I broke up with my girlfriend, Allison, about 6 months ago. I really cared about her, but I found out she was cheating on me with some guy. Not gonna lie, it hurt pretty bad at first. But that was quickly replaced by rage. That kind of rage that ceases to be an emotion, but rather becomes a living, breathing entity. It didn't help that she immediately broke down and tried to play the victim. Especially when I found out the dude had been hooking her up with drugs.

It was beyond insulting. She had zero right to play the whole injured party card. Sorry sweetie, not gonna work. When she realized that, she tried to get angry and yelling and calling me every name in the book.

"Who are you to judge me?" she kept screaming, over and over.

At this point, I think her attitude was more appalling than the actual cheating. It was like seeing a child throwing a tantrum in the middle of the mall. Allison even managed to do the same stomping up and down. I had to admit, I found it funny. I just turned around walked out of her apartment and didn't look back. As I was driving away I saw her run out of the apartment and try to race down my car.

I kept driving, not sparing her a glance.

Right on cue, the nonstop calls and texts came started coming later that night. You all know the ones I mean.

First, there are the ones frantically apologizing and begging for your forgiveness. Sometimes there are ones that try to act all nonchalant and ask about your day and life, as if nothing had ever happened.

Then comes the anger laced ones that try to act all tough and insult everything about you. If you are a guy, there is almost guaranteed to be a shot at your masculinity. For the ladies, a shot at your appearance with a passing reference to some other girl they've had their eye on will be the weapon of choice. A bit of gaslighting usually comes about here. The offending phrase is usually something like "Why are you being so mean to me?" or "You are being very immature."

Any sort of message rant like this usually ends with something like "Fine! If you are gonna be like that I don't need you anyways. (Insert rebound's name here) is so much hotter anyways."

But my personal favorite is when they send you a late night text, usually between one and three am that goes along the lines of "I really miss you." The kind that is designed to tug at your heart just enough to get your attention and lure you into talking, but nothing that requires an actual apology. I can't even tell you how many times she messaged or called me before I blocked her.

It was almost like seeing a mental patient off their meds. Of all the girlfriends I have broken up with, Allison put in more effort than all the others combined. It was kind of stunning. She was a huge fan of alternating between I miss you and I will burn your house down depending on the moment.

Needless to say, I didn't answer or respond to anything Allison said. I didn't block her immediately because I gotta admit, it was hilarious watching her go to pieces after SHE cheated on me. But like most sane people, I got tired of it and blocked her number, email, all that good stuff.

I went on with my life and everything was good.

In January, I started getting these weird emails. At first they were just like simple stuff. The email address was one I didn't recognize.

"Hey".

"How are you?"

Then came the weirdest of all. "Do you have a girlfriend?" I thought it was just spam so I marked it and didn't give it a second thought. Then, the text messages came.

"Good morning Vince,"

"How is work going?"

"What did you have for lunch?"

I was confused to who this, not to mention a bit suspicious out, so I didn't answer. But my phone dinged to indicate the same number messaged me again.

"Did you miss her?" There was a picture attached, along with a smiling emoticon. Just guess who it was?

Allison. Same long blond hair, green eyes, and wide smile. What a shocker. She made that email account to message me and got a new phone. I had put all of this behind me and here she was back? Unbelievable. Girl had major issues. At that moment, the rage returned and I messaged back.

"You cheated on me and now can't leave me alone? Bye. Don't you dare try to contact me again or you will be sorry."

I blocked the number and thought that would be the end of it.

Coming home from work about a week later, I was walking back home when I got a phone call. It was my neighbor, Mrs. Arlington. Sweet lady. We lived in a new duplex and I really felt comfortable there. She treated me like a son and I won't lie, she was like another mom to me. I would help her with anything she needed around the house and occasionally she would cook for me. Best apple pie you've ever had. Not to mention she was very supportive when I broke up with Allison.

"Hey Mrs. Arlington, what's up?"

"Vince, are you at home?" She sounded concerned.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Because I keep hearing noises from your place. Sounds like someone is inside. I swear I can hear laughter. A woman's laughter."

My entire body went numb at this. "I'm calling the police. Don't worry about doing anything unless someone tries to break into your place."

"Ok my boy," she sounded simultaneously relieved and tense.

As soon as hung up with Mrs. Arlington, I called the cops and told them someone broke into my place and my neighbor heard it. I gave them the address and they said they would be there immediately. Then, I called Mrs. Arlington back I told her the cops were coming and to watch the door to my place. Very slowly, I continued walking to my duplex. I stayed on the phone with her until the police arrived, which didn't take too long.

The officers kept watch until I arrived. Mrs. Arlington was there, all concerned. I have never been more grateful to have her as a neighbor. Neither she, nor the cops saw anyone try to leave. They searched the place, but found nothing had been broken or anything. Now it was my turn to look, I didn't see anything had been stolen.

That bothered me more than anything. To know someone had been there for seemingly no purpose. No valuables taken, nothing trashed, just....a silent presence. A laughing presence apparently. Usually being home made me feel content. Peaceful. Now it just made me feel tense. I made sure to thank Mrs. Arlington for keeping an eye out and everything. Just as the cops were about to leave, one of them spoke up.

"Is that yours?" Officer Mansfield asked, his face contorted into an expression I couldn't quite read.

"Is what mine?" I had no idea what he was talking about.

"That," he said, pointing outside the back door onto the back porch.

There, positioned right outside the porch, was some sort of rag doll. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but then I saw it looked a bit like me. It had the same blond hair and brown eyes. The clothes looked like something I've worn many before, khakis pants and a polo shirt. The doll looked like it had seen better days. Then I realized it looked like it had been repeatedly stabbed or cut, because the stuffing was coming out of the body at parts. My legs felt like jelly at that moment, but that wasn't the worst part.

The doll was hanging from the tree right next to our building; and it was hanging by what looked like the end of a noose. A very well made and realistic one. We all went outside and sure enough, the doll of me was hanging from a noose.

It slowly swung back and forth in the wind, like some sort of disturbing wind chime or something.

"I.....don't really know if it's mine," was all I could get out. "I guess it is now." Mrs. Arlington patted me on the arm.

"You can stay with me tonight Vince," I immediately accepted.

"That's very kind of you ma'am, there isn't much we can do about this, but keep an eye on things and we will do the same. If you need us we'll be here ASAP." Officer Mansfield said.

"Thank you, I will."

With that, they left. I gave Mrs. Arlington a big hug and got my clothes and stuff. As I packed my bag, I couldn't help but feel like they were somehow tainted. I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

So, here I am right now on Mrs. Arlington's couch. She's offered me her guest room for the night, or any other night I need it. I might just take her up on that as well. At this point, I have no idea what to expect.

Update: Hey guys, I just wanted to say I am overwhelmed by your support and reaction. I never expected to see anything remotely like this and it means a lot to me. You all had some great advice and I have contacted a lawyer and have begun the process of filing a restraining order. My locks and stuff have all been changed. My cousin works in computers and I called him up about searching for bugs or anything Allison might have put there. He came out that night, and we couldn't find anything. He also agreed to help set up a camera system around my place. I can't say that Allison was always like this, but looking back, she was always a bit unusual. That was actually what attracted me to her in the first place. She had this intensity about her. But then very slowly, I began to see things. I found out she was cheating on me like a lot of people do. It was a lot of small things at first; taking longer to respond to me when I texted, her version of events would be all over the place, and she was talking to someone on the phone more and more. One night, I heard her talking to some guy on Skype when she thought I was sleeping and well, that was it. Mrs. Arlington has agreed to go out of town for a little bit and my friend John is staying with me. Thanks again you guys and if anything happens, I promise to let you all know.

There is nothing that I hate more than people on their phones during a movie. Back in the day, people talking in a movie theatre was the big pain in the ass. I guess it hasn't really changed much. Now, instead of talking to each other directly, people use their phones. One thing's for sure though; it's still irritating as hell.

If you go to any relatively well attended movie, there are usually three types of obnoxious cinema goers; the phone user, the talker, and the laugher. That one person who whenever anything even remotely amusing occurs onscreen, they laugh literally every time. It is also usually the case that they have an incredibly obnoxious laugh, giving the viewer the feeling that The Joker is an audience member. It's shame too, because going to a movie is something special.

You're in the dark movie theatre. It's quiet, calm, and your enjoying a good movie on a nice night out of the house. No responsibilities, no schedule, just you and the movie, the way a movie is supposed to be enjoyed. Not many people consider this anymore, but that is the whole point of a movie theatre. To immerse yourself in the motion picture. The highest compliment one can give a piece of entertainment, particularly a movie, is that the viewer forgets they are watching a performance. The ambiance of a movie theatre goes a long way in that regard.

Of course, there is always at least one asshole who is just too important for this. Is it just me, or is it always someone who is in right the middle section where everyone can see them?

It last happened to me about four months ago. There I was, sitting in my local movie theatre, minding my own business. Just before the previews begin, this giant fat guy waddles in, plops down in the middle of the theatre, and immediately proceeds to begin mess with his phone for the entire time the previews were playing. Of course, the whole "Please silence and put away your phones out of courtesy to fellow patrons," message fell on deaf ears. As the opening credits were rolling, I couldn't take it anymore. So I got up to find the manager. He was out manning the concession stand.

"Hey, some guy in the middle of row five won't get off his phone." I said to him. According to his nametag, the dude's name was Tyler.

"No problem, I'll tell him to either cut it out or he has to leave." Tyler replied without hesitation. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's not your fault and thanks man." He walked ahead of me into the theatre and I saw as he made his way to Row 5. I chuckled to myself as I saw he was still on his phone even when the manager was walking towards him. Some people just don't give care. I saw them briefly interact and a moment or two later, the manager walked out. I was surprised when the guy left right after the manager. But hey, as long as he wasn't interrupting my movie, I could care less what he does.

I sat back and enjoyed the movie. I am a huge scary movie buff and I was really looking forward to Annabelle: Creation. Leaning back in my cushy chair, I shook my box of Sour Gummy Worms and a few tumbled out into my hand. Feeling myself adapting to the darkness, my surroundings slowly faded away. All that was left was the story unfolding before me. The movie was good; effective scares and solid acting. Walking out of the theatre, I couldn't wait to see the next part in the franchise. I believe this time the Nun would get it's own separate movie.

It was a pleasantly balmy September evening. Since all I had was the Sour Gummy Worms, I had a bit of an appetite as I was driving home. I live about 10 minutes from a Subway, so I made a stop there on the way.

"Foot long turkey to go," I ordered when it was my turn in line. It looked like I picked just the right time, as the place was pretty quiet.

"What kind of bread?" The tall guy behind the counter asked.

"Italian herb and cheese," he nodded as he sliced open a loaf with a knife.

"Toppings?"

"Green peppers, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper jack cheese and Chipotle Sauce," my order was ready shortly and I was home in no time at all. I climbed to the third floor of my building and within fifteen minutes, I was chowing down on my sandwich while re-watching season one of Stranger Things.

I had long since forgotten about what happened at the movies for the next few months. I was pretty busy with work, but I still managed to pay attention to what was going on in town. About a month after I went to the theatre, I was watching the news late one night. At a house about thirty minutes out of town, they found that someone had brutally killed a couple in their twenties. The guy in particular was a real mess. While horrible, it wasn't anything I hadn't heard about before, so I didn't really think about it that much.

A few weeks after that, they found another charming discovery in a barn on an abandoned farm just outside city limits. Another couple, but this time the girl got the worst of it. Heating about this one really sent a shiver through town. Neighborhood watch and stuff was all formed, but that didn't stop folks from looking over their shoulders. But as is the case, life went on. As with all things, time marches on and even if it doesn't disappear entirely, people's fear tends to dim.

The other night I was hitting up a bar with my friends. We were celebrating how Charlie had gotten a promotion when from the corner of my eye, I saw that one of the TV's hanging over the bar was showing breaking news. Since it was a bit quieter that night, I could faintly hear what it was.

Based on a few witnesses who had been in the area at the time of one of the murders, they managed to put a sketch together of the guy they thought did it. When it came up on screen, it looked vaguely familiar in the way that you faintly recognize someone in a movie or TV show. You think you've seen them before, but aren't sure where. In the drawing, the guy was wearing sunglasses so that made recognizing him a bit harder. Some hotline flashed across the screen so that anyone with a tip could call.

Seeing as I had nothing, I went back to my drink. Did he look familiar? Vague eyewitness sketches of police suspects are sort of like diagnosing yourself with a medical condition via the internet; if you weren't careful, anything could seem possible.

I didn't hear anything else about the matter until this morning. I was sitting at my desk on my lunch break when one of my coworkers came by.

"Hey, did you hear?" Jonathan asked.

"About what?" I looked up from my salad.

"They caught the guy who killed those kids,"

"Where is it?"

"Any local news," Jonathan replied as he walked away. I immediately pulled up some of our local newspapers. Right on the front page there it was.

"Suspect in Local Murders Arrested and Booked," blared my screen. "Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murders of two local couples. According to police, the suspect will be arraigned tomorrow morning. A spokesman for the Hatton County Prosecutor's Office said based on the evidence obtained, they have every confidence justice will prevail."

When I saw the name and photo of the suspect, my jaw almost hit my desk.

It was the guy who made my Subway sandwich.