Let's Not Meet Again

I Wanted Attention

I have to say, even after a year has passed, I feel almost guilt that this happened. I'm sorry to turn this into a weird personal thing, but I need to write it all out. Even this weird prologue.

So, like I said, I feel guilty. I used to read the stories on this subreddit and wonder what it was like to have someone obsessed with you. As a girl who never had anyone pay much attention to her, in a weird and really really fucked up way, I wanted something like this to happen to me. And I'm so sorry to anyone who has ever been harassed or stalked because I was so wrong. And I'm sorry if this comes across as fake. I have no idea how to prove it. All I can do is tell you what happened.

I live in a small town. There's not much to do. One of the things that attracts lots of kids (red flag already, right?) is the pool. The pool building has lots of stuff, like a concert venue, a skating rink, etc. That's where a young girl was first approached by a man. He said a few things, not a big deal. Then, when the same girl was leaving the pool, the man attempted to get her to get in his truck. The girl's sister came out of the building at the perfect time and got her out of that situation. I don't know a lot of specifics, because that girl wasn't me. She was my next door neighbour. So, I noticed when the drive-bys started. We live on a dead end street, so if someone drives down our street, they have to drive around the little circle at the end and go back. I'm up late often, and I noticed a red truck always driving by, pausing in front of that same girl's house, and then continuing on. This was always sometime past midnight.

During a football game when all the neighbours were gathered at the same house, I brought it up. The mother of the girl instantly went pale, and asked for more information. I eventually had to talk to a police officer, but didn't have much to tell them. I didn't know enough about vehicles to recognize make, but I described it to the best of my ability. Sadly, this didn't lead to anything except for an angry Facebook post from the mother's friend. The truck visits slowed after that, until mid-summer.

It was the middle of the day when the red truck stopped at the end of our street. A man got out and walked towards the girl's house. Her mom and her sister were gone for an appointment, and the girl was playing on the front lawn with a few of the other neighbourhood kids. The man had his phone out and aimed at the kids.

This is probably the stupidest decision I've ever made, but I love those kids, and I'm sorry that this sounds like I'm hyping myself up, but this is the truth. I've known them since they were babies. They play in our backyard, I've babysat them all, so I went outside. I asked the guy what he was doing. He was visibly put off, and quickly said he needed directions to the centre of town. I pointed him in the right direction (which is the direction he'd been coming from in the first place) and he left.

I called the police after that, and I thought that'd be the end. I was wrong. The girl was left alone, but my hell had just begun.

The red truck would be waiting outside of my high school almost every day, at the edge of the lot where the school's cameras didn't reach. I parked in the upper-lot, far away from him, so I was never really in danger, but it was still unnerving.

A series of fake accounts tried to follow my Instagram, add me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter. The bio lines at first were blank, but after I'd blocked them all, they began to get sinister. They were never threats. Instead, they were filled with personal details. My birthday, my phone number, my address, etc.

I told my parents immediately, and took screenshots of all the accounts and went to the police, who took all the information, but said that until a "serious threat" ,or something like that, emerged, they couldn't do anything. I feel no resentment towards the police, as I think their hands really were tied. In response, I took down all of my accounts and changed my number.

By now, it was late fall, early winter.

My car got keyed in my own driveway. Our front door would randomly be banged on in the middle of the night. A co-worker at the store where I worked told me a scruffy guy had come into our store, which was a knock-off Claire's type thing, so it was a little strange, and just wandered around. Eventually he'd asked when my next shift was. My co-worker wouldn't tell him. He left without fuss. My school got a call that I had lice. I was called out of class and the rumour spread. Bizarre, but humiliating all the same. When I had to get the mail from the box at the end of the street, a car (not the red truck) would drive slowly behind me, and then drive away at a tire-squealing pace when I turned to see who it was.

Eventually, after about a three month period of the events dwindling, they stopped altogether. I still have no idea why.

I guess this has stuck with me so long because it kept changing. He never stuck to the same tactic long, kept changing it, like he was Googling, "Creepy things to do to your stalking victim", and there was no real ending.

And I'm aware that these were all tiny things, but they added up. About a year of my life was spent in constant suspense, and now I still always look over my shoulder. I won't go out alone after dark. I keep the shades in our living room closed after 7 pm. Maybe the scariest thing was that I felt like I was doing everything right. I told my parents. I got proof. And I was still powerless.

I'm just glad it's over.