Okay, so this may be me just being overly paranoid or anxious, but I swear I think I am being stalked.
So I(24f) moved into my apartment over the last year after I graduated college and took some time to live at home to save up for my own place ( I also took a gap year after high school to work to save up for my own car). I found a really great apartment complex, it’s on the older side but I didn’t mind as it was recently renovated. I found a nice 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor, which makes life easier for me as I have a bad leg and stairs are really difficult for me to climb. Life was going really well, and I thought this was the beginning of my life as an adult. The first few weeks in my apartment were great! I transformed my second bedroom into an office/game room, and I was able to take a lot of old furniture from my parent’s house as they were re-modeling anyway. Living on my own was liberating, and I was getting used to being on my own.
It all started one night after work, I’m currently working in a doctor’s private practice as an intern/physician’s assistant, and the doctor that runs the practice stays open late on weekends so that we can see more patients. One Saturday night, it was around 10:30 since the practice closes at 9:30, and I typically stop after work to grab food. While pulling into my parking space, it felt like someone was watching me from the outside of my car. At first, I figured it was one of the kids that live on the upper floor watching me as I typically see them up playing video games since they leave their window open and I hear the yelling. But when I looked, the light wasn’t on, so I chalked it up to me being tired, and started to leave my car. That’s when the overwhelming feeling of danger took over, I could barely breathe, and my vision sharpened. I didn’t waste time darting into my apartment well as fast as I could since my left leg can’t move very well. Once I got inside, the feeling went away, and I was able to relax. I figured I was tired from work and just needed to eat and sleep. So that’s what I did.
A week had passed by without any issue, but again, the next Saturday came, and when coming in from my car, the same feeling came back once I pulled into my spot. I tried to ignore it and blame it on being tired, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. I, again, got to my apartment as fast as possible. Only this time, once I was in and my door was locked, I looked outside using my peephole to see if I could spot anyone outside. but when I looked, I only saw the bushes slightly rustling in the wind. I got settled in, and the feeling slowly went away. I figured since it happened last week, my brain is automatically going into panic mode remembering last week. I hoped this would subside and stop happening.
But boy, was I wrong.
What started out as a two-time occurrence after only a week, it slowly became daily. The intervals between each slowly get closer. By the time the 5th week had gone by, every time I left my house, I automatically went into a panic and felt like I was being watched. I go to work pretty early, so it is dusk when I leave, and I have to speed to my car so that I can get to work, and the same goes for when I come home around 7 pm. Then, the feeling came inside. Any window I was by, I felt like I was being watched and frozen in fear. It’s gotten to the point that I put up sheets over the windows because even with the blinds closed, that feeling stays. I don’t feel safe in my own home, and it’s driving me insane. I’ve already called the police, and they essentially laughed in my face because they “can’t arrest someone over a feeling.” I don’t know what else to do, it feels like I’m being watched from inside my home now. I can’t relax or get sleep. It’s also affecting my performance at work because I am so exhausted and on edge all the time. I swear I see the shadows of someone watching me. I haven’t caught who it is, and I’m considering putting up cameras in my home to catch whatever the hell this thing is and bring it to the police as evidence.
I’ll update in a few days if I can. I’m going to my parent’s house for a few days so that I can get some rest.
Update: Hey all, thanks for the advice! I had my dad come over and help me set up cameras around my apartment. I also got a ring doorbell and set that up outside to watch my front door. When I got to my parent’s house, I took the world’s longest nap ever, lol. But let’s get back into it. The night I left, I got a motion alert from my ring doorbell, so I called my dad over to look at it for me. He was super shocked, to say the least. To make a long story short, my mom has an ex-fiance, and they broke up a few years before she and my dad got together. Her ex moved on and got married, and he also had a kid. Well, my stalker is his son, and the only reason I know it’s him is that we went to the same school system together. We don’t know if his dad put him up to this or even how long he was doing it. It’s all so weird and creepy, but we contacted the authorities today, and they said that they can’t do anything for me since he hasn’t hurt me or threatened to. Which is really making me mad that they aren’t taking this seriously. I’ll update again if anything changes, but my dad and I are looking into getting me some sort of protection or a guard dog. Thank you everyone!