Woke up to a creepy man in my room

I didn’t have much luck with roommates for a while so I’m not sure what possessed me to list my place on Craigslist. I really didn’t know that many people in the city and my lease was ending. I really didn’t want to sign a new one but I felt it was better than breaking my lease.<br><br>A guy responded and said he was moving for work, he said we would probably never see each other because he worked nights. He seemed fine, he had a good job and I was really surprised he wanted to rent a room from a random girl. He was willing to pay a ridiculous amount of rent and was fine with signing a six month lease. <br><br>The first few weeks, he was just as he had said. He would leave for work before I came home from my second job and would be asleep by the time I went to bed. We would pass in the mornings and he always had a smile or a nice comment ready. I started to think we would have a decent landlord/tenant relationship.<br><br>One night I came home early from my second job. It was around midnight. He hadn’t left for work yet and I could hear him moving around the apartment. I didn’t want to disturb him so I just went to my room and shut the door, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. <br><br>I was in bed but hadn’t fallen asleep when I started to hear his voice. He was in my room, talking to me. He was saying these really weird things. Stuff like “You’re so beautiful” and “You don’t know how special you are, do you?”. <br><br>I was terrified. I had never been in a situation like that before. I had no idea how to react. I’m not sure how long he was talking before I worked up the nerve to ask “What are you doing in my room?” <br><br>He said “I just wanted to talk”. Then he put his hand on my face and caressed it. I had had enough. I told him to get out, to get a hotel for the night and to be out by the end of the month. He didn’t leave but he did go back to his room.<br><br>The next morning I called my mom and told her what had happened. She set me straight, I needed to get him out that day. I was really scared and there was no way I was going to be in the apartment alone with him again.<br><br>My mom picked me up and we went to a lawyer. I broke my lease and got a new place. I knew I was taking a hit financially but nothing was worth risking my safety. I was really lucky to have such supportive parents. <br><br>The creepy tenant, I’ll call him Michael, seemed absolutely baffled that I had thrown him out. He called me nonstop, begging to go back to our original agreement. I never answered but my voicemails were filled with him asking me why, telling me he didn’t know what had come over him, saying he would never do it again. <br><br>One day, I came home and he was in the hall outside my apartment. He said he just wanted to talk but I called the police. They said he was breaking the restraining order I had out on him and they arrested him. <br><br>When I went to court, his lawyer said he was deeply sorry and would never bother me again. He had a steady job and was receiving mental health care. I believed him and I told the judge I didn’t want to press charges. <br><br>I’ve heard he killed himself three months later. He didn’t leave a note and no one knows why he did it. I always wonder if it had anything to do with me. He’s not someone I ever think about but now that I’m writing about him, I don’t know how I can think about anything else.<br><br>The lawyer said he had a history of mental health problems. I don’t know why he told me that. I guess he just wanted to reassure me that I was safe, that this was an isolated incident.<br><br>I know I’m not responsible, but I really wish I had been more understanding. I’ve second guessed that night for years. I’m sorry, Michael.