My conversation with Detective Mora lasted no more than 30 minutes.

"Well, Andrea, I think that'll do for now." Detective Mora softly closed her notebook and looked me in the eyes. "You've experienced something traumatic today, and it is difficult to judge how you will cope moving froward. I have the name of a therapist you could speak to if yo-"

"I-I actually have a therapist already."I stuttered out. I wasn't lying, I did already speak to a therapist once a month, sometimes more, if I needed to.

"Oh, alright then." Detective Mora nodded and flipped open her note book, scribbling something down. "In that case, I would recommend giving them a visit soon if you could. For now, I'm going to recommend you get some rest, and please contact me if you have anything else to speak about." She stood up and gathered the jacket she had draped across the back of her chair and I stood with her. "That is Officer Lerner by the way" she motioned to the familiar officer standing with his back against the control room door. He nodded his head toward me in acknowledgment.

I looked back to Mora, "Okay."

"He will be escorting you home and he and another officer will be rotating a patrol outside of your apartment building."

I gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

She smiled softly and nodded, pushing her chair into the nearest desk, "It was lovely meeting you, Andrea, and I wish it was under different circumstances."

I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah. Me too."

Detective Mora slid her arms into her jacket gracefully and said goodbye before making her exit. Once alone, I looked to the officer who watched me from the doorway.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"More than ready."

Officer Lerner led me through the station as my coworkers looked on in curiosity. I passed by Kathy who stood arms crossed speaking to another colleague, I think her superior. She made eye contact with me and offered a small smile and a wave. I smiled back politely before turning away and following the officer through the grand glass doors of the foyer and out into the street. It finally dawned on me that I wasn't even sure what the protocol was for something like this. Was I expected back at the station tomorrow morning? I suddenly felt incredibly anxious and exhausted, the emotional toll of the day finally setting in, likely delayed by the adrenaline that had pumped through my veins hours before. I trudged slowly behind the officer as he led me to the rear passenger door of the squad car parked along the sidewalk. Officer Lerner opened the door and I slid in, dropping myself into the leathery seat, warm from the sun streaming through the window. I felt so drained.

My eyes lazily followed the officer as he rounded the front of the squad car and slid smoothly into the drivers seat. I met his eyes in the rear view mirror, "Do you live alone Miss Perkins?"

"Yeah. I used to have a roommate but she moved out a few months ago." Becca was probably one of the worst roommates you could ask for. She never washed her dishes, was always late with rent money, and had loud sex with her boyfriend at stupid hours of the night, but I would've given a lot to have her there when I got home. Just some company so I wouldn't be alone. My parents aren't really an option since my mother died a few years ago and my dad moved out of state. We were never that close anyways, but I had definitely distanced myself when I moved away for school.

"Oh, alright. Well I will keep you company from outside tonight." He smiled at me through the mirror and I left out a weak laugh.

"Thank you for this, really."

"Not a problem, Miss. Oh, by the way, what kind of locks do you have on your apartment door?"

"Uh…" I paused for a moment as I tried to decide if that was a strange question or not, "A deadbolt and a knob lock, I think".

"Ah, okay, okay. A deadlock is pretty secure, but you shouldn't need to worry about that anyways."

"I really hope not." The cruiser hit a bump and I rocked back and forth in my seat, the seatbelt tugging against my neck roughly. I sighed and fought with it a little.

"You'll be home soon, Miss Perkins." He looked at me again from the mirror.

"Thank god," I mumbled as I slumped against the window and closed my heavily eyelids.

I awoke to the sound of the cop clearing his throat, "Miss Perkins, we're here."

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and adjusted my clothes as he made his way to my door to let me out. I thanked him earnestly as I slid out of my seat and hurried toward the familiar front doors of my building. I quickly unlocked the door and turned to wave goodbye to Officer Lerner before I disappeared from the doorway and made my way to the elevator doors.

The elevator felt like it was taking an eternity to come down and I tapped my foot impatiently. When it finally stopped on the ground floor, I slid in quickly and went straight for the close doors button. I watched the doors slowly slide shut and I suddenly felt panicked imagining him here, sliding in right before the doors sealed and tormenting me in the confines of this elevator. My pulse quickened and my heart beat wildly as the gap in the doors grew smaller and smaller until finally, it disappeared and I was left completely alone in the small metal room. To my surprise, instead of claustrophobia, I felt safe and calm.

He can't get me here.

However, despite my relief, or perhaps because of it, my hands still shook and I wondered if another appointment with Detective Mora might be a good idea.

I felt the elevator jolt upwards and watched as the small red number above the doors went up, floor by floor. I knew I was almost home safe as the number finally stopped on 9. The doors slid open unsteadily and I stepped into the empty hallway. I peered down the hall in either direction and listened for any sounds of life, but I both heard and saw nothing, and it reassured me. I quickly shuffled down the hall, my feet scuffing against the well-worn carpeting. My apartment building wasn't in the best shape, the wallpaper peeled up on its edges and the lights were dim, but my apartment itself was pretty good for someone still in University, especially one currently working a lightly paid internship. It was two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small eat in kitchen, and a living space big enough for two, comfortably. I'm sure I couldn't afford to live here alone if I wasn't in Gotham.

I stopped at my apartment door and struggled with the locks as my hands shook and I jostled the keys. Eventually I made it in, closing the door behind me tightly and triple checking the locks.

Sighing dramatically, I tossed my bag on the kitchen table, flicked on the closest lamp while kicking off my shoes and haphazardly flinging my jacket on the armchair. I dropped myself down onto the crunchy old sofa I bought from the thrift store two blocks away and felt my muscles finally relax as I sunk deeper and deeper into its worn in cushions. I dug my phone out of the back pocket of my shorts and checked for messages. None. Not a single text. I tossed it onto the coffee table to my left and turned onto my side, closing my eyes in the process.

I began to drift into that space where you feel yourself slipping into a dream yet also maintain some awareness of your physical environment, and when the sounds of footsteps down the hall resonated in my ears, I didn't know if it was real, or my imagination. Instantly, my muscles went tense. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. That recognizable sickening feeling grew in my stomach. My chest was so tight, I could barely breathe. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I remained motionless, waiting to hear the sounds again.

The silence deafened me. I couldn't stand it. I wanted to sit up and look down the hall, but my body wouldn't let me. Sometimes this happened when I awoke from a nightmare in the middle of the night; too afraid to move even after realizing it was a dream. Maybe this was just that, a dream.

I stayed motionless for what felt like hours, trying to gather the courage to even peak over the back of the couch. By now, I was positive no one was in my apartment, but I still couldn't find the pluck to prove it to myself. I suddenly felt anger wash over me, anger that I had let this encounter and this man make me delusional with fear. Fueled by something akin to adrenaline, I finally pushed myself up off the seat of the couch, and feeling invincible, I stared unflinching into the room to my left.

God, no.

A scream caught in my throat and I could only gasp as my eyes landed on a figure lurking in my darkened kitchen.