knew that, he already had your number saved." He said.

"Oh, it came up unknown." I replied. Could Peyton be the stalker? It would be hard for him to have orchestrated some elevator trick while with Harper, but maybe he wanted to be the hero? But then wouldn't he have come to save me instead?

"He can't stop talking about you. So I figured I'd invite you out with us so you both can get to know each other a little better." Harper said.

"Well you know I'm seeing someone new right now." I said.

"Is it serious? Come on, I know you." He said, teasing me.

"Well no, not yet." I replied, although I knew Kiara was a serious option.

"Then no harm, right?" He said.

"Yeah I guess, plus I could really use a distraction right now." I said, "Hey wait, this isn't some ploy to get Mallory back is it?"

"No actually, although if she's free we should invite her." He said with a coy smile.

I rolled my eyes at him and reached for my phone to text her. Figured I should let her know why I had called, giving her a quick synopsis of the note and elevator incident. I also informed her about my plans with Harper, although I figured she may not want to go. knew she didn't mind that I still hung out with Harper, we had all been such good friends before they broke up and she didn't want that to have to end.

"So why are you so interested in getting Mallory back all of a sudden?" I asked.

"When we ended I wanted to explore more and Mallory's the kind of girl you marry. And now that I've dated some more I've started to see that she's the only one who really gave me that feeling of a real future together." He replied.

"That makes sense, but you're going to ruin any chance of a future with her if you make yourself the bad guy in her story." I said.

"True, I just love her still." He said matter of factly.

"Well, you just need to be yourself and if she's truly meant to end up with you then you need to let her figure that out on her own. Plus Matt makes her happy right now. She needs to try that relationship out, they've only been together like 6 months." I said.

"Why do you always have to be right?" He asked.

"I'm great at giving advice, thank you for recognizing my true talent. Oh my gosh, you gave me an idea for my next video! Watch Me Give Relationship Advice. I can take requests and do a live video even! I haven't tried that yet." I said, turning around in my chair and turning on my computer.

"Oh that sounds fun! Can I help?" He asked.

"Sure I'd love that!" I said, getting my camera out and setting it up. "Do you want to make it now? I usually post on Fridays, but I'm bored and have no plans."

"Sure, just let me call work and let them know I'm out sick for the rest of the day." He replied.

I set everything up finally and sat next to him on the couch ready to film. I was glad he was staying and we had plans to go out. I didn't want to be alone and if Peyton was my stalker I could confront him in public and soon.