Loving the Stalker Under my Bed

Chapter 4 – It Was Him 2

Chapter 4 – It Was Him 2

* * *

My life went back to normal without a hitch.

I can’t be sure if not reporting to the police is the best thing to do, but the peace that I have made me brush off the little conscience that I have toward that dead man.

Being linked with him once again is an ugly future that I don’t want to think about.

Getting tangled with him once more is a nightmare that could ruin my mental health. I don’t want my cabinet to lose its effectiveness just because of his existence.

This is nothing compared to what I have been through before.

My life doesn’t need to evolve around him. A dead man whom I met once in an unfavorable situation is no less than a stranger to me.

Ding. Dong.

I was deep in thought when the doorbell rang off through my house. I wanted to ignore it until my eyes caught the mark on the calendar. It was the end of the month, and the rent was due today.

Ignoring my landlord is the same as saying that I’m vacating this place right at this moment. This unit might not be the fanciest apartment, but this is at least standing in a safe neighborhood and cheaper than the others.

There is no way that I will be able to find another one that is as good as this place.

“I’m coming! ...”

I immediately put down the glass that I was holding and rushed to the door. Now that I remember, I was supposed to withdraw some money for my rent last night.

If not for that deviant, then I wouldn’t have a problem facing the landlady after I opened the door. Thinking of an excuse is harder than handing in the money right on the spot.

“… Hi, Madam. Sorry, I forgot to hand it - … What brings you here, Sir?”

Argh. Why now of all days? This is the last person that I wanted to see as I tried to erase the memory of that molester in my mind. How I wish that I could just close the door and ignore this retard for the rest of my life.

"Good morning, Ada. My mother asked me to bring you some mashed potatoes because we made so much."

Pathetic liar. That cheapskate will never give anyone anything, even a rotten potato. She’s been saying that we should feel lucky enough that she is not raising our rent.

Well, she has a point in that regard and there is nothing that we can wish for more. Little to no interaction with each other could make our lives more peaceful.

I don’t mind being crowned as the snob of the year as long as I can retain my current life.

And wherever I looked, all I could see was an expensive-looking mashed potato screaming that it was bought somewhere else. This man should not make a fool out of a single woman.

Never would I appreciate this kind of gesture.

“Thank you. That’s nice of the madam. Anyway, have a great day. I will just return this container later when I pay my rent.”

Thinking of all those things became a wasted effort since declining this offer is not even an option for me. Whether I accept this or not, the news of having this man at my door will still make it to other people’s ears.

Wasting another word to decline this food, and to explain why, became a hassle that I don’t want to work on.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll just pick it up later. I know that you are already busy enough. Ah, one more thing –“

“Bye!” It was rude, I know. However, continuing our conversation will surely lead nowhere. I am not interested even a bit in the words that he is about to say.

John, the landlady’s son, might have been a nice man, but one look and I was able to tell that there would never be “We” between us. He is just too good to be true, and that kind of man will never be a choice for me.

After forcing John out of my sight, I refrigerated the mashed potato and went back to my coffee. There is no way that I wouldn’t feel bad if I were to throw it away either. The best thing is just to give it away to my boss and pray that her stomach won’t hurt.

I gulped down my already cold coffee and changed into much neater casual clothes.

I planned to stay at home the whole weekend, but my rent takes precedence now that I saw my calendar.

* * *

The streets look even busier now that it’s the weekend.

People of all ages can be seen doing their own business.

I did not concern myself with any of them and instead went directly to my bank. My refrigerator is almost empty, so I could take this chance to pick up my groceries as well.

Everything was going smoothly until my eyes caught a familiar face in the crowd.

I’m sure that I was alone when I went out of the apartment complex, so why is this man standing a couple of meters away from me?

John, my landlady’s son, went out incognito with that mask and cap but I don’t have any doubt that it was definitely him. I’ve seen the shirt that he is wearing more than once to confirm his identity.

I don’t want to give it much thought, making me continue the task that I have in mind without looking back at him.

However, not just once did I see John whenever I felt that someone was following me.

Just a coincidence. He was not that creepy molester last night, so this is just nothing but a coincidence. John might be showing interest in me, but there is no way that he had turned into my stalker overnight.

It was just my mind overreacting to simple things.

I’m sure that he has his own agenda in the same area, and it just so happens that we continuously cross paths.

Besides, I’m not the beauty of the century to captivate a man like him. My child-like body has nothing to offer, and my face is nothing but average.

Saying that I’m ugly is too much, since I was caught in that line of being mediocre.

And so, I went ahead and tried to ignore him as much as possible.

As much until I finally figured out that John is truly following my trail even before I knew it, and I was now back to running away from a different man.