Alexis walked to the parking lot, her eyes scanning the empty spaces.

"Just my luck," she muttered at the lack of people. She wondered if Oliver, the security guard, was around. She clutched her pepper spray, still hidden inside her purse slowly walking forward, her red heels tapping against the hard cement.

A hand on her shoulder startled her. She screamed and turned around, quickly raising the pepper spray and hitting the nozzle.

"Arrghh! Dammit what the hell are you doing?"

Alexis was still screaming even after she lowered the pepper spray. She watched in horror as the man continued to groan in pain in front of her. She knew him and this wasn't going to be a pleasant confrontation.

"I'm coming!" an old man's voice shouted. Alexis looked up to see Oliver scrambling towards them.

"Dr. Reyna are you okay? Was this man trying to attack you?"

Alexis didn't know what to say. Part of her was shocked by what she had just done and another part of her wanted to laugh at the ridiculous situation she was in.

"Hell no I wasn't trying to attack her! I'm a cop you old geezer!" the man shouted as he continued to stay in a doubled over position.

"Who're you calling old?" Oliver asked as he touched the small gun he had at his waist.

"Sorry, Oliver, I thought he was trying to attack me...but he wasn't. It was just a misunderstanding."

Officer Dean Winters straightened himself and sneered at Alexis. His eyes were red from the pepper spray.

"Misunderstanding? Is that what you call this?" he asked pointing to his face, covered in tears.

"Well you came up from behind and scared me!"

"I'm a police officer!"

Alexis ignored that commen. "How was I supposed to know that? Why did you call me down here? To accuse me of lying again?"

"I needed to talk to you."

"So, you know this man?" Oliver interrupted.

"Yeah, she does...so go back to being a rent-a-cop." Dean sneered, clearly not wanting an audience to the conversation he was about to have with Alexis.

"Don't talk to him that way!" Alexis couldn't believe Officer Winters could be so rude to everyone he came into contact with.

"Don't worry, Dr. Reyna. Young punks like him don't bother me. Are you sure you're okay being alone with him?" Oliver asked.

Alexis nodded. "I'll be fine Oliver. Thank you."

"Not a problem." The old security guard turned to look at Dean. "I'll be watching you through the cameras." Before Dean could respond, Oliver began strutting back to his security booth.

"What was that about?" Alexis asked. "Why were you so rude to him?"

Dean shrugged. "Does it matter? Listen, we need to talk."

"Actually, we don't." Alexis began to walk away when Dean grabbed her arm. "Let me go."

"I want to know why you dropped your complaint."

"That's it? You came all the way over here to ask me why I stopped reporting that I was being stalked? Didn't you accuse me of lying?"

"Look, I'm only asking because my partner made me feel guilty. She said I was being a jerk and no woman would feel comfortable making a report to me if I treated them the way I treated you."

Alexis shook her head. "You're unbelievable. Is this your way of apologizing?"

"Well, what do you expect? You say someone is stalking you and sending you strange messages. Imagine our surprise when we find out the number is registered to you!"

"What did you say?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Dr. Reyna. You know the phone number is registered to you."

Alexis stared at Officer Winters and shook her head. "No, it's not."

"You can stop pretending now. I know that's why you dropped the complaint. Diaz already said she's not going to pursue it but wasting police time isn't exactly okay."

Alexis didn't understand how anyone could register her name for a phone line. "How is that possible? I mean how could someone use my name to get a phone?"

He gave her a suspicious look but answered. "That's easy. They just need your social security number and a date of birth. That information is getting easier to find."

"My social security number and date of birth?" Alexis repeated.

"If you're saying it's not your phone then that would mean someone opened a phone in your name. Aren't you going to ask me to look into it? Don't you want me to find out who used your name?"

"No!" She answered a bit forcefully and much too quickly for Officer Winters not to be suspicious.

"What's going on? If you didn't open the phone someone did it in your name. That means they have your social and date of birth. You don't care?"

"What does it matter to you? I'm just a liar who wants attention, isn't that right?"

"Look, that isn't the only reason I came by to see you. I've been thinking about why I've been too hard on you."

Alexis didn't bother to respond. She was still thinking about the fact that her stalker had her personal information. She was making a mental note to call the credit bureaus. She wished Officer Winters would stop talking to her. He wasn't her favorite person in the world and she just wanted to get home. She wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying until he began waving his hands in front of her face. She took a step back and swatted his hands away. "What are you doing? Stop that."

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" he asked.

She wanted to scream. "No, I couldn't care less about what you have to say!" Instead, she counted to five in her head and asked, "What were you saying?"

Dean ran his hands through his hair and repeated himself, "I said I need your help. Please."

Now, she wished she had been paying attention. She didn't miss the irony of the situation. He needed her help. He even said the word please. She couldn't help but give a bitter laugh, "Why should I help you? When I asked you for help...you accused me of being a liar."

"Look, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but I've been thinking about things."

"Yes?"

"Even though I still don't believe that you have a stalker, I shouldn't have been so rude to you."

Alexis chose to ignore his veiled accusation that she was liar and cocked her head to one side. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Officer Winters? Are you actually admitting you were rude and that you made a mistake?"

Dean sighed. "I deserve that. Look, forget it. This was a stupid idea anyway."

Alexis watched him start to walk away. "Wait." She had a resigned tone in her voice which meant she was probably going to regret helping him. "What did you need help with?"

"Last night I was up thinking about you."

Alexis took a step back.

"Not in a creepy sort of way," Dean explained. "I was thinking about why I disliked you so much."

"Are you going to get to the point anytime soon? Because you're really making me regret hearing you out."

"Listen, you're friends with my ex-girlfriend."

Alexis didn't believe him. None of her friends would date such a jerk. "I'm sorry but I don't remember any of my friends dating you."

"It wasn't that long just a few weeks but I really thought I loved her."

Alexis was still confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to help me get her back."

"I'm sorry, say that again."

"Help me get my girlfriend back."

"Why would I do that? You're not exactly a nice guy, Officer Winters."

"I'm only like that with you--"

"And my brother...and Oliver."

"Okay fine! I'm not a nice guy but that doesn't mean I don't deserve a second chance. I thought you shrinks were supposed to believe in helping people."

"That's interesting. I thought the same thing about police officers." Her sarcasm wasn't lost on Dean and he scowled at her. "Listen, I'm not sure which of my friends you dated and quite frankly, I don't want to know. I try not to get involved in their love lives unless they really need my help."

"Don't lie. Gabby used to quote you all the time."

"Gabby? You dated Gabby? Why am I not surprised? I don't give her relationship advice. She tends to latch on to whatever I say during the radio show and runs with it. I'm not sure what she told you but you should talk to her if you want to get back together."

"So, you're not going to help me?"

Alexis shook her head. "No. I'm sorry but I don't want to get involved. This is between you and her."

Dean closed his eyes in frustration.

Alexis was eager to get away from him and as she approached her car, she noticed another red envelope tucked beneath a windshield wiper.

She looked around before pulling it out and opening it. A small message was scrawled on a plain white card.

"Don't forget. No cops."

Alexis texted her friend Ivy. "Let's meet tomorrow."

She got into her car and drove home only to see a stranger's car in her driveway. She walked inside with apprehension which quickly turned into anger. Inside her living room was Nicholas with three of his friends watching a basketball game. They were drinking and eating McDonald's.

"Nicholas, can we talk in the kitchen, please?"

Nicholas could tell his sister was upset. "Hey guys, this is my sister Alexis."

Alexis was greeted with words, whistles, and catcalls.

"Idiots," she muttered as she walked to the kitchen with Nicholas in tow.

"Before you get really pissed, I have a good reason for inviting the guys over."

"It better be one hell of a good reason."

"The Rockets are playing."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "You invited some friends over to watch a basketball game when you know what I've been dealing with? Couldn't you have just gone to a sports bar?"

"I'm sorry, Alexis, but Luke called and you know we've been friends forever. He and his girlfriend just broke up and he didn't want to be at a bar."

Alexis couldn't imagine any of the drunk guys in the living room as heartbroken. "I don't know them, Nicholas. What if they're the ones stalking me?"

Nicholas began laughing. "Trust me they aren't stalking you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she was irked at the way he said the word you.

"Nothing it's just that you're old."

"Old?"

"Sorry...older. If you're over twenty-five they won't be interested. Besides, you're my sister. They wouldn't mess with you."

"You never know what people do behind closed doors, Nicholas. It's not good to make assumptions."

"Fine. I'll make sure they leave after the game. It's almost over anyway."

"They've been drinking."

"Luke's not drunk. He just always acts like he is. He's been drinking soda all night."

"Fine," Alexis left Nicholas in the kitchen to go upstairs and take a shower. The day had been strange and stressful for her. She let the cool spray of the water wash over her and when she was done, she wrapped herself in a large fluffy towel. She walked into her bedroom and began looking for some pajamas.

"Alexis?"

"What do you want Nicholas?"

"Alexis?"

"What do you want? Say what you want and get out. I have to change." Alexis hadn't bothered to turn around as she rummaged through her drawers for a pajama set.

"Alexis."

"What?" she yelled as she turned around expecting to see her brother. She was alone. She looked around and the hair on her neck stood up. "Nicholas?" She took a few hesitant steps forward. "Hello?"

When no one responded, she ran to the bathroom and quickly put on her clothes. She slowly opened her bathroom door which was connected to the master bedroom, and peeked out. She still didn't see anyone. She stepped outside and looked around again. She didn't hear anything.

"Did I imagine it?"

She walked out of her room and downstairs. Nicholas and his friends were gone. The sound of the front door opening startled her and she let out a loud yelp.

"Alexis? What's wrong with you?" Nicholas asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Where were you?"

"I followed the guys home to make sure they got to Luke's safely. They're all going to crash there for the night. I just got back. Is something wrong? You look weird."

Alexis wondered if she should tell Nicholas. She opted not to, thinking it was just her imagination. "I'm fine. It's getting late. I'm going to bed."

"Okay. G'night." Nicholas sat back on the sofa and continued to watch the sports channel.

"G'night." Alexis went back to her bedroom and walked inside. She didn't hear anything. She was about to pull back her covers when it called out again in a whispering voice.

"Alexis."

Alexis screamed and called out for Nicholas, who came running up the stairs. "What's wrong Alexis?"

"I think there's someone in the room. I keep hearing someone whispering my name."

Nicholas gave her a strange look but proceeded to look around her room. "Alexis, I don't see anyone. Are you sure you heard something?"

She nodded.

Nicholas cleared his throat. "Is it possible you thought you heard someone? You've been under a lot of stress lately."

Alexis wasn't sure anymore. She could've sworn she had heard someone. Maybe Nicholas was right. "Yeah, you're right, Nicholas. I'm just exhausted. I probably just need some sleep."

Nicholas stared at her for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Go finish watching your show. I'm going to bed."

"Well, I'll be right downstairs," he said as he walked out of her room. "Just holler if you need me."

"I will thanks."

Alexis crawled under her sheets and closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep but the whispering voice returned.

"Sweet dreams, Alexis."

If she had been asleep, the piercing scream from her throat would've woken her.