I Don't Know You

Jordyn had just moved to Toronto from Montreal, she figured even though she loved her french roots, and the style of photography she had developed there, she wanted to expand her portfolio, so she worked overtime, saved up some money for a while, quit her job as a cashier at a clothing store and moved to Toronto. This would be her big break, her big jump into a photography career and prove to her family and friends it wasn’t just a hobby. She had done some other mini gigs around her community, taking professional photos for her friends, she started a photography blog, and was a photographer for a few small cover designers around the city. She had applied for a couple bigger photography jobs when she moved, but hadn’t heard back just yet so she continued to introduce herself to people for small gigs. It had been a long day of interviews and photography for a portfolio when Jordyn decided it was time to go home. When she got out of the elevator and turned the corner to her apartment she was met by a man, who looked about her age, standing at her door. “Hello.” she greeted him, he was standing right by the lock on the door so after he replied “Hi,” back she added on. “Sorry, you’re standing right at my door,” the man smiled and took a small step back, still keeping them uncomfortably close for Jordyn’s liking so she just left the door as it was. They stood there, an awkward silence coming in between them. “Do you live in the building?” Jordyn asked, trying to break the tension. “Oh yes, right next door actually.” he pointed to the door next to hers but it was odd because she had met the old lady who lived there the day after she moved in a week ago. She shook off the questioning feeling and continued the conversation. “Well, I actually have to go in and submit some of my photos for my portfolio...” she wrapped one hand around the camera that was hanging on her neck. “Yes yes, I’ll leave you to it then.” the man walked away, towards the elevator where she had come from. Jordyn walked into her apartment, locking the door and headed straight to her laptop to submit her nature contest and job application photos. She softly hummed along to the music she had started playing in the background, finishing pretty quickly. 

Later in the day Jordyn went for a walk, she wanted to explore the new area a little more now that she was settled in. She walked around the streets, not really sure where she was headed until she found a park, a meditation park that would have been great for a competition she had come across earlier if it hadn't been as crowded and she had her camera. She decided to take photos with her phone just in case she could do something with them. Before heading home, she sat on the park bench, texting Ari, her best friend back in Montreal. She felt a slight shake in the bench so she looked up to see someone had sat beside her, it wasn’t just anyone, it was the man who stood at her door waiting for her just hours prior. He sat there staring at her, not saying a word. Jordyn decided to ignore him and went back to texting Ari, until she felt a hot breath creeping closer to her. She slid a little further from the man who had been attempting to read her text messages, and asked him, “Do you come here often?” the man nodded. He was creeping her out more than he had before, awkwardness already getting too much for Jordyn to handle. For goodness sake, she didn’t even know the man's name! She was also fairly sure he didn’t live in the apartment beside her, or that he came to this park often. Nevertheless, Jordyn put on a smile and got up. “It’s getting quite late so I think i'll be heading home now.” as she started to make her way back, the man stood up and grabbed her arm. “Wait. Let's walk back together.” Jordyn shook her arm from the man's grasp, she wanted to say no, she wanted to say she thought he was creepy and she didn’t want anything to do with him but instead she just continued walking, hoping he would get the message. When he wouldn’t take his own way, she sped up, unable to stand the silence. Jordyn glanced back out of the corner of her eye, the man wasn’t walking any faster, so she walked a little faster until eventually she broke out into a light jog, it wasn’t exactly unusual, she liked taking a jog around the area every morning, and something told her the man already knew that. When she reached the building she took the stairs, and when she was out of slightline of the man, she ran up to her apartment and locked the door quickly. She couldn’t place a finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. Jordyn ate some dinner, got ready for bed and just before heading to her room, she went to go make sure the door was locked, she had heard a noise a little earlier. Before pulling on the handle, she looked through the peephole and saw an eye looking straight at her. The weird feeling washed over her again and she just knew it was the man again. She walked into the kitchen, got a roll of duct tape and put it on the peephole, normally, people couldn't look and see clearly but she felt like the man was looking right into her apartment. She creeped back into her room, and called Ari. “There's this guy-” she started but got cut off. “Oooh is he cute?” Ari asked eagerly. “No and that's beside the point. He’s been around me all day, he says he’s my next door neighbor but I think he’s lying. He keeps coming to me as if to talk, but doesn’t say a word, and it's just awkward. I'm getting ready for bed and he's standing right there at my door again looking through the peephole. What should I do?” The line was silent for a moment, before Ari spoke up again, with an obvious tone. “Call the police.” Jordyn wasn’t too sure about it, although it had crossed her mind. “What if that's too extreme?” Jordyn figured it out. “What if I just wait until tomorrow?” Ari spoke up immediately. “Call the police or I will.” Jordyn agreed. “I’ll call building security first.” “Okay talk later then,” Ari said. Jordyn hung up and called the security, they said they would send someone up to talk to the man, so she decided it would be okay to go to sleep. 

When Jordyn woke up she felt refreshed, ready to go out for her morning run. She left the building, and ran for a good while finding a new trail to run on, and found a cute cafe for breakfast. She got seated at a table, and ordered her breakfast when a man walked in and sat across from her. The waitress raised her eyebrows at her and asked “were you waiting for someone ma'am?” Jordyn shook her no but didn’t say anything. The waitress left to get her food and Jordyn looked at the man. “What do you want from me?” she asked. “Why did you call security on me?” he asked. Jordyn went quiet. “I don’t know you.”