I had just left my usual coffee shop, it had been more crowded than usual so I didn't stay long after ordering. I had tried to read the book I had brought along but the noise became unbearable and I left.

I found myself completely lost in thought as I walked down the recently rain-drenched street. It had grown dark so early. I hated February, it's a good thing it was the shortest month of the year.

As I continued down the dark streets trying my best to avoid the alleys, I felt something strange. The feeling of being watched. ‘Stupid bitch, you watch too many true crime shows, and now your alone walking home and you're just paranoid.'

I quickly shook off the feeling and that’s when I heard, “Hey Kate! Wait up, Stop walking so fast." I slowly turned around nervous even though I instantly recognized the distinct annoying voice of my coworker Valerie. "Hey I saw you at the coffee shop, and I tried yelling over the noise but you didn't hear me. Boy, was it loud in there tonight."

“Yeah, I think there was an event going on in the back room. Probably trivia night or something." I tried my best to pretend I wasn't agitated but at least I wasn't walking home alone now. Valerie lived in the same apartment building just a couple of doors down from me. I never could get a break from her. My roommate Annie called her my parrot.

"Brrr- it's cold," she said as she did the annoying fake shiver thing. God, I hated her. She then did something completely bizarre even for her. She tried to wrap an arm around me. “I don't want you catching cold."

I shook her off almost aggressively and I felt a little bad about it but I was just a little surprised. “Actually, I run hot, so I'm just fine.”

She smiled a big cheesy grin at that. "Yeah you do," she replied which instantly made my face turn several shades of red.

Luckily, we had arrived at the building. It was a big brownstone that looked a lot like the one in Rosemary's Baby. This was, of course, a big part of its charm.

“Oh look, we're here," I said trying to keep the enthusiasm out of my voice. After all, I had to see her every day, all the time. I didn't want to hurt her feelings and make things even more awkward between us.

“Want me to make sure you get to your door safely?" she asked.

"My knight-- I mean, Queen in shining armor. No, I'm good, after all, you'll be able to see me as I go into my door while you are going into yours..."

She looked disappointed and maybe slightly hurt. I felt bad and I guess that was a bit rude. Fuck, I just couldn't take any more, I needed to be alone now, and the stress of the day had already sat in hours ago.

She didn't let it phase her long. “Okay, Kate, I'll see you tomorrow."

I unlocked my door and gave her a nod and a half wave, before going in, closing the door and letting out a big sigh of relief.

My cat Chuckles ran over to me purring loudly. He was a big orange cat who always seemed happy. I picked him up, hugged him to me and gave him a kiss on his fuzzy forehead. “I fucking love you, Chuckles. The rest of the world is garbage, but you are awesome."

After setting him down, I opened a can of food for him, which he busily ate while still somehow continuing his purring. While Chuckles stuffed his fat little face I walked into the next room, stripped off my clothes and jumped into the shower.

The hot water fell in a torrent and cascaded down my body, after a few minutes I was finally beginning to feel relaxed. As I just started to lose myself in the sound of falling water and warmth I heard a noise at my door, scraaape, scraaape.

“Cut it out Chuckles, you can't come in here every time I'm in here." It continued "Fucking stop it, I know there is some weird cat law that states that humans can't be in their bathroom alone, but just for once quit!"

After a couple more scrape sounds, it stopped and I began to rinse my hair. I looked down at my breasts, at the water beads that had formed, and admired them for a brief moment before turning off the shower and stepping out. I wrapped one towel around my head and one around my body and was about to leave the room, when something on the mirror caught my eye.

It was a crudely drawn heart. 'Meh,' I thought. My roommate had a thing for drawing on the mirror and sometimes when it fogs up again it shows back up. She usually drew cats or wrote messages like, 'Kate is a giant cunt,' and sometimes she drew a penis. She was totally obnoxious.

I had a talk with her several times about how every time she has been in there I end up having to take the Windex to the mirror. Then she, of course, said that she paid half the rent and was rarely here because she was at her boyfriend’s house. So if I wanted to live on my own and try to pay the rent with what I made at the office I could try and she would just move in with her boyfriend Phillip. Her bluff worked even though I knew she was just with Phillip because of his large cock, and that she wasn't really into serious relationships.

After thinking about it a few moments more, I realized that it had to have been Annie. I then dried off the rest of the way and threw on some pj's and snuggled into bed. Soon Chuckles was cuddling me, and I fell into a deep coma-like sleep and only woke when the phone wouldn't quit ringing. The ringing had begun in my dreams, "No Mom, I don't want to talk right now," I said and as usual, talking in my sleep always jarred me awake.

I fumbled out of bed and zombie walked in my living room, where I groggily answered the phone. If it's a scam call telling me I need to pay my college loan I'm going to be so fucking pissed.

"Hello," I mumbled and waited for a reply but instead all I heard was some breathing on the other end.

"Hello?" I said again this time slightly more awake and clearly beginning to get triggered.

Nothing. Just breathing. I looked over at the clock and it said, 3 AM. Which made me even madder.

"Okay, look whoever you are, it's not really funny and I have to sleep, I have work in a while."

No response, just breathing. Clearly, an asshole prank calling me.

The next morning I quickly made breakfast (coffee), got dressed in my dressy but casual slacks and blouse, and brushed my hair to the point it was painful. Then I took off running. I still had to catch the subway to work.

I got to the office and sat down at my desk and began my usual typing, trying to tune out everyone around me. I hated the sound of so many people typing at once. It felt like needles being dug into my brain. I debated sneaking out my phone and plugging headphones into it and listening to one of my music playlists on YouTube, or listening to me, true crime channel, but just as I was about to fish my phone out of my purse, Valerie came to my desk.

She was holding a vase full of roses and a card, “Someone dropped these off at the front desk for you," she said with a strange tone in her voice.

I felt my eyebrows automatically rise with curiosity and skepticism "Oh? Who?" I asked my voice clearly puzzled.

“I don't know. There's a card though, so they probably will have signed it.”

I took the card from her and she sat the vase of mystery roses on my desk. To my annoyance, she lingered for a moment obviously waiting for me to open the card.

I gave her a fuck off please look, and she quickly vanished to her own desk, which was equally as annoying as her. It was covered in trolls and light up plastic cactus that sang when you pressed a button, and she was constantly pressing it.

As I quickly ripped apart the envelope, I was surprised to realize how excited I was. It was a plain and simple card covered in generic hearts. I opened it, and read the brief unsettling message inside:

“You understand, I know you do, the way my heart beats when I look at you, the way my eyes are filled with only you."

'Jesus fucking Christ,' I thought. It wasn't signed and I didn't know how to feel. Flattered? Terrified? No, scrap the flattered. Very terrified. 'Who the fuck was this person?'

I kept staring at it, I didn't recognize the handwriting, nothing felt familiar about it, I held the card up to my nose in search of any traces of cologne or perfume, but it just smelled like a brand new Hallmark card.

I felt eyes on me, and looked up to find Valerie just staring at me. Looking at me with that dumb smile she always had on her face. That's when I knew it had to be her. Last night she had tried to wrap her arms around me, and then all this started. Nothing weird had been happening until last night, 'But why?' I asked myself. ‘Because she is a fucking weirdo, that’s why.'

Time past by relatively quickly because my mind was distracted, and anxious. Before I knew it, it was time to go home. I couldn't believe how preoccupied I had become.

I was getting ready to walk out the door and home. When Valerie ran up to me. "Mind if I walk you home Kate?" I felt my heart jump into my chest, but reminded myself that Valerie was just obnoxious not dangerous. She was just... Awkward.

“No, sorry not today, I have to visit my mom," I lied. I was going to take the subway home and hopefully, beat Val. Then I'd double bolt my door, and hope to god Annie was back from staying with Phillip because I really didn't want to be home by myself right now.

Valerie frowned, "Well, okay. Another time then." She walked off and seemed to be singing something as she did, which caused a shiver to flood my entire body, what a ghoul.

I had gotten on the subway and somehow I had fallen asleep. When I awoke there was a hand on my leg caressing it. I froze staring at it in a stupor, afraid to move. The hand was very clearly male. 'Don't be afraid, you’re on a subway with other people. He can't do anything to you, just look at him and confront him,' I told myself.

I turned slowly to face him. He was older and not in the least bit familiar. He was dressed in a worn out suit and tie and had a small amount of stubble. He resembled a very broken down businessman. He hadn't moved his hand from my leg and he was still caressing. I cleared my throat, "Listen, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you can't go around doing this. You can't follow me about, and you can't send me notes, or caress my legs on a subway!"

He let out a loud burp, and held out a whiskey flask to me. “How bout a drink then sexy."

I ignored him, moved several seats down, and awaited my stop. I was confused maybe it wasn't him maybe he was just some disgusting guy on a subway.

I stepped off the subway, and turned to see the strange and awful man had gotten off with me. I started walking faster than, as fast as my heels would allow, hearing them click against the pavement and occasional scrape as I started to lose my footing. What did he want? Why was he following me?

My heart was thumping loudly in my chest. My head dizzy as panic mode attempted to set in. The streets were dark and lonely not a person to be seen. As I desperately looked around for any signs of life I hurried past the crosswalk, it was on red, but it didn't matter. I ignored the warning, and continued hastily across. There was not a car to be seen; which seemed odd. It was usually pretty crowded and unnerving no matter the hour, but life always worked in some inconvenient ways.

I had been trying not to look behind me, but finally, I did. He was still walking behind me, but it was at a slow pace. I breathed a sigh of relief as I rounded the corner near my apartment building.

I then ran down the sidewalk and quickly unlocked my door and closed it.

I made my shower quick, cracked open a can of food for chuckles, and watched him eat.

"Chuckles I’m scared. Someone's been harassing me. It just started but it feels like it’s been going on forever, I can't think of who it can be, except maybe Valerie. Or maybe this guy I encountered on the subway but I think he was just a gross creepy drunk. Sherlock Chuckles, who do you, think it is? Do you think its Valerie? I know you hate her too."

Chuckles continued to eat and ignored me as usual. "Whatever Chuckles. I'm going to bed, please be on guard duty."

I didn't sleep so well. I had nightmares and tossed and turned. In my dream, I got stabbed to death in the shower while I was shampooing my hair. When I woke up I was a sweaty clammy mess.

I looked at my calendar, Feb 14th. 'Oh great.'

I felt wrecked and ended up skipping work. I called in sick and sat on my couch flipping through channels on my TV throughout the entire day. It got dark and I felt scared. 'Annie, why aren't you back yet?' I thought. She should be back by now.

I didn't want to be alone, but the idea of calling someone or going out scared me, but to my surprise, Phillip showed up at my door.

I was confused when I looked out my peephole and saw his unmistakable appearance, tall, dark and handsome a complete cliché.

I opened the door, "Hey Phil--" Before I could finish my sentence his mouth was over mine and his tongue, warm and moist, was working its way into my mouth. I felt shocked but then began to push him away, breaking away from his kiss. "What are you doing here?" I asked slightly out of breath from the kiss.

"I got to thinking and I missed you." I felt conflicted at his words, I was happy he missed me, but unhappy that he would just assume it was okay to show up like this. My body was betraying me as I felt myself growing instantly wet and tingling all over. His hands were all over me, running up and down my body, gripping my tits, and squeezing my ass.

'This is wrong. I should fight this harder,' I thought to myself but my mind began to go and all I could think of was having his cock driving deep inside of me. Before I knew it, our clothes were off, and our bodies were writhing together on the bed.

Flesh to flesh, his heart beating alongside mine, his hands moved down to pry my legs open further. He lined his thick throbbing cock up with my glistening cunt and slammed it in, in one fast hard motion. I let out a loud moan.

As he began thrusting it in and out of me. My pussy was wetter than it had ever been, and for a moment I wondered if maybe it was him. Was I in danger? Something about that possibility made me want it even more. The bed was rocking the headboard began smacking hard into the wall chipping some of the drywall. My pussy was gushing around his cock.

"Fuck me, like you want to kill me," I screamed out. With that, he began slamming in deeper and harder to the point it was almost painful.

He was grunting and groaning. "God, I fucking missed your tight cunt."

My pussy clamped down around his cock, milking it wanting him to drain every last drop of his seed into me. He rammed into me one final time before exploding inside of me.

I lay still with him collapsed on top of me, breathing hard, head pounding.

“That was amazing," I finally said, ”You know you could have just told me how you felt instead of sending me that creepy card."

He was quiet for a long time, then he began to reach over the bed slowly for something, his eyes were intense, and I held my breath just waiting for the knife to drain my life. Instead, he was pressing a card into my hand.

“Dear Phil, I know you fucked my roommate, I found her panties under the sofa cushions awhile back, we do our laundry together, of course, I would recognize them! I just decided to enjoy that fat cock of yours a few more times before letting you know it’s all over. Also, you can tell my roommate that she is a cunt and I hope she dies."

I gasped, she knew all this time and somehow never once let on, it baffled me and I felt embarrassed that she knew, not as guilty as I thought I would feel but embarrassed.

And then I told him, about the heart on the mirror, the card, and flowers sent at work the constant feelings of being followed and watched.

He sat there and then began to shake his head. “Annie would never do anything like that, it serves her no purpose."

He was right I wasn't sure what purpose it would serve, but freaking someone out was probably fairly good revenge.

“Why did you come and fuck me, instead of going out and looking for her, shouldn't you be trying to get her back."

He shrugged, “When it’s over its over, besides you’re a great fuck Kate and I needed to be up inside that again."

Something about the way he said that made my stomach churn with regret. “Oh, so that's how it is, I'm just a great fuck. How about you get the fuck out Phil.”

He looked at me. “I guess this means you won't be my valentine." Then calmly walked out the door. Which I slammed shut after him.

I felt like breaking everything, and I wasn't sure why. Maybe because I had thought for an instant it was more than just fucking for him.

“That's it I'm going out and I'm going to get so drunk I forget about all of this,” I told myself.
I went to my closet to grab some clothes, I opened it and instantly regretted it, there was Annie.

"Oh god. I'm sorry you saw that, Annie. It was a weak moment I realize I have been stupid. Please forgive me, I'm sorry." I knew I sounded pathetic. "Please say something, don't just stand there silently."

I opened the closet door wider, and that's when I screamed. She fell out on top of me, her body a lifeless pale corpse. Her throat was gashed open, and on her cheek drawn in her blood was a heart. Tied to her wrist in a bow was a card, “Be my Valentine."

I pushed her off me, and scrambled up off the floor still in a panic. I was breathing hard my anxiety had never been this bad before, but I guess that was probably because I had never had a corpse fall on me before.

'What should I do? Call the police.' I looked around for my cellphone wondering where I had put it. 'The house phone use, the house phone.' Until the call I had received the other day on it, I had pretty much forgotten it existed.

I ran and began to dial 9 and then 1 my finger was about to press down on the 1 again when I heard a voice behind me, “I had to do it"

My eyes grew wide with terror, the killer...

I turned around to look at what I expected to be Valerie but it wasn't, It was someone I had never seen in my life. She was by all accounts gorgeous even though she was standing there knife in hand and completely dripping in blood.

I was about to ask who she was and why, but my mouth had gone dry and I couldn't choke the words out.

“I did it for you, she was going to hurt you, and she hated you."

She stepped a little closer to me as she continued speaking about Annie.

"People wait their entire lives for their soulmate. Someone to understand them and make them whole. The first time I saw you, that night in the coffee shop I knew. And when you ordered the same drink as me, a Downtown Dublin espresso blended, I knew, I had finally found the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."