My Horror Story

So this is a story that I wrote for a Valentines Horror story contest. The winner was supposed to be published in the school paper but the February paper hasn't come out. Maybe it did and I just wasn't aware of it. Well I probably didn't win so I wanted others to be able to read it. For a short story it is kinda long, so if you can't deal with the awesomeness then get off my blog. Enjoy!

Stalker

By Courtney

            The alarm clock beeped from the night stand. I opened my eyes and sat up. Turning I squinted at the clock, it read Friday February 14th 5:30 a.m. I felt a pit in my stomach; Valentine’s Day. I shuddered; only awful memories ever came with Valentine’s Day. Throwing my feet over the edge of the bed I stood up and shuffled towards the bathroom. I turned on the shower and waited a moment before stepping in and letting the hot water wash over me. "This year will be fine." I breathed. "I will be fine."
Every year on Valentine’s Day my past came back to taunt me. I had relocated, changed my name, and I stay off of any social media website that someone could search my alias and address.

"My life is good now, I am safe." I whispered to myself. "Jen, no one is going to harm you."

My horror story begins three years ago during my freshman year of college. I was fully focused on my studies and I was trying to achieve my dream of becoming a professional dancer. I had friends and a steady boyfriend, but I also had one other thing: a stalker. Near the end of my first semester it began. Hand written notes would be left on my door step, under my door, and in my mailbox. Inside the notes were declarations of undying love and devotion. Saying things like "I will never give up until you are mine". Alongside these notes came flowers. I confronted my roommate, friends, and boyfriend about them, but they all testified that they weren't the ones leaving them. Soon I began finding notes inside my house on my night stand and there would be rose petals spread across on my bed. Terrified I called the police and notified them about what was happening. They would respond and tried to calm me down, but I could tell that they thought it was just a joke. Finally they told me that they would begin patrolling the neighborhood, I was relieved when I saw their car drive slowly through my street. Not long after the police began to patrol, the notes stopped and Christmas break came and all the students went home. I had unwisely decided not to tell my family about the notes, fully knowing that they would over-react. That year I brought my boyfriend home with me to meet my parents. For the first time in a while I could truly breathe. But all too soon Christmas break ended and we all returned and began school once more. There were no notes in front of my door or in my house. The police still patrolled the area; though not as often, and I felt some security. But after a while the notes began to appear in other places like; inside the girl’s locker room, within my text books, and on my car. But now the notes came alongside with pictures of me. My boyfriend began spending his nights asleep on the couch in my apartment. My roommate didn't mind; I know she also had become freaked out by my invisible stalker.  One night I laid out blankets for my boyfriend as he walked around the apartment and locked all the doors and windows. My roommate was taking a shower so I had a moment alone with him. He held me close and reassured me that I was safe and that no one was going to come into the apartment. He told me that in the morning he was going to make a grand Valentine’s Day breakfast. I looked into his blue eyes and knew that he was going to do all that he could to keep me safe. Reassured, I kissed him good night and went to my room. I fell asleep quickly, calmed by the thought that he was going to keep me safe.

Late into the night my door slowly opened and the light from the hallway fell on my face. I could hear my boyfriend quietly walk into the room. I kept my eyes closed; comforted that he was coming to check up on me. He sat on the edge of my bed and I could feel his fingers graze my cheek as he gently swept the hair off of my face. Then he leaned over and kissed my temple. I continued letting him think that I was asleep; he knew that I hadn't been sleeping well and had been worried about me. He played with a piece of my hair for a moment, then he stood up, quietly left the room, and I drifted back to sleep.

The next morning when I woke up I glanced at the clock. It read 8:30 a.m. It was Valentine’s Day. I sat up and stretched, my eyes were still blurry with sleep. Getting out of bed I tried to pull back my wild hair. I could smell bacon cooking, inhaling deeply I walked out of my room and towards the kitchen. As I walked down the hallway I felt a cold breeze come from under the door of my roommates bath room she must have cracked the window this morning before she left. The blinds were still shut and the lights were off, leaving the apartment in semi-darkness. I could see the faint flicker of candlelight coming from the kitchen. Continuing past my roommate’s bathroom I stepped in a small puddle. I groaned, my roommate always tracked water around after she took a shower. Without looking I wiped my foot on my other pant leg so that I could get the water off. Then I continued towards the kitchen. My stomach growled when I turned into the kitchen and saw a plate of pancakes and bacon sitting on the table. I sat down and began to eat. My boyfriend walked in from the other room, I didn't even look at him I was so entranced by the food. He began to massage my shoulders from behind.

"Mmm. Thanks." I said.

He leaned forward and kissed my temple.

"You're welcome." He replied.

But it wasn't my boyfriend’s voice. I stiffened as I felt a prick in my side; a knife was being held close to me. An arm slid around my neck while the other hand held the knife to me.

"Time to go." The deep and raspy voice said. I didn't move.

"UP!" He barked.

I slowly stood, shaking from head to toe. He pressed himself into my back so we were standing close together. Then he began moving towards the door and I had no choice but to follow him. When we reached the front door he made me unlock the bolt and open it, then we started down the front steps of my apartment. I scanned the area with my eyes, looking for anyone to come and help me. I spotted a green car with a door ajar that he began veer me towards. My eyes were streaming. All I could think was "Don't get into that car. Don't get into that car. If you get in you won't come back." I took a deep breath and made a decision, no matter the cost, there was no way in hell I would willingly climb into that vehicle. As we reached the middle part of the stairs I turned and jammed my elbow into his jaw. Then with a scream, I jammed my elbow into his gut. He doubled over, loosening his grip and I took the moment to twist out of his grasp, as I twisted I pushed him as hard as I could, trying to put some distance between us. He tumbled down the stairs as I bolted up and back to my apartment.

My eyes and nose were streaming as I ran into my apartment and bolted the door. A thought came to me, and I rushed to the bathroom. Throwing open the door I saw that the window was wide open. I rushed over and slammed it closed and locked it. I felt like I was choking on the very air that I needed to breathe as I ran to my bed room and grabbed my cell phone off my night stand. I flipped it open and punched in the numbers 9-1-1 as fast as my fingers would go. I was crying when they answered asking me what my emergency was. Sobbing into the mic I tried to tell them what had happened. The lady on the other end told me to stay calm and gave me a few other directions about what I needed to do. I heard a tap come from my window, then the deep raspy voice came to me saying.

"I will never give up on you."

The phone fell from my hands and hit the floor. I began to panic. I stood up in my state of fear ran into the living room to see where my boyfriend was. My nose and eyes were streaming as I reached the couch. Somehow he was still asleep. Reaching forward I pulled off the blanket and let out a scream. His dead blue eyes stared at the ceiling, his face frozen in fear. On his chest was the result of multiple stab wounds. I dropped the blanket and backed away. My mind turned to my roommate. If that window was open then there could be the chance that she never left this morning. I flew down the hallway, and slipped, landing with a thud. I could now see that the puddle I had stepped in was blood, my hands and knees were covered in it. There was more blood smeared on the walls, placed like paint to decorate the outer edge of any picture with me in it. In the dim light, my blurry eyes hadn’t been able to see the mess. My hands were sticky as I got up and rushed even faster to my roommates' room. My hand slipped once on the door knob. When I finally had a grip I threw open her door, only to behold the gruesome mess. She was dead. There was no doubt about it. My body froze and my mind went numb. I didn't know what to do. I could hear more tapping coming from the other window as the man who had done all of this inspired more fear in my heart. I knew that in a moment he was going to break in here and kill me. My knees gave out and I hit the floor without even trying to catch myself. My face became covered in the blood that had pooled on the carpet. I could see a trickle of red coming out of my side, I must have been stabbed as I tried to escape and now I had begun to go into shock. Now I simply lay there, not able to move as I watched my blood trickle out of my side and mix on the carpet with that of my roommates.

I don't remember much of what happened next, I faintly recall hearing a siren and the front door being kicked in. I remember seeing the shoes of multiple people come into the room. I stared at the walls when I was picked up like a doll and carried from the house. I remember seeing my dead boyfriend still on the couch his blue eyes still holding his last sight before he was murdered, then I blacked out. When I woke up next I was laying on a gurney being prepared to be taken to the hospital. An officer was trying to speak to me. I could see his lips moving but I couldn't hear any of the words he was saying, and then I blacked out again. When I woke up in the hospital later I was told that I had been stabbed and had lost a lot of blood. They told me that my roommate and boyfriend were dead. They then began asking me to identify who had attacked me, but I could not recall a single detail about him other than his voice. It also meant that they had not caught the murderer. This is where my horror story ends.
Soon after my wound was healed and I was let out of the hospital; I went underground. I was given a new chance at life. I left the terrified girl named Jen behind, and though it had taken a long time I had done my best to put my past behind me. My new name was Ann and I had moved across the country to start my life over. I didn't want to live as Jen the girl who got her friends murdered or the girl that feared she was still being hunted.
                                 

Turning off the hot water I stepped out of the shower and got dressed. I pulled back my hair into a bun and got ready to go to work. I taught dance to young children at a studio one block away from my house. I sat on the edge of my bed and put on my shoes. Then I grabbed my dance bag and house keys and went out the door, locking it behind me. The sun was starting to peak over the horizon; as I walked its rays stretched to melt the frost off the ground. When I reached the studio I unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. I methodically worked on opening up the building, and then I lost my thoughts in teaching for the rest of the day. It wasn't till I looked out the window and realized that it was already dark that I felt a pang of fear in my chest. As the last class finished up I spoke to the other instructors. The instructors and I usually waited together till all of the children had been picked up by their parents. But tonight I designated myself to stay behind and wait for the few remaining students to be picked up. They thanked me and went on their way, excited to spend the evening with their loved ones. When the last student left I turned off the lights and locked the studio door. I felt exhausted as I started to walk home. My hair had begun to fall out of its bun, and to no avail I tried pushing it out of my face. Adjusting my bag on my shoulder I looked forward and froze. Someone was standing just beyond the nearest street light. Nervously I squinted trying to make out who it was. He stepped into the light so I could see his face. It was my boyfriend. He had his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

"Ann!" He called. "Happy Valentine’s Day!"

I smiled and walked towards him. He had come into my life about four months after I had changed my identity. He never pushed to hear about my past and I had decided to never tell him my tragic story, so naturally he didn’t know my real name. During the long time that I had been with him, he had become my steadfast rock. He had dark brown eyes that I felt safe in and a mischievous grin. Often I would call him up in the middle of the night, frightened with a memory of my past and he would be there in an instant, ready to comfort me. I walked up to him, wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss. Then we turned and began walking towards my house. It was late and the darkness was only interrupted by the occasional street light and distant star. He slung his arm around my shoulder holding me tight. Leaning his head in, he gave a quick kiss to my temple.

"Jen, do you remember something that I told you a while ago."
"What?" I said.
"I will never give up on you."

 His voice had become deep and raspy. My heart stopped as I made the realization and looked up into the dark eyes of my stalker.