watching Melissa

  “Hi boss!” Melissa said as she stepped promptly to her cubical. “Good Morning Melissa!” said Mr. Whirly briskly. She sat down at her chair, and began the daily routine of booting her computer. She checked her files from the day before and began logging information into the data base. While she was working, one of her co-workers stepped up behind her. She knew Whirly wanted the information in immediately so she had little time to converse. “Melissa?” asked John. “Yes?” she said softly.
“Did you get that message yesterday?” he asked quickly as if he were about to stutter.
“What message?” She hardly knew what he was talking about.
“I sent you an E-Mail inviting you for dinner two days ago?” he said.
“Not again.” Her mind began to dull as she stressed over the thought. She had forgotten all about the message until he mentioned the one she scanned on her E-Mail the night before.
“Look, John.” “I don’t have time for this, and I don’t have time to inquire a date. Get a life.” She snapped. She was becoming very impatient. She had also been getting repeated messages from him on her computer at home. She couldn’t figure out what he was doing, or why he kept sending her “Dinner” messages. This was the fourth occurrence in two weeks. Why did he keep sending messages? Why did he pester her? Why the “Dinner” party? Whatever the reason was, it didn’t feel right, and it made her very anxious.

    Later that day, she was so tired she could hardly walk. Her fingers were sore to the bone from typing, and her back felt broke. She stepped out to her car, and she noticed John starring at her from the building. He was standing out on the step smoking a cigarette, and he had sort of a sick glint in his eye. It was as if he were trying to get her to turn back. “What a freak.” She thought. She got slowly in her car, and she could feel him starring. The chill began to run down her arm and up her spine. “Why was he doing this?” “Why didn’t he just look away?” She thought anxiously.

The house was a colossal, two story brick house with overhanging gables to each side. The yard was iron fenced, and large mossy Oaks gallantly shaded the yard. Gardens surrounded the wraparound porch. Every flower and bush of every nature surrounded it, including the stone walkway that went up to the house. In the back was a large pool, and stone inlayed patio. Out from that was its brick storage building. The inside was of mahogany and cemented white wall. The home was like that of a 18th century Georgian design.
When she got home that evening, she sat on the couch and turned on the TV. It was the same evening news with a little murder, a little bit of a wreck, and a little of the same of everything. The phone rang.
“Hello?” She answered.
“Melissa?” It was her sister Betty from Florida.
“Hi, Betty, how are ya!” Melissa hadn’t seen her from her sister in almost five years since she graduated from University.
“How are things?” she asked.
“Everything is fine, and you?” she asked.
“Great, I just wanted you to know I was coming up to North Carolina this weekend and I  would be in that area.”
“That’s great!” said Melissa.
“I’m having dinner at mother’s tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you would be interested in coming over.” “It will be a 7:00 p.m.”
“Sure thing!” she said franticly.

    She was so excited to know her sister would be having dinner at her mother’s house and that she had invited her as a guest. As soon as she hung up the phone she checked her E-Mails. She scanned through and found another E-Mail. She took John off her address book listing. It was another stupid dinner invitation. She thought of going and filing a report with the police, but she was afraid it would get around. She turned off her computer, and went upstairs to get ready for bed. She laid in bed thinking about that glint in his eye, the staring from the building, that sick smile on his face. She couldn’t help but wonder what John was thinking, and what he might consider doing if she filed a complaint. However, she knew it couldn’t continue.

    She told her boss first thing that morning what had happened with John. He said it was against company policy and that he would have to have a talk with him. How could that ease Melissa’s mind about the E-Mails? What good would it do? When she left her cubical to go home, she met John out on the step. He had continued to approach her after work, and this time he tugged at her arm. “Let go.” She said sharply.
“Aren’t we pushy!” he said.
“I said let go!” She freed her him. She quickly ran to her car, and drove off. That afternoon she went by the station. She shoed them the bruise on her arm where he grabbed her. The guy told her she could press sexual harassment charges. They had asked her how long it had been going on. “About two months”, she said nervously.
“Two months?” “He has also made obscene jesters, watched me from my car, and is sending repeated E-Mails.’’

    She went home to find six calls on her caller ID. She scrolled through them quickly, and the same number appeared six times in a row. She heard one voice on her answer machine that sounded like a muffled, low stammering voice. She blankly starred at the answering machine. Who was it? She thought. She was frozen as she blankly stared at the machine. That sonofabitch! She felt infuriated and torn about the whole damn situation, and she couldn’t put it plainly enough in her mind for him to leave her alone. Her sister wanted to even have him arrested. The phone rang, and the same number appeared. In a panic, she picked up the phone and wailed “Leave me the fuck alone, you bastard!” Tears were streaming down her face. “Why me?”, “Call someone else, but leave me the fuck alone!” The voice began to mock her, and tease her. “You’re a bastard!” She slammed the phone down, hurried through the foyer, and slammed the door behind her. She got in her car and went to the police. She gave the name of the man, they pulled his file and he had a record. He was John T McKenzie: age 45, brown hair, blue eyes, 5’ 7”, 174 lbs, and the also had served five years for fraud. They said they would do what they could, and they would watch her house, and keep an eye out for him. However, if the police were to do anything, it would need to be now. She later contacted one of John’s relatives that was a friend of hers. They told her that John had a sick infatuation for women since childhood. She wasn’t the first or the last woman that had been a victim.

    The next day she and her son began installing cameras all around her home. She also had her calls monitored. She would catch the sonofabitch, even if it be on her own. She was terrified, he had found out. He had also been fired from his job based upon accusations against him by Melissa. Although that meant he was probably running amok after his prey, she felt a little more secured. Her son said if he come anywhere near the house, to let him know. She also purchased a gun, which she figured she would soon need. If she were going to stop a stalker, she knew she would need some sort of protection. Two weeks had past and she had seen a bit of peace. She was in her kitchen washing dishes as always, when she glanced out of the window to find a very startling surprise. She saw a gray Toyota pickup sitting across the street in between two oak trees on each side of the driveway. The truck was immobile for about two hours. Melissa stepped outside to get a closer look, it drove off. She didn’t think about it much, there were vehicles in Charlotte all the time on the side of the road. It was just one of them.” Who was it, she thought?”” Why did it set there for two hours and just go away?” She often had a feeling of being watched, even when she went to her mailbox. She went to the library and found out about some of the things about stalkers. They all had similar traits to what she had experienced, and all had some infatuation. She often wondered if John had been looking for her, and she had also heard unexplained noises in her home. The night before, she saw a manlike figure walking around her flowers. He picked one up and showed it to her, as if it were some sort of offering. She hid deep down in the darkness between her bed and the window. She peered out as she watched the figure aimlessly ramble around the flowers and toward her utility building. It had to be him.

Melissa’s sister came and visited her. She brought her two children, Kayla and Justin with her. They were five and seven. Melissa didn’t have much patience for children. The noise, laughter, and the breaking of all her stuff got to her last nerve. “Hi there, how are ya?” “You guys want some candy, pop tarts, or anything?” “They don’t need anymore sugar. She said. “They had a bowl of chocolate cereal this morning.” “Come on in and have a seat.” “Have you contacted the police on that guy, Melissa?”
“Some reports have been going around town about a local stalker.”
“Yeah, they said they would keep an eye on my house for me.” “I’ve got surveillance cameras all over the place.” Melissa said. Melissa pulled out the tape that was in one of her cameras they night before. She put it in her VCR and showed it to Betty. “Show it to the cops.” Betty said agreeably. “Ya know a lot of women that go through this get hurt, you’re lucky he hasn’t tried to kill you.” “What?” she said in a concerned tone. That didn’t help her feelings any. That was the next possible step.

She heard something upstairs. “Had he broken in?” she thought. “No, it’s just my imagination.”
“What’s wrong Melissa?” Betty asked. Here eyes showed concern.
“Someone is in my house.” She said. When Melissa grabbed her gun, Betty tried to stop her but she pulled away. She ran toward the upstairs bedroom where she thought she heard the sound. There was nothing there. She thought maybe her mind was slipping away with her. “Melissa!”” What the hell has gotten into you, give me that thing!” Betty shouted. She was in a panic.
“Someone was in my house!”
“Get out of here!” she screamed.
Betty quickly began to call 911. Her children came running to the scene. “What’s wrong with Aunt Melissa?” Kayla asked frightfully. “Nothing honey”, “She’s just a little upset that’s all.” Betty dialed 911 and carried her children downstairs. She told Melissa she needed help. The police came to her house to see what was going on. They said they had found the guy she described to them. He was up around the house when they seen him, they chased him down and he was arrested. They told Melissa she may need counseling, but not to worry about the stalker any more. Three whole days of relief came to Melissa when she found out about the news. However, she often wondered if it was over with after his release. She knew she could have been wrong.

Everything went fine for about three years after that, and she had heard of nothing. Melissa’s boyfriend, Gabe was now living with her. Gabe was sort of the arrogant type, sort of a know it all, pee in your pants kind of fellow. However, he never seemed to bother anyone. After Melissa got in from work one evening, Gabe told her that a local stalker had been released. “What?” Melissa said in a nervous wreck.
“You heard me, they just released a guy from prison about a month ago. Some guy named John.” He said. Melissa was speechless. It was over she thought, all over. John meant another rollercoaster that spiraled to no end. It was the same guy that stalked her three years ago. She could only hope that it didn’t effect her again like it would any other future victim. Gabe starred at her, and gave her a hug. “Baby, tell me what is wrong?” Melissa was in tears. “I don’t want another fight, another struggle, and someone to terrorize me again.” She said wailing. Gabe held her close and kissed her on the head. “It’ll be alright, you don’t that it’s the same man.” He said assuring her that nothing could go wrong. However, it seemed no matter how many times he tried to convince her, something kept telling her differently. He would continue to stalk her for the rest of her life.

  Her and Gabe went to the grocery store and bought a few groceries. Oyster Stew was his favorite; he never got enough of that. She bought more of that then anything. They meandered around the store shopping, and finally went to the checkout after stocking up on as many groceries as they could. When they walked outside, she noticed a grey pickup truck across the street. It was over at the lube shop on West Street, which was across from the grocery store. As the grocery guy unloaded there groceries, she saw his looming figure endlessly gazing strait at her. He waved and thump a cigarette onto the pavement.
“Lets get out of here Gabe.” She said frightened. “Why, what’s goin……?” “Just get in the car!” she yelled frantically. “Look, you don’t have to be…….” Before he could get two words out, she interrupted “Just shut up!” she yelled. She put the car in drive and barked tread out of the parking lot. She quickly hurried to the house. “It’s that guy again isn’t it?” asked Gabe, with an anxious quiver in his voice.
Melissa and found a note on her telephone stand that said made a direct threat to Gabe. “If he comes in, he’s dead.” She immediately started to dial 911. The phone had no tone, no ring, no anything. She looked and the cord was snipped. Gabe grabbed her shoulders and said “Calm down sweetheart, no one is here, it’ll be alright. Just dial 911.” Then, they heard a sound of pounding boots upstairs, and something breaking. Gabe rushed upstairs to find the noise. A shadow darted across toward the upstairs bedroom that was Melissa’s room. He went into the room to find her lingerie stashed about the floor. “Get out of here!” he shouted. He searched the whole upstairs and found nothing. They went to the police the next day to tell them what they found. They immediately sent officers to search the area. It turned out John got out on good behavior, and was never completely scheduled to be released. Had he returned to continue to harass Melissa, to kill Gabe, or for something more? She could never figure it out. It was a stalk, an early release, and now this? It didn’t add up. John had to be brought to justice. She felt as if she were the only woman in Charlotte that had been stalked. The crime in Charlotte was out of hand, so it was not surprising. After three years, he still was after her. He was still watching Melissa.

The night before Gabe went out for a drink at Raphie’s bar, and  morning after, she woke up to find Gabe hadn’t come home. So she flipped on the news and found that Gabe J Henderson had been brutally shot. She was stunned, shocked, and hurt overwhelmed her mind and emotions. She begged him to stop. She wanted peace in her life, and she was continuously tormented. When she reached for her gun and started upstairs, the phone rang, and it was police. They informed her that Gabe had been killed. They had witnesses that seen the man. From what they knew it could have been John T McKenzie. They were searching the area. They would need her to come down to the station for questioning.
When Melissa went to the station, she showed them the note and had taken pictures of the busted glass in her window. They said it definitely looked like his doing. She told them she was also being watched again from his car. After this, she came home to find on the news that they had arrested him and he was being charged with murder. Many other witnesses heard the gun shot and seen his figure running that night. It was finally over.