She Belongs to Me [A Stalker Series]

The Note

Emily:

"I can't believe you like this stupid movie!" Hope said, throwing a handful of popcorn at me.

The first weekend of the semester was finally here, and we were celebrating by having a cheesy horror movies marathon. We started off with Slumber Party Massacre, then decided to watch a movie where a homicidal janitor was killing college kids.

The killer was chasing a half naked girl through the woods, raising his large machete to kill her, when my cellphone rang. I let out a startled yelp and pulled it from my pocket, looking at the caller ID.

The number was unfamiliar.

Shrugging, I decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?"

There was no answer from the other side, but I could hear someone breathing.

I rolled my eyes. "Haha. Very funny."

Hanging up, I stuck my phone back into my pocket and looked back at the television. The killer was already dragging the girl's dead body through the isolated woods.

"Damn, I missed it! "What happened?"

"Knife through the eye." Hope said, shoving another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Gross. Rewind it."

While she reversed the movie, my cellphone rang.

It was the same unfamiliar number.

Aggravated, I answered again.

"Hello?"

No answer.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, moron, don't you have anything better to do than to make prank phone calls all night?"

No response, just light breathing.

I hung up the phone and turned to Hope, who was looking at me with a concerned expression. I shook my head. "It's just some idiot with no life."

Hope folded her arm in front of her chest. "What if it's that Vincent guy who drove you back home other day? He might be one of those weird quiet guys who likes to scare women.

"Don't be ridiculous." I laughed, "Vincent could care less about me. He's hardly said a word to me since we've met. It's probably some frat boy that found my number in the student directory."

Hope didn't seem convinced. "Maybe."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. They won't be able to call anymore tonight." I turned my phone off and watched the rest of the movie. The ending credits soon rolled across the television and I looked at the clock on my wall, seeing that it was past midnight.

Hope stood up from the recliner and stretched her arms sleepily. "Geez, I didn't realize how late it was getting. I'd better head back home. Meet me in the morning for coffee?"

"Of course." I said, "Be careful getting home."

"I will."

She picked up her purse and twisted the doorknob open, stopping in her tracks when something on my welcome mat caught her eyes. "Hey, what's this?"

I looked down and saw a beautiful red rose on the mat, and attached to it was a piece of paper. We glanced at each other curiously before I picked it up and read the note. My blood ran cold as my eyes scanned the sloppily written words.

To Emily, my love. I'm watching you from afar but soon we will be together.'

"What the hell?" Hope snatched the note from my hand and read over it again, her eyes widening in a look of panic. "This isn't some joke, Emily. There really is someone out there watching you, probably the same person who just called here."

My heart was pounding in my chest, but I wanted to put on a brave face for my friend. She was the type of person to freak out easily, and I didn't want her overreacting to what was probably just a cruel prank.

"Who would want to watch me?" I asked, forcing myself to laugh. "I'm really not that interesting."

Hope was not the least bit amused. "You need to call the cops, Emily. This person could be dangerous."

"It's just a note. There's nothing to worry about."

"How can you be so relaxed about this? Someone is out there stalking you." She reached in the pocket of her shorts and pulled out her cellphone. "They may even be watching us right now. I'm calling the cops."

I took the phone from her hand before she could dial the number. "Don't make a big deal out of this." I said, "Do you remember when James tried to freak us out by saying that one of the baristas at the coffee shop was putting spider eggs in our lattes?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, he's probably playing another one of his stupid pranks on us."

"I don't know, Emily."

"Look," I said, "I'll ask him about it tomorrow, and if he says it wasn't him, I'll call the police."

Hope sighed and shrugged her arms. "Alright, have it your way. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

I closed the door behind her and stared at the note again, knowing good and well that James would never resort to such a cruel spirited joke.

What if there really was someone out there watching my every move?

The thought was absolutely terrifying.

I crumbled the note and threw it into the trash, then I changed into my pajamas and climbed into my bed, leaving the bedroom light on as I tried to fall asleep.