Staled

I tried on the last dress I had brought into the changing room with me. I flung the curtains open and waltzed out into the waiting area, twirling for Sierra. She oohed and awed as I turned and turned, making the dress furl out and spin with me.

"I think we have a winner!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together and jumping up to twirl with me.

We jumped up and down like two giddy teenagers, both of us stopping to check me out in the mirror. I turned around and showcased my tightly wrapped ass.

"Suits your curves as well, girl."

"I agree," I whispered in amazement.

I went back into the dressing room to change and scooped up my purse, heading out to pay. Sierra followed along and we perused the rest of the mall, walking slowly and chatting.

My phone suddenly chimed and a swirl of uneasiness fluttered its way into my stomach. That's how it had been for two weeks now every time I heard my phone chime. I pulled it out, nodding at whatever Sierra was saying to give the illusion I was still listening. I read the text quickly and balked, stopping in my tracks. It took Sierra a moment to realize I wasn't beside her any longer and she spun around, furrowing her brows at the look on my face.

"What's wrong, Mia?" She hurried over to me and tried to look at the words on my screen. I swept out of the messenger app and slid it back into my pocket.

"Nothing, just gotta get home to make dinner for Tex. I totally forgot," I lied through my teeth. I hated lying to my best friend, but I had to be honest with myself at least. I had been lying to her for the past two weeks, telling her nothing was wrong.

"Now? It's early afternoon." Suspicion darkened her expression and I shivered, anxiety creeping up my spine and around my neck, threatening to choke me.

"Um, yeah, the sauce has to simmer for hours in the crockpot. It's a tricky recipe, don't want to screw it up," I lied again.

"I don't understand why you don't just leave the asshole, Mia."

I sighed heavily. "Sierra, I can't. He won't let me and that's all there is to it. I wish my knight in shining armor would come to pluck me out of it all and save me, but that's never going to happen. I'm an idiot, I know." I shook my head slowly, biting my lip.

"Me! I'm the knight! Let me fucking help you."

"Mia, he already hates you. What do you think he'd do if you tried to step in between us?" I put my hands on her shoulders, having to reach up due to her height. "Please, Sierra, don't do anything you'll regret," I begged her.

"That's the thing, Mia. I wouldn't regret it, even if I got hurt in the process. You're my best friend and I can't just sit around letting him verbally and mentally abuse you. He's the biggest asshole I know and you're like the sweetest. How does it even make sense?" I could see her thoughts whirling around in her head a million miles per hour by the look in her eyes.

"Sierra, please stay out of my relationship. I will figure it out myself, okay?"

Her resignation almost hurt me a little but I shook the feeling away. I did desperately want someone to intervene, but who and how? I couldn't involve anyone else, because he would hurt them, I knew that deep in my bones. If he'd hurt me, someone who he claimed to be in love with, he would hurt anyone.

"I have to go now, want to walk me to my car?" I asked Sierra, trying to brave a smile.

We walked to my car and said our goodbyes. Once I was in my vehicle, I skirted out of the lot and floored it all the way home. Tex and I lived in a country house, and I was grateful we didn't really have neighbors. What with the constant fighting and screaming. It was either that or complete and utter silence as we did our own things, ignoring each other. The toxicity was potent. It's a wonder we didn't get sick or die from it. But that's the thing, I had been sick for a while.

Tex and I had been together for three years; the first year was wonderful. I fell for him fast and was diving headfirst before I knew it. But the sweetness turned bitter too fast and I was stuck in it before I knew what was happening to me. Tex threatened to kill me and my family if I left, and I believed him wholeheartedly. So I stayed, through the bullshit and pain.

But two weeks ago everything changed. I received a text message from an unknown number. They knew everything about me and my relationship. They knew what I ate for dinner every night and some of my favorite things. Like my favorite music, color, movies, etc.

I hadn't told a soul, not even my best friend in the entire world. I didn't want to say anything, maybe because that would make it more real, admitting to the fact I have a stalker.

I had no idea how this person knew the things they did and it thoroughly scared me. We didn't have security cameras, so there was no way they could hack into our security system or anything like that. I hadn't been on social media for years and I only ever went to work and right home, occasionally hanging with Sierra.

I pulled into our driveway and practically ran inside, looking behind my shoulder once and almost falling on my face. I locked the front door and did my rounds, checking all the locks like I'd been doing for the past couple of weeks. I finally pulled my phone out of my bag and re-read the message from an unknown number.

Unknown:

If he touches you again, I will make him vanish and claim you for my own.

I sucked in a sharp breath and dropped my phone on the counter, shoving it away from me. All previous texts had been informational, telling me about myself and what he knew about me. This was the first time he had made any kind of threat or let on that he knew what Tex does to me.

My phone chimed again as I was shakily pouring a glass of Tex's scotch. I rarely drank liquor, but I felt it warranted at that exact moment. I tossed it back before snatching up my phone and opening the text. It was from Tex, thankfully.

Tex:

Guys weekend babe, see you on Monday.

I should have been irritated and suspicious of Tex's sudden "guys weekend" but the truth was I was relieved. I could sort through my emotions a bit more and figure out what to do about my stalker, who I now knew was definitely a man, at least I was pretty sure.

In the beginning, I had texted back asking who it was and how they knew so much about me. But, after several tries with no response, I gave up and stopped texting the freak. I should have told someone, maybe even the police, but I hadn't for whatever reason. What was wrong with me?

I tried to ignore the threat and got a bit sloshed before taking a hot bath. I left my phone downstairs and tried my best to clear my mind, using lavender and peppermint to add to the thick swaths of steam. It helped and I breathed deeply.

After a while, I felt my hand moving down to my center of its own accord. I played with myself until I had a small orgasm, but it wasn't nearly enough. Tex wasn't enough, no one, and nothing was. I knew Tex cheated and I was disgusted by him, so when we did have sex I faked it. He liked it rough sometimes and on those nights, I just had to bare through it somehow. I hated myself for it all. I hated myself for staying. But Tex was dangerous. He came from a wealthy family and kept up the family tradition on his own, drug dealing. It also disgusted me. But because of it, I couldn't leave. He would track me down and kill me if I ever left him. And if he couldn't find me, which was unlikely, his family would. So, I stayed and put up with all the abuse.

Sierra mentioned the verbal and mental abuse, but what she didn't know was that he sometimes hit me if I made him mad enough. If I threatened to leave, he would attack me viciously. The last time I ended up in the hospital and had to make up some big stupid lie about being jumped. Sierra suspected, but she doesn't know for sure. And I wanted to keep it that way, to keep her out of danger.

I made my way downstairs after getting dressed in a nightgown and my slippers, sitting in my favorite recliner in front of the bay window. I grabbed a glass of wine and a spicy romance novel on the way. I cracked it open, inhaling the familiar scent wafting out from the old pages. Delectable, the smell of books. I sipped and read, getting to an extra smutty part, snaking my hand back down under my nightgown.

I was just about to cum, when there was a knock at the door. A very loud knock. I jumped out of my skin, getting out of the chair, and smoothed my hands down over my nightgown. I couldn't answer the door half-naked, so I grabbed an afghan and wrapped it around me. I walked haphazardly to the door and looked through the peephole, calling out, "Who's there?" No answer. I slid the bolt lock from its strike plate and cracked the door open. I saw no one, not even when I walked out and checked over the porch on both sides. I scanned the treeline across the yard and looked for anything out of the ordinary. Something caught my eye for a split second, but when I looked back it was nothing.

I sighed and made my way back into the house, bolting the lock and sitting back in my recliner. I checked out the bay window a few times before getting back to my book. After a few minutes, I went back to touching myself, getting so close, but then something caught my eye out the window. I jumped, snatching my hand away from my pussy and wrapping the blanket around me tighter. I squinted, dimming the lamp next to me blindly, almost spilling my wine in the process. I could make out something but my mind couldn't register it right away.

A man. It was the outline of a large man.

I jumped out of my chair and faced the window, shaking from head to toe. My phone was in the kitchen and I needed to get to it, but I couldn't for fear he would get in somehow and get me. I just froze, staring at him. His arm moved and I flinched. He slowly raised his arm with what must have been a phone in his hand and pointed to it with his other hand. Then he slowly backed away, the darkness swallowing him up whole until there was nothing but blackness.

I sprinted to the kitchen after getting my wits. I grabbed my phone and there were two unread messages.

Unknown:

You are not to touch yourself until I tell you it's okay. Or you will be punished.

Unknown:

Keep your phone on you at all times. Do you want to be punished?

I gaped at my phone screen, my hand shaking so badly I almost dropped my phone. We lived in a large house way out in the country and our closest neighbors were ten miles away. The police wouldn't get here until it was too late, so they were useless. I had a niggling suspicion that they would be useless no matter what.

I ran my hand through my damp hair and sighed. What could I do? Who could I tell? I felt so alone and so small in this huge house by myself. I didn't know what else to do, so I went to bed, ignoring the texts, not knowing what I could say.

It took some time for me to fall asleep and even when I did, it was restless. I tossed and turned and kept having nightmares of a big scary man outside my window watching me. I started to have trouble sleeping when the texts first started, but now that he actually showed himself, I was terrified, to say the least.

Something woke me a few hours into my restless sleep and I jerked upright, whipping my head from side to side. It was too dark to make anything out and the shadows from the furniture were playing tricks on my eyes. I reached for the light on my side table and flicked it on. Nothing, thankfully. I sighed but remembered that something had woken me. Some kind of sound.

I crawled out of the California king-sized bed and slid my slippers on my cold feet. I trudged through my room and cracked open my door, peeking out into the dimly lit hallway. I didn't see anything so I ventured out into the hall and made it to the staircase leading downstairs. I peeked over the railing and although it was mostly dark, I didn't see any movement, so I descended the stairs slowly.

I had grabbed my phone, so I switched on the flashlight, and pointed it into the living room. If someone was there, I didn't want to alert them by switching on lights, so I covered my phone light with my hand, letting a bit slide through my cracked fingers. I walked into the kitchen, where more moonlight filtered through the window above the sink, and I stopped in my tracks.

There were items on the counter that weren't there when I went to bed. My heart thudded in my chest and I shivered, suddenly freezing cold. I turned the light on and walked to the counter, leery of what the items could be. There were three honeysuckle flowers and a letter that looked to be parchment paper sealed with red wax. Indented into the wax, was a heart. I gaped a the items, not knowing what to do. Honeysuckles are my favorite. How would he even know that?

I reached for the letter, breaking the seal and opening it. Nothing. The piece of parchment was blank with nothing at all written on it. I lifted the paper to my nose and sniffed. The heavenly scent wafted into my nose and I sighed. How could he possibly know I had a thing for parchment paper? The wax seal, the color. How did he know? Red is my safety color. Hearts are just cute, who doesn't love them? But how did he know?

I threw the flowers and letter into the trash and ran a shaking hand through my long tangled blonde hair. I should have called the police when I first saw him, but what would or could they do? I didn't even see his face. I made a note to call a security company in the morning to install cameras and made my rounds checking all the window and door locks. How did he get in? All locks were untouched and there was no evidence anyone was there aside from the blank letter and flowers.

I couldn't possibly sleep after finding out someone was in my house. But I headed back upstairs and crawled into bed anyways. My thoughts were racing through my mind and every time I opened my eyes, the shadows fucked with me. So, I opted to sleep with the light on.

Eventually, after going over a thousand different scenarios, I finally fell back to sleep. I had fitful dreams about monsters chasing me down long hallways and falling out of shattering windows. I fell and fell and my eyes snapped open. Something had woken me again but this time it was morning and the sun was streaming in through the french doors leading to the balcony.

There was a slightly unfamiliar smell but before I could investigate any further, I saw the three honeysuckle flowers lying next to my pillow and I screeched, jumping out of bed like it was a bloody knife. I scrambled backward towards the wall, making an oomph sound when my back hit the wall. I stared at the flowers, shivering and shaking.

After a minute, I walked slowly toward my bed and picked up one of the flowers, smoothing my thumb over the soft petals. My mind racing, I picked up the other two and rushed to my balcony, throwing them over the edge and bracing myself with both hands on the railing. I stayed that way for a few minutes, panting and thinking of what to do.

Finally, I left the balcony shivering and got dressed in something warm. Fleece lined leggings and a black sweater. I headed downstairs and pulled my laptop out, searching for the best security company. After reading over some reviews and choosing what looked to be the best one, I made a call. They would be over the next morning to install a full round of security cameras. It would be pricey, but Tex probably wouldn't even notice.

He forced my to stop working after the first year of being together and I let him. I quit my vet tech job that I adored and became a housewife in a way. House girlfriend? I got so bored after a few months of not working, I started writing and eventually sent in something small to a publishing company, which surprisingly got published after some heavy editing. It put money, more than enough, in my pocket and I could have some semblance of independence from Tex and his dirty money. But sometimes I dipped into his accounts as to not raise suspicion. He knew I wrote but had no idea how much I actually made, and I wanted to keep it that way.

There weren't any more flowers on the counter or anywhere else in the house, so I tried to brush it off and poured a glass of wine and got to writing for the day. But it was nearly impossible with all the thoughts swirling through my mind with the recent events taking place.

So, I made the decision to call Sierra and invite her over and spill my guts. I had to tell someone, even though I knew she would freak right out and tell me to call the cops. But I had to divulge these secrets to her or I would go crazy dealing with it all on my own.

I made the call and she was luckily off work, so came right over. After about twenty minutes, I heard the doorbell and jogged to the door, throwing it open and giving her my best smile.

"What's up your butt, miss smiley?" She gave me a weird look and pushed past me to get in from the cold.

"Nothing, I'm slightly tispy. Don't drink wine for breakfast."

"I wouldn't," she chuckled. "So, what's up?" She took her coat and bag off, and sat on a stool by the counter.

"I have to tell you something. Want a glass of wine first?" I chewed my bottom lip in trepidation.

"Like I said, I don't do wine for breakfast. Spill, now." She lowered her eyes and tapped her fingers on the counter, waiting.

"Okay, so I sort of have a stalker," I blurted right out.

Her eyes widened. "What?" she asked incredulous.

"Two weeks ago I started getting these texts." I handed her my phone and waited for her to finish scrolling.

"And you called the police right?"

"Um, no. But wait, before you judge me, let me finish."

"No way, I'm not letting you finish, why the fuck wouldn't you call the cops? Next thing he's going to do is show up here!"

I looked down at my fingers, picking at my cuticles and when I looked up her mouth was agape.

"Mia, please tell me he hasn't been here." She stood and walked over to me with concern in her eyes.

"He was in the house," I whispered.

"How do you know that?" Her eyes were wide as saucers.

"He left me honeysuckles, my favorite flower. And a blank letter sealed with red wax and a heart," I admitted.

She moved back to her stool and bent, digging her laptop out of her bag and typing lightning fast.

"You know those mean everlasting love or something like that?" she asked, waiting for my answer.

"No, I didn't know that." I chewed my lower lip, feeling it start to bruise and get puffy from my abuse on it. "But I called a security company and they'll be here tomorrow morning to install a shit ton of cameras on the property and in the house. Don't you think that'll help?" I asked naively.

"I don't know Mia. Why didn't you call the police? Have you seen him? Do you know what he looks like?" she asked.

"Last night was the first time I saw him out of the bay window in the living room, but I couldn't see his face. I think he wanted me to look at my phone and read his messages because he pointed to his own phone and then disappeared from sight."

"So he's just prowling around in the pitch black way out here in the country? What the fuck, Mia? We're calling the police now." She took her phone out and dialed 911 before I could stop her.

The police showed up fourty five minutes later, an obese man with red cheeks. He huffed and puffed his way to the door where Sierra and I were both waiting.

"What seems to be the issue here, miss?" he asked out of breath and seemingly not caring too much.

Sierra let me tell him everything, only talking when I forgot to add something. Once I had finished, and the officer was done taking his notes in his little notepad, he looked up with little to no concern.