Apartment

Brooke

It was night time, last night and I rode my bike home from celebrating the chiefs super bowl win. I was locking up my bike right outside my apartment and he snuck up behind me while I was locking my bike up and asked, “can I help you?” I was automatically so terrified that he was so close to me and why would I need help so I said absolutely not and told him he needed to leave my space. He grabbed my chest and my vagina. I stood my ground. Yelled at him to leave. He walked away, stood by the cars in the parking lot staring at me. I felt like I couldn’t escape. then he came back over and asked for $5. I said absolutely not and was yelling for him to leave. I am human, you are human you need to respect my space and go away. I went back to trying to lock my bike up as I shook intensely. I turned around and he was still standing there. I couldn’t escape without feeling like he would follow me so I yelled for him to leave and then he came and walked over to me again. Me telling him to leave, then firework went off in celebration and he got so intensely scared of the sound that he grabbed me so hard all over my body I didn’t know what his intentions were this time and I yelled “HELP SOMBODY HELP” and pushed him off me and he ran away. I for some reason, finished locking my bike up, looking over my shoulder to make sure he wasn’t there and shaking and I said oh my god what the hell is happening, and I heard a neighbor from somewhere in the distance say “I agree” and I thought, then why don’t you come and do something to help! I saw him again and I yelled at him one last time with all my might standing on the stairs to get the fuck away. And he turned around and that’s when I sneak away, ran around the other side of my apartment so he couldn’t see where I lived. After I yelled at him the neighbors yelled “jeez. Calm down.” And I felt alone. Although I wouldn’t have remembered to yell for help if I hadn’t heard them murmuring before. I went inside, locked the door, kept all the lights off, cried very hard and call the police to file a report. They didn’t find him. I don’t even know if I have the right clothing description because it was so dark and I was so flustered on fight or flight survival mode. It scares me most to think what would have happened if I didn’t turn around. What HAS happened to women who can’t fight back in the moment. It scares me so much to think of the ways it could have gone so very wrong. And I’m grateful I got away. But it’s not okay, at all. And I don’t quite know what to do. Especially since it was outside my own home. And that this can happen to other women and does all the time. I take a vow to always fight for those being abused. I do. And I hope we all can. Rather than being like the neighbors I have and when I scream bloody murder for help, they tell me to calm down instead of coming to check and see what’s going on. Thank you