My Apartment Manager Made My Life Miserable Because I Wasn't Interested in Him.

I can still remember how excited I was when I moved into my first apartment. I was so grateful to have a space of my own that I overlooked my neighbors waking me at 3 a.m. every morning. I felt proud that I had worked hard and earned my apartment, but my excitement quickly faded and my apartment become a prison cell.

As soon as I moved in, my family noticed that the apartment manager had taken an interest in me. He would ask them about me obsessively. He wanted to know about my hobbies and favorite movies. He asked my sister if I had a boyfriend, and she politely informed him that I wasn't interested.

I wasn't home much because I was working two jobs, but whenever he saw me, he'd make it a point to engage me in conversation. I classified the conversations we had as small talk, with him asking me things about how I liked the apartment or about the weather. Sometimes he'd ask about my hobbies and interests, but I tried not to tell him much about myself because I wasn't interested in him.

I saw him as a bit of a slob, as he wore the same basketball shorts every day and often smelled of urine. I felt annoyed whenever he tried to start a conversation with me after work because I was tired and just wanted to go see my dogs. Despite my annoyance, I was never rude to him. I attempted to keep things professional, but I also kept to myself.

One day, when I went to the office to pay my rent, he started telling me about the weather. It was clear something was different about this conversation. It felt as if he were gathering the courage to ask me on a date. He kept telling me what a beautiful day it was. I just replied that I worked outside, so I was looking forward to spending the day inside, and quickly dismissed myself. I'm still not sure why, but my response set him off.

My air conditioner broke soon after, and he wasn't happy about getting it fixed. He even accused my dogs of breaking it, despite the repairman telling him that a squirrel broke it. I assumed he was angry about the cost of the repairs, but he continued to treat me poorly.

One night, I invited my sister over for dinner. While we were eating, there was an aggressive knock on my door that caused us both to jump. When I opened the door, I found the apartment manager standing outside with the man who lived next door.

I was told that I had to move my car immediately because he had sold my parking spot and the man who lived next door was going to have two spots. I didn't understand why I pay the same amount for my apartment and not getting access to the spot that came with it, but he refused to talk to me about it. He demanded that I move my car immediately, or he would call a tow truck.

Not having a parking spot made it harder for me to get groceries. It also meant that I had to sprint across the parking lot to avoid the apartment manager, who 'pounced' whenever he saw me. It was so unpleasant started only leaving my apartment for work. I couldn't even throw my trash out and had to rely on others to help me. If I had to go anywhere aside from work, I'd wait until it was raining since he didn't seem to want to go out in the rain.

One day when I was leaving for work, I noticed that he'd a note on my car demanding that I park behind the apartment building because my car was 'too embarrassing and would deter future renters from moving in'. I'd had the same car when I signed the lease, so I ignored the note.

The same day, I let my dogs into my fenced 'backyard' to do their business and heard them barking not too long after. I rushed outside to see the apartment manager outside with a pressure washer. He hadn't been pressure washing when I let them out, but it disgusted me when I saw him trying to wet my dogs with it. He even tried to wet me when I rushed outside to scoop my dogs up.

The next day, he left a threatening note on my door, demanding that I keep my dogs inside. He claimed they were making too much noise, and that he'd 'make me get rid of them or move out' if they didn't stay inside. He told me I could no longer let them out to go to the bathroom, so I had to come up with a solution for them to use the bathroom inside.

My unfurnished apartment felt like a prison. I had moved on my own because I wanted my independence, but my apartment manager had taken that from me. I also worried that he would use his key to my apartment to let himself in.

The stress took a toll on me, and I ended up losing one of my jobs. I soon began struggling to afford an apartment that I'd never be able to enjoy. I knew that I couldn't live there any longer and moved out while the apartment manager was away. I broke my lease, but it was worth it to have my safety.