My neighbor, Ted

Our story begins with Tony and Chris, a newly wedded couple who just bought their first house together. The neighborhood was old and silent, and that’s why they chose it. The house was pretty old, but it was big and very nicely decorated, it was exactly what they needed.

It was the first morning at the house and the sun was shining strong, so Tony decided to sunbathe in the backyard. It was something she always wanted to do, and she didn’t want to help much longer.

“You know how much I wanted this. I’m so happy that we finally have our own place, and we can do what we want,” said Tony happily.

“Have fun babe. I heard it will be hot and sunny all day long,” replied Chris.

She put a bathing suit on and went outside. She lay on a blanket and enjoyed the sun. One time, when she opened her eyes to grab a glass of water, she saw an old man looking at her.

A neighbor, the old man next door, was looking at her from his backyard.

“Hello, Miss. Sorry for staring, but this house has been empty for years, so I was just curious who moved in.”

“Hello. No problem, I understand. How long have you been living here?” asked Tony, getting on her feet.

“For more than 50 years. I know this neighborhood how I know my own house,” he said laughing.

“Sorry for asking, but do you live alone?” asked Tony.

“Yes. My wife died a few years ago,” replied the old man, ''Do you live alone?” he asked.

Tony was already walking to the door, ready to get inside the house. The look that the man had in his eyes was scaring her. He wanted her, in all the ways and any way possible. Tony could easily see the desire he was looking at her with.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, sir. No, I live with my husband,” she replied, “ See you around, have a good day!” said Tony before going inside.

She ran straight into the bedroom, where Chris was playing a video game.

“Chris, a weird old man, is living next to us. He was staring at me, and then he started talking to me. It was very creepy,” said Tony, “He was looking at me with “those” eyes.”

“Maybe he’s just lonely, he wanted to talk to someone,” replied Chris with his eyes still on the game, “I only give you “those” eyes Tony.”

“You haven’t seen him, Chris. You have no idea what you’re talking about.,” said Tony and she left the room.

Tony tried to go on with her day, and she stopped thinking about what happened. To encourage herself, she kept thinking.

“I just understood it all wrong.”

She went out to clean the backyard, and she saw the man again. He was looking over the fence, directly into their yard.

“Can I help you with anything, sir?” asked Tony.

“No no, I’m sorry. Also, don’t call me “sir”, I‘m not that old,” he said smiling. “Call me Ted.”

“I didn’t mean to call you old, but you are older than me.”

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I’m 24,” replied Tony, feeling anxious.

“Where is your husband? I haven’t seen him around yet.” asked the man.

“He’s always inside, he works from home,” she said while putting her hand on the door handle, “I have to go now.”

Tony opened the door and went inside without saying anything else. She looked through the window and saw that the old man was still looking at their house. He was almost smiling, looking at the backyard and the house.

Soon after these events, weird things started happening. Their power lines were cut, their security cameras were broken, and they kept finding things in their backyard.

One day they found a doll, a doll that looked exactly like Tony. The doll was covered in red paint, and it was lying on the ground.

“It’s the old man. I told you so many times Chris. He threw it over the fence,” said Tony looking at the doll.

“Tony, he’s not obsessed with you. Stop it. He’s just an old man,” shouted Chris.

Chris refused to believe that the old man next door was doing all of this. He thought Tony was overreacting and exaggerating, so he wasn’t even fully listening to her.

The creepy things continued, but the creepiest one was yet to come. One night, they both heard something outside, steps and different noises, almost like someone was singing.

“I’m going,” said Chris.

“I’m going with you,” said Tony.

They both went downstairs and started looking at all the windows in the house.

“Come here,” said Tony in a whisper.

Chris went next to her, she was looking out the window that was showing the backyard. Ted, the old man, was there naked, dancing and singing, running around in circles. Chris opened the door and took a few steps toward Ted.

“What are you doing here? This is private property,” said Chris shouting, “Don’t make me call the police,” he added.

Ted didn’t say a word, he just kept singing and dancing. Chris got closer to him, and he gave the man a little push.

“Get out,” shouted Chris.

The old man smiled and jumped the fence back into his backyard. Chris went back inside and locked the door three times. They barely slept that night, because they stayed up, listening and looking through the windows.

That night, Chris started agreeing with Tony, and he apologized for not believing her earlier.

At 8 in the morning, the doorbell rang, and they were still not sleeping, so Tony went downstairs and opened the door. It was Ted.

“Hello, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for everything. I wanted to do anything to get your attention. I’m in love with you,” said the man, “I’ll pay for the power lines and the security cameras,” he added.

“I don’t even know what to say. I’ll just be honest with you. You are creepy, you scare me, and I’d love it if you would keep your distance. I don’t love you and I never will,” she replied and closed the door.

She went inside, confused, and told Chris the whole story. They laughed it off, saying that Ted was just a lonely old man looking for love, he was innocent.

The next day, Tony went out to do some shopping, and Chris stayed home to play video games with his friends.

As he was playing, he heard the front door, he took off his headphones and shouted:

“Please tell me you brought some food. I’m starving.”

He received no answer, so he shouted again, but no answer. He got up and went downstairs. It was silent, he couldn’t hear any movement, and Tony still hadn't answered. As he was going down the stairs, he saw Ted, staying silent in front of the door, with a crowbar in his right hand.

“What the hell are you doing here, you old man? Go back home,” said Chris.

Ted ran toward Chris and hit him with the crowbar on his head. Chris fell to the ground instantly, and the carpet under him was filled with blood. Ted threw the crossbow on the floor and ran upstairs.

When Tony got home, she was welcomed by the image of her husband dead on the floor. She quickly called the police and ran upstairs to change her clothes, and get more money for the hospital.

“He can’t be dead, ” she kept saying as she was going up the stairs.

Ted was waiting for her, just behind the bedroom door. As soon as she got in, he grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth.

He hit her in the head, enough for her to faint, and carried her to his house. Tony woke up in a basement, it was cold, wet, and dark. She started remembering what happened, and she tried thinking of a plan.

“Hello,” she shouted.

Tiny could hear police sirens outside, the police troops she called for Chris. She started crying, her husband was dead, and she was in an old man’s basement.

He opened the basement door and came in, with a glass of water in his hand.

“Here you go, lovely,” he said, handing her the glass.

“You killed my husband. You kidnapped me,” she said, smashing the glass on the floor.

“You’ll stay here forever. You’ll die here with me, in this house,” he said, grabbing her by her hand.

“What’s wrong with you? What would your wife think of this?” shouted Tony.

“Don’t talk about my wife,” he said, slapping her face.

The police looked for Tony for a short time, but they assumed that she killed Chris and ran away. No matter how hard she screamed, no one could hear her. No matter how hard she hoped, no one could ever find her.