Twenty

"Try again," the man said, a sinister tone in his voice. That's when I realized that the light coming from behind him had distorted his figure – and his appearance. The person who I thought was Greg was actually a complete stranger, hovering over me like a vulture. His shoulders drooped, and his uncut hair fell in his eyes. Aside from his height, nearing 6'3, there was nothing threatening about him.

"Who are you?" I choked out, fearful of what his next action would be.

"You're not very polite." He nodded his head in disapproval like a strict finishing school teacher. Call me crazy, but being polite wasn't at the top of my priorities list.

"Who are you?" I asked again through clenched teeth, my frustration and anger rising. He didn't respond to my question; he only stared at me, waiting for one of us to make a move. I tried to get him to keep talking, before he became restless and did something terrible.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I questioned him, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"Because I like you," he responded, smiling innocently. I cringed at his total lack of compassion or grip on reality.

"You like me?" I said in disbelief. "You don't even know me, you sick monster." As if my mild insult would deter his insanity.

"That's what you think," he began. "But I've been watching you a lot. I've seen you driving in your car, and when you go to the grocery store. I even saw you walking in the rain that day your poor little car broke down and you left it on the side of the road. Let's see….what else?" I stared at him in complete shock as he listed off all the personal details of my life; things even I had forgotten about.

"I also know that you call your mother every Thursday night to check in with her," he continued. "And that you spend a lot of time at Greg Sander's house. I thought maybe he was just a friend at first, but I guess not, especially after you two had sex."

"How do you know about that?" I screamed. How could this complete stranger know so much about me when I knew nothing about him? Why was he following me around, and worrying about my life?

"Don't act like you don't remember," he taunted me. "I was there that night. You took the dog out and I was there to surprise you." Of course I remembered him now: he was the man outside of Greg's apartment – the one with the bloody, decapitated head. I squished my body back into the corner of the room, realizing how capable he could be of violence.

"So why didn't you tell me about him?" he asked, inching his body closer to mine. The closer he came, the more confined I felt, as if the walls were closing in on me.

"Him?"

"Greg, you stupid slut." He spat out, his voice taking on a cruel edge. My entire body tensed at the insult, and my heart practically jumped out of my chest.

"What are you talking about?" My mind, which was already weak from lack of food and sleep, was now a complete jumble of memories and events that had occurred since I first arrived in Vegas. How much had he seen of me? How much did he know?

"I did everything for you," he complained, his voice becoming slightly high pitched like someone who was about to cry. "I gave up everything for you so that we could be together, and this is how you repay me? You fuck someone else?!"

I thought about his words for a moment, racking my brain, trying to remember where I had heard those same phrases. My mind traveled back to my childhood, and to all of the friends I had in elementary school. I never got along with boys, so all of my friends had been girls, most of whom I still knew. I recalled high school, some of the best and worst years of my life, and tried to think of every guy I had ever dated, or even encountered. Did I know him from somewhere? Or was he just messing with my head? He took note of my confusion.

"You honestly don't know who I am, do you?" he asked, hurt in his voice. I almost felt sympathy for him at that very second – almost. He cringed and shook his head, biting down hard on his lip and clenching his fists. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but his face maintained that stern and evil look.

"I'm the love of your life," He said.