If you’re armed and at 1376 McCalister Drive, know I’ve left for work. Please wait.

*If you’re armed and at 1376 McCalister Drive, know I’ve left for work. Please wait.* That’s what the note read. It was pasted, in bold red letters, to the front door of my new apartment. I’ve lived here for five days. It’s my first place away from my family, my first opportunity to be truly alone. I moved here for a job and knew nobody in town. I was excited. I had spent years working on my social skills, trying to make friends, but nothing had worked. In my town, if you weren’t born there, you at least had to be born in the surrounding valley to fit in. I wasn’t, I was a squib. I moved there as a kid, but wasn’t a local. I hoped things would be different here; they weren’t. My landlady was a loner. She didn’t appear to want to talk, so I didn’t bother pressuring her. She was probably older than my mother and could do what she wanted. She seemed nice, though. She had left me a note of her own, welcoming me to the building. It was a short note, but there was something sweet about it. The first few days passed uneventfully enough. I spent them furnishing my apartment and getting to know the kitchen at work. I occasionally heard movement from the other side of my living room wall, but no one came to introduce themselves. At first, I thought they were just shy, but then I started hearing murmurs. I would be watching a movie, or reading a book, and occasionally I’d make out a word. It always sounded like they were arguing, but I couldn’t tell what about. One night, things were louder. I was woken by a bang, and I could hear shouting from the neighbors. Two people, a man and a woman, and they sounded like they were throwing things. I didn’t think much of it. I figured if things got bad, someone would call the police. I fell back asleep, but had a bad dream. I was in a park and a man was advancing on me. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t look away. He was screaming at me and got closer and closer. I always got the same sensation in my stomach, like I was floating, and I always woke up as he reached me. I’d never felt like I’d actually been asleep until I heard the shouting the next night. It was the neighbors again. The man was screaming at the woman, and she was begging him to stop. She sounded terrified. I have always been a coward. I’ve never, ever, stood up for myself, and have been an enabler for too much of my life. This was a turning point. The woman sounded terrified, and I knew I had to help. She sounded like she was being hurt. I didn’t have my landlord’s number, but I knew where she lived. I could get the police here faster than calling 911. I decided to do it. I was going to help her. I opened my front door, and stepped across the hall. I pounded on it, as loud as I could. The man didn’t stop screaming though. I pounded again, and heard the woman gasp. That was it though. They didn’t come to the door. I stood there, frozen in the hallway, for what felt like an hour. I pounded again, but no one came. I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do. Should I go back inside? Should I pound again? I could still hear the man shouting. I pounded again, and the man shouted “Open the fucking door!” I stumbled backward as the door opened, and fell onto the stairs. The man stepped out, into the hallway. He was big, and angry, and he stared at me. He looked at me with such anger, but I didn’t run. He turned, and went back inside. “She’s gone, stop fucking pounding!” I still didn’t run. I stumbled back into my apartment, thinking about what I had done. I had a weird feeling in my chest, and I could hear my heart pounding. I started thinking about the note I had found when I moved in. *If you’re armed and at 1376 McCalister Drive, know I’ve left for work. Please wait.* I had thought it was a joke. I hoped it was a joke. I had just pounded on the door of an armed man. Two days passed. I didn’t hear the neighbors, but I also didn’t go to work. I couldn’t leave my apartment. I felt like I was being watched. I had done something wrong, and didn’t know what it was. I heard movement outside my door. The mailman had delivered two letters. I picked one up, and read it. *If you’re armed and at 1376 McCalister Drive, know I’ve left for work. Please wait.* I picked up the other one. *You didn’t do it, so I will.*

If you’re armed and at 1376 McCalister Drive, know I’ve left for work. Please wait.

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