The moment I get home, I head to my room. Homework papers that I had stacked on the desk now litter the floor. I sigh and bend down to pick them up.

"I guess Dad forgot to close the window," I mutter to myself. "I should start locking my door. I don't like him going through my stuff."

The wind picks up and my attention drifts back to the window. I walk over to close it when I realize the view outside is too clear. I stop.

"Dad!" I call out. "Dad!"

"I'm in the study!" he yells back.

I follow his voice quickly. "Hey, Dad, what did you do with my window screen when you were in my room earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" he asks, his eyes never leaving his computer screen. "I wasn't in your room today."

"Well, then who was?"

"No one. I've been alone in the house ever since you left."

The only thing I hear in those next couple of seconds is my rapidly increasing heartbeat thumping in my chest. I zone out. My stalker. I don't know how, but he has found me. He's found where I live.

When I zone back in, my dad is standing in front of me. He holds my shoulder with one hand and snaps his fingers with the other in front of my face.

"Raiden! Snap out of it!"

"Dad... The stalker–my room–"

He sits me down in his chair and hurries out of the room. I'm too focused on my breathing and heartbeat to think about anything else.

After an amount of time that I could not specify if asked, my dad comes back and kneels in front of me.

"Are you okay, Raiden?"

I nod slowly.

"Did you see him?"

I shake my head and he sighs. "What did he do?"

"Well," he speaks softly and rubs my knee gently, "he took the screen from your window and messed around with the stuff in your room. Nothing was taken that I could see. I've contacted the police already and they said they'll send someone over to look for fingerprints or fibers. Are you sure you're okay?"

Tears threaten to fall, but I hold them back. I have to appear strong for him. "...He was in my room. If I hadn't gone to see Adam, I would've still been in there," I whimper.

He stands up and pulls me into his chest. Once I pull myself together, I pull away.

"I need some air," I whisper. I push past him and went outside through the front door. I lean against the wall and close my eyes, taking deep breaths.

I ignore the sounds of a car coming into the driveway, doors opening and closing, and footsteps approaching. I focus on my breathing and calming down instead. My pulse has slowed down to the point that it no longer feels like my heart will burst from my chest.

The door open beside me. "Thank you so much for coming so quickly, Officers. My son is very distraught."

"Of course, Mr. Loeffler. Would it be alright to question your son while you show my partner the scene?"

"Yes, that's fine."

I feel a soft hand on my shoulder, but I don't open my eyes quite yet.

"Raiden, is that okay with you?"

I nod and he leads the second cop away to my room.

The first one clears his throat and I open my eyes finally to look at him. "Raiden, right?" he questions.

"Yeah."

He holds out his hand and I shake it. "I'm Officer Turner; you can just call me Turner if that makes you feel more comfortable. So you don't mind answering a few of my questions?"

I pull my hand away and cross my arms over my chest. "Go ahead."

"Over the phone, your father told me you have a stalker." He waits for me to nod my confirmation. "How long has the stalking been going on?"

"Umm..." I think back quickly. "About eight months now."

"And other than today, when's the last contact you've had with him?"

"Yesterday morning. I didn't see him, but I'm just sure he was following me."

"Okay." He pauses and writes a couple of things on a small notepad. "Is this the first time he's been near your home?"

"Yes. As far as I know."

"Can you describe him to me?"

Tears start to form again as I shake my head. "I've only seen him close up once. H-he... He-" I start to sob quietly and Turner sets his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I quickly get myself under control again. "I-I'm sorry."

"That's fine. It's normal to feel some emotional distress. Are you okay to continue?"

"Yes," I mumble.

"Good. Where were you when you saw him?"

"School. I was leaving. He forced me behind the school near the fence and...and..." I pause, taking a deep breath to calm me down. "He tried to sexually assault me... A teacher intervened before he could..."

He writes down a couple more things. "Did you talk to the police about that incident?"

"Yes," I answer confidently as I wipe my eyes with my hand. "That ended up in a dead end. I couldn't identify him, the teacher couldn't, and he left no physical evidence."

"Would you be open to walking me through the incident in further detail? There may be something that was missed in the initial investigation."

I nod softly and he leads me into my house, asking me to sit down. He sits down across from me, asking me to close my eyes and describe the scene.

He starts for me. "School just got out. You and all the other students were leaving. Were you walking with friends?"

"No. I was alone." I pause, waiting for him to continue guiding me, but he doesn't. I go on without him. "I walked on the side of the herd; the cliques always take the center. He was there as soon as I was out the door. He grabbed onto my arm and pulled me around the corner. I realized I didn't know who he was or where he was taking me. He had a mask on and a dark jacket and baggy jeans. I tried to pull away from him. He wouldn't let go and pushed me around the next corner. We were alone behind the school. He pushed me against the wall and held me there. He tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away."

A voice comes over through the memory-vision. "Are you sure he's male?"

"Of course," I scoff.

"What about his height?"

"Umm..." I feel his hands on me again and my breathing hitches.

"Raiden, it's just a memory. Calm down."

I take a deep breath, but the feeling of his hands don't go away.

"I know this is hard, but I need you to cooperate. Now, look up at him. How tall is he?"

"Umm... He's a little taller than me... About 5'7", 5'8" maybe?"

"What about his build?"

"A little broader in the shoulders than me. He's too strong... I can't get out of his grip... I can't..."

"Calm down, Raiden. Why didn't you scream for help?"

"He has a knife. He's holding it to my throat." My hands fly up to my neck. In real life, not the memory.

"Is he wearing gloves?"

"No."

"What color is his skin?"

"Uh... White."

"Is there anything else you can see about him?"

"N-no... Now he's pushing me to the ground on my knees in front of him. I'm fighting back, but it's not working." I start crying again. "He's going to... Oh, God! Why isn't anyone helping me?"

"Someone did. Where's the teacher who stopped it?"

"She came from around the corner. He bolted. Jumped over the fence and ran."

"That's it?"

"Yeah," I sob.

"You can open your eyes now. You did great."

I reluctantly look over at him.

He finishes writing a couple of things in his notebook and read them to me. "So, you were attacked by a white male, a little larger than you."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. It's not much."

"He had easy access to the school. He knew of the best way to escape without being caught, so he knew the grounds. Could he have been a classmate of yours?"

"I...guess?"

He stands up, groaning from the effort, to go join his partner. "Believe me when I say you've been a big help."

I nod and stand with him. I don't really believe him, but I act like I do. For his sake. I wait to show him to my room as he reaches into his pocket.

He pulls out a card and hands it to me. "This is my business card. It has my number on it. I want you to call me if you ever see him or if you ever feel like you're being followed. I will always pick up. Do you understand?"

"Yeah... Thanks." I stuff the card into the same pocket as my phone so I'd remember to add it in later.

Without being asked, I lead him to my room where my father and his partner are.

"Son," my father starts, "will you please look around your room and tell the officers if anything is missing?"

"Yeah." Slowly, I pace the messy room, shaking my head as nothing of interest appears. I'm about to give up when I notice something off about my dresser. My brush, a couple of shirts, two books, and some dirty dishes are the only things there. I turned to the officers. "Everything is here except for a picture..."

"What was it of?" Turner's partner asks.

"Me. And my friend, Adam McAllister. I don't see it anywhere. It was on my dresser this morning, I swear."

The partner sighs. "Well, I'm sorry. There's not much we can do. There weren't any other fingerprints than those in your family and there was no trace evidence. I would suggest that you replace the screen, get a lock for your window, and contact us if you encounter him again."

I nod somberly. Of course they couldn't do anything. The stalker hadn't been caught yet, and I doubt he ever would be. "Thank you for your time, Officers."

My dad shows them out and came back to check on me as I close the window.

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," I sigh. "I'm just going to clean up a little. When Mom gets home, can you tell her what happened? I don't want to have to do it myself."

"Sure. I'll call her and ask her to grab some window locks on her way home from work, too."

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it."

He gives me a small, sad, sympathetic smile and leaves me alone. I close the door behind him and collapse on my bed. I lie there for a minute before reaching into my pocket. I immediately add Turner's number into my contacts.

My eyes drift around the room and settle on the laptop. I haven't even checked for a message from Jackson. I pick it up and carry it back to my bed. I log on to the chatting site and look at the message he'd sent me a couple of hours ago.

I log off before he can log on and engage me in a conversation. I just need some alone time to deal with my thoughts.