Stalker

I jumped out of bed with a start. I quickly ran across the room to shut my annoying alarm off. As I flipped the light on I sighed. I only kept the alarm across the room so that it would force me to get out of bed and nothin the snooze button 15 times. I yawned, then groaned it was 4:00 in the morning. As I searched through the piles of clothes on the floor, I thought, I thought about my plans for the day. Go to the gym, come home, shower, get ready for work, then meetings all day. UGH. Come home again, pop some dinner in the microwave and maybe binge watch something on Netflix before bed.

I finally found some some clean gym clothes crumpled on the floor that I was too lazy to fold and pulled them on. There was only one reason I was going to the gym so early, I usually didn’t go until 6:00. I thought about the creepy guy that’s been following me from the gym every morning, as I brushed my teeth and threw my hair into a messy ponytail. At first I had thought he was cute, tall, tan and muscular. He had a chiseled jaw and dark hair with hazel eyes. That was until he started following me. I noticed it about a week after I first saw him. A little here, a little there. But recently it’s been different, everywhere I go he follows. I tried to tell the police but they think I’m crazy. They’re too under-staffed to care, they refuse take me seriously. That’s just the way it is in New York City. Well I guess that’s not the Only reason I was going to the gym early but most of it. I also had an early meeting but I still got up an hour earlier than I had to.

During the 10 minute drive I flipped through random radio stations until there was music, then as soon the music stopped I flipped through some more. That’s just the way I was, impatient, but at the same time I really didn’t care what kind of music I listened to. I swept a piece of my dark blonde-almost brown hair out of my green eyes as my thought returned to the road. There was a lot less traffic act 4:15 then there was at 6:15. It was cardio day. I was not looking forward to it. I popped my earbuds in and started my workout. Maggie my best was constantly bugging me about getting AirPods. “They are so cool!” She would say. “just try them, they really don’t fall out!” I didn’t believe the hype. Also I would have never spent that much for headphones.

After my workout I hurried home, I changed out of my black leggings and sweaty gym shirt and showered. I didn’t think anyone would appreciate me going to work smelling like sweat and dirt. An hour later, I was ready for work. I had on a dress that was flattering but still appropriate. I also had on silver earrings and the C charm necklace Maggie had given me for Christmas last year. “C for Cassandra” she had said. I had given her a ‘M’ charm identical gold instead of silver like mine. My makeup was subtle and my hair in long curls. Maggie was a lot prettier than me. Light blonde hair, perfect olive skin and deep blue eyes. All the guys loved her in high school and now she was married to her high school sweetheart. He was the quarterback during football season, point guard in basketball, good at all things sports. She was a cheerleader, straight A’s, president of all the school clubs and Valedictorian, they were the perfect couple. I never quite fit into the popular clique like she did but that was fine by me. M and I have always been different. Honestly the only thing thing we had ever had in common was the apartment building we lived in. Well and and that we were in serious relationships, that was until recently. Jack and I broke up about a month ago. We were together four years. It’s been rough going lately, I thought.

The phone ringing in the other room snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the clock, It’s almost 6:00 that’ll be M. It’s something we’ve done for years but she’s been really obsessive about it since Jack and the creepy guy.

“Hey Mag,” I chirped trying to sound as cheerful as possible. “How’s it going?”

“Cass seriously, I don’t understand how you can be so perky in the morning,” Maggie grumbled. It was obvious she has just woke up but I wasn’t going to point that out, that would just make her more grouchy.

“How did you sleep?” I asked instead.

“Fine I guess” she replied. We had talked for half an hour when my phone practically had a seizure. 

“Welp. That’s my alarm, I’ve gotta go to work.”

“Ok have a good day. Oh wait Cass FaceTime me.” I accepted her FaceTime request with a groan. “Ooh gurrrllll!!!,” She shrieked. “You’re lookin’ good!” 

“I’ve really gotta go M,” I sighed. I had been weird about complements since Jack. When we broke up he messed with my head. Saying I was ugly and not good enough and I had been self-conscious ever since.

“Earth to Cassandra” Maggie had a worried look on her face.

“I love ya girl, I gotta go,” I muttered quickly.

  “Love you too, keep your head up.”

“Alright bye”

“Bye” she said ruefully. I hung up with a sigh trying to clear my head. Glancing at the clock I ran out the door.

My day was long and boring. I didn’t feel like eating Ramen for the fifth day in a row, so instead I grabbed a spoon from the drawer and ate ice cream straight from the tub. And so my days went, but it became more and more apparent that the guy from the gym was following me. I tried to change the time I worked out. I tried telling the police again. I even tried to hire a Private Investigator, but nothing worked. I was really starting to get paranoid. Maggie was acting weird too, I couldn’t figure it out. I had been thinking about Jack, why had he ended it so abruptly? We were fine, great even, we hadn’t been fighting or arguing. We were happy. Sure we had the occasional disagreement but every couple did. Then suddenly he just turned, like a switch flipped. One day we were talking about marriage and the next I’m ugly and not good enough. It just didn’t make sense, it wasn’t like him at all.

It was a Wednesday and met depression was hitting me hard. I went for a drive to clear my head. It was 11:00pm, no one was on the road. Just me, my thoughts and the radio. That’s when I noticed the headlights following me. My head went to one place, my stalker. I took the nearest exit, the headlights followed. I twisted and turned through the city until they disappeared. I pulled behind a Walmart and turned the car off crying. I had no idea where I was, so I had to use the GPS to get home. I was constantly checking my rearview mirror, worried he would find me again. I was about 10 minutes from home when I saw him. I gunned it going 120 mph, it would’ve been faster except the governor kicked in. I headed for my apartment at full speed taking a few detours, with him right on my tail. When I got to my apartment building I ran for it, barely stopping long enough to rip my phone off the charger. I didn’t even bother to lock the car. As I got to the base of the stairs I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. He got out of his car calmly our of his car and locked it. I was momentarily frozen by fear. Something flashed in his eyes. Danger. I dashed up the steps and threw open the doors, fumbling with my keys. I yanked the next door open and threw the door closed wildly behind me. Not waiting for the elevator I ran up the stairs. I got to my apartment and slid the key into the lock. The elevator dinged. Without looking back I frantically slipped into my apartment and locked all eight locks. I installed extra locks and a heavy duty door when I first noticed the guy following me. I called 911. No change, I was on my own. I called Maggie.”Hey Cass gotta go, I’ll call you later,” she blurted sounding a little drunk. Click. So I called the only other person I could think of. Jack. 

“Hello? Cassandra is that you?” He asked his voice was full of pain. 

“Yea it’s me, Jack, I really need you right now.” 

“Cass I love you but I can’t he said he would kill you,” his voice was shaking as he started crying. There was a crash as the guy threw himself against the door.

“Jack he’s trying to get in, he’s trying to get me,” my voice was equally shaky.

“No he promised he wouldn’t as long as I broke up with you, he promised he’d leave you alone.” He sputtered in a half disbelieving half frightened tone. 

“Wha- baby what’s going on? You know this guy?”

CRACK. The door gave way and I screamed.

“Jack I love you” I cried. Then he was on me, knife thrust came so quick I wasn’t ready for it. Once, twice three times, to the stomach, between my ribs, and the final blow to my heart. I collapsed in a pool of blood the C charm covered in red as I died in a few long seconds. 

…

“Margret? Yes it’s Zach. it’s done,” Jack heard the familiar voice faintly on the other end of the phone. The same one that threatened him so many times. Muting his end of the phone he collapsed on the floor crying. Not even two minutes later Jack’s phone started ringing. The ringtone was familiar. He had hidden the phone from Cassandra so many times when that ringtone played. Maggie, but why was she calling him? He answered.

“Hello?” He said in the flat voice he used to hide his emotions so many times with Cass. 

“Hey babe I have some bad news,” She said between sniffs. “Cass she’s gone. I found her in the parking lot, it looked like she was running from you know who.” Jack picked up on the lie immediately. He heard the crack of her apartment door through the phone.

“How?” He asked trying to suppress his anger but his voice cracked anyway. 

“He shot her, there was no way she could’ve avoided it.” She cried. 

“Liar!” Anger flashed in Jack’s deep blue eyes. “You killed her with that guy, Zach. How could you M? He spat. Her tone immediately changed.

“I did it for us,” she soothed. “Now that she’s out of the way we can be together.”

“No Maggie, what we did was a mistake, I loved her! I was going to marry her!” He screamed. “You’re not going to get away with this!”

“You’ll never prove anything.”