The neighbor kid who came into our apartment, and the man in the back of the elevator.

This happened about a year ago, and it still sends chills down my spine every time I think of it. I was living in a two bedroom apartment in Manhattan at the time with my then-boyfriend.<br><br>We had been dating for a few months at this point, and were still getting to know one another and learning each other’s habits and quirks. One of the things I had learned was that when he got home from work, he would always lock the door and turn the deadbolt before heading to our bedroom.<br><br>It was pretty unusual for Manhattan, but our apartment was on the 12th floor of a building in a pretty safe area. However, our neighbor had been broken into a year or so before, and so we all took additional precautions. Everyone in the building was well aware of this, and it wasn’t unusual to hear the clicking of the deadbolt at the end of every workday.<br><br>Well, one day I was out running errands, and had left my boyfriend at home. I had left out a plate of snacks for him, and I had left the door unlocked, not thinking anything of it. I was out running around, and stopped at a coffee shop to get some work done. At the time, I was freelancing as a writer, so I had brought my laptop with me to get some work done.<br><br>As I was typing away, I looked over and saw a man walk in and take a seat a few seats away from mine. I noticed nothing unusual about him, he was just a normal looking guy, and I didn’t think anything of it. However, a few minutes later he stood up, left his coffee untouched, and walked out of the shop.<br><br>I thought nothing of it at first, but a few minutes later, he walked back in, and so I began to get a little suspicious. I pulled out my phone and started to dial 911, but I didn’t want to look at it directly, in case he was watching me. So I looked out the window of the shop and dialed 911 with my eyes on the street outside.<br><br>A few minutes later, I looked back inside and saw him walk out again. I watched him down the street, and sure enough, he turned the corner towards our building. I knew immediately he was probably heading to my apartment.<br><br>I ran out of the coffee shop, downed my coffee, and booked it to the subway, to get back to my apartment as quickly as I could. I was terrified, as I thought about what would happen if I walked in on someone who had broken into my apartment. I thought about my boyfriend, and whether or not the man had a weapon, or if it was a stranger attacking, and what would happen to my dog. The possibilities ran through my mind as I rushed the subway.<br><br>I ran upstairs, and bolted into our apartment, looking for my boyfriend. I heard no noise at first, but as I came into the living room, I heard someone in the bedroom. I heard my boyfriend’s voice muffled, but then I heard the voice of a man telling my boyfriend to “shut the fuck up”. It was dead silent. I knew I had to get my boyfriend’s attention somehow, and I did the only thing I could think of. I started banging on the walls between the living room and bedroom.<br><br>The man yelled at me to be quiet, but I just continued to bang. It took a few minutes, but I heard my boyfriend kick the door open and charge at the man, and the two scuffled. The man was bigger than my boyfriend, but my boyfriend had always been a black belt in karate, and he was not going to let this guy touch me or him without a fight.<br><br>I charged into the bedroom and saw my boyfriend with the guy pinned up against the wall. I also saw that it was our neighbor kid, and my heart stopped for a second. The kid was definitely a lot bigger than I remembered him, but it was definitely him. I hadn’t seen him in years, since he had moved away with his family. I remembered his mom being kind of a weirdo, but his dad was always a nice guy.<br><br>I asked my boyfriend if he was okay, and the kid still had him pinned to the wall. My boyfriend said he was okay, and I asked if he remembered the kid. He said he didn’t, so I explained the situation. The kid started to struggle more, and my boyfriend lost his grip on him. The kid took off like lightning out of the room, and we heard the door to the hallway slam.<br><br>We locked the door again, called the super, who called the cops. We told the cops what had happened, and they started looking for the neighbor kid. I went into the kitchen to call my best friend, and as soon as I got into the kitchen, I heard the elevator open. I looked up at the clock and saw that the cops had just arrived and were searching the building.<br><br>I heard the super come into our apartment, followed by two NYPD officers, one of which was a guy in a uniform and the other a guy in a plainclothes uniform. I waved them into the living room, and they started to look around. The uniformed guy started to check out the apartment, while the other guy went into the bedroom. <br><br>As soon as the guy went into the bedroom, I heard the elevator open again, and I looked up to see a guy standing in the hallway. He looked like a homeless guy, and I thought nothing of it. But I looked back into the living room, and saw the guy in the plainclothes staring at the guy in the hallway. Then I saw the guy in the hallway reach up into his shirt, and the guy in the living room bolted towards him.<br><br>The guy in the hallway saw him coming, and he charged at him. The guy in the living room ended up tackling him to the ground, and then they were wrestling. The guy in the living room ended up putting him in a chokehold, and he passed out.<br><br>They dragged the guy into our living room, where the super and other cop were already standing. The plainclothes cop ripped off the guy’s shirt, and his shirt had a piece of fabric from our neighbor kid’s shirt. They had caught the guy who had broken into our apartment, and all I could think about was what would have happened if the cops had not caught him before he got to the bedroom.<br><br>Turns out, the guy was a serial burglar who targeted buildings in our neighborhood. They arrested him, and I’m pretty sure he’s in prison to this day. I’m just glad nothing happened, and that my boyfriend is an amazing karate master.