My dad saved me from a potential kidnapper when I was little

When I was about 8 we moved to a new neighborhood. My dad, mom, and I went to look at the house, and there was an older boy (teen? or maybe even early 20s?) in the yard next door. He came over and started chatting to my parents, and they were friendly in return. I remember he was pretty shy but I would later realize how calculated he was.<br><br>My family moved in to the new house, and this boy’s name was Brandon. He would always be in his front yard. He always had a basketball and was practicing his shots. I remember my mom asking my dad if Brandon ever went to school because he was always home. But I didn’t care. I was excited to have someone my age to play with (I’m only 8). <br><br>So me and Brandon would play together a lot. He would come over to my yard and we’d play catch or basketball or just explore my new property (the house was surrounded by trees) . My parents were usually in the back of the house or inside, so they couldn’t see us.<br><br>But Brandon would always ask me to come to his house. And I always said no because I didn’t want his parents to tell my parents I was at their house. I had already gotten in trouble once for leaving the yard when I wasn’t supposed to. But Brandon would ask me over and over again, saying we could play video games or he had a new board game that just came out that he wanted me to try. But I was smarter than that (or so I thought, I was 8) I knew I wasn’t allowed to go to people’s houses unless my parents said it was okay. So I would always say no.<br><br>But Brandon wouldn’t give up. He’d keep pushing and pushing for me to go over to his house, saying it wouldn’t take long and my parents would never know. I remember one time I was in my front yard, and he came over and tried to get me to come over, saying that my mom and dad wouldn’t notice I was gone for a few min, and that I could always come back if they were looking for me.<br><br>But what Brandon didn’t know was that my dad was right behind me. My dad heard everything he said, and that’s when he punched Brandon in his face and told him to stay away from me or he’d call the police. I was so shocked. I’ve never seen my dad get so angry. I don’t think he’s ever punched someone before in his life, let alone a kid.<br><br>As we walked away I asked him what was wrong with Brandon, and he just said he wasn’t a good person and to stay away from him. After a few days passed though, I started to miss playing with Brandon. He was nice and all, and he had really cool games that I wanted to play. So I asked my dad if it was okay now if I played with him, and my dad said no. But I asked why. I wanted to know why Brandon was a bad person. But my dad just said he’s a grown man and he shouldn’t be trying to get a little girl to go into his house. Especially when he knows I’m not allowed to.<br><br>But I didn’t care. I was 8. So I asked my mom. And she told me exactly what my dad said: Brandon shouldn’t be trying to get a little girl into his house when he knows she’s not allowed to. But my mom added on that Brandon was trying to take me somewhere to hurt me, and that my dad saved me from a very bad situation.<br><br>Looking back now, I realize how right my parents were. I’m 22 now and I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had gone into his house. He was way too smart for an older kid, and he knew exactly what he was doing. My parents moved us out of that house when I was 16, but I wonder what happened to Brandon after that.<br><br>I’m glad my dad saved me, because who knows what could have happened that day.