9x24: The Devil in the Walls - Let's Not Meet

[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show. My name is Andrew Tate and this is Season 9, Episode 24 of Lets Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast.

[00:00:51] This happened to me when I was around nine years old. I'm 25 now. I've been thinking about telling this story for a while. This will be my first time telling this story since it happened.

[00:01:03] This may not be scary to some listeners, but it terrified me, my older siblings, and my little cousin. This story took place in Miami, Florida, in an area called Richmond Heights. My five little cousins, my older brother, my older sister, and I were home alone at

[00:01:22] my grandma's house due to my parents and grandma needing to run a few errands during the evening time. We were all inside the house doing different things. My cousins were scattered throughout the house, some of them were playing or napping while

[00:01:36] others were in the living room watching TV with my siblings and I. Out of nowhere, we heard a knock at the door. It couldn't be my parents or grandma because they had house keys. They wouldn't need to knock.

[00:01:52] My older brother, who is the oldest out of all of us, went to look through the peephole. He ran back to us with a scared look on his face. He told everyone, shh, be quiet, turn off the TV and the lights.

[00:02:08] We were all worried and wondering what was going on. My brother ran and grabbed our cousins who were watching TV with us and brought everyone into the living room. Once we were all together, he told us the scariest thing any child could hear.

[00:02:23] He said, listen, I need you all to be as quiet as possible. There's a man at the door with a rifle in his hand. My cousins started crying and asked, are we going to die? Which caused me to start crying as well.

[00:02:39] My brother reassured us to the best of his ability even though he was a bit shaken and frightened himself. He said, nobody's dying, just stay quiet, don't move, and don't make any loud sounds. We'll all be fine.

[00:02:54] I can't imagine the amount of stress that he was under having to comfort five little ones plus my sister and me. After a while, the man with the rifle knocked on the door again. We all stayed quiet. We just listened.

[00:03:12] As we were listening, we heard grass rustling in the backyard. We became even more nervous because the backyard door was in the same room that we were. All he had to do was break the glass on the door and there we were, huddled up.

[00:03:30] My brother snuck into my grandma's room where he could view the yard outside without being seen due to how the room was angled. What he saw scared the shit out of him. He thought that it was the man from the front door walking around my grandma's house, but

[00:03:46] there were actually three men with huge rifles circling around the house looking for an entry. My brother grabbed the phone, called my parents, and begged them to come back quickly. He explained what was going on so my parents stopped everything and raced back to my grandma's house.

[00:04:06] My dad called the police from his phone while my mom was still on the phone with my brother. My brother came back to us and said, guys, I know this is scary but I need you guys to be really still.

[00:04:16] There are three men outside and they all have guns. I started to cry, holding onto my sister who tried to comfort me. We all sat there while these men circled the house and knocked on the windows and doors from all angles.

[00:04:33] Then one of the men spoke and said, I know you guys are there alone. We saw your parents leave. We just want to talk to you. We all remained quiet. My brother whispered what the man just said to my mom.

[00:04:48] I remember being able to hear the panic in my brother's voice. Finally after what felt like hours, even though it was probably just ten minutes, we heard sirens in the distance. The gunmen heard the sirens too because they yelled, let's go. They all ran from the backyard.

[00:05:06] Soon after we saw police lights outside and an officer knocked on the door yelling, police, open the door. So my brother opened the door and let the officer in while the other officers went to check around the back of the house.

[00:05:20] The police officer was nice and reassured us that we were safe now. Then we heard tires screeching. It was my parents. They ran up the driveway to us and hugged us so tight that we couldn't breathe.

[00:05:32] Of course the officers didn't find these gunmen so nothing ever came of this. The officer told my parents and us to be careful. They told us to call them immediately if the men came back.

[00:05:46] We never saw the men again and my grandma ended up moving after this incident as she lived alone and did not feel safe anymore. I'm 25 and married now. My cousins are all teenagers and my older sister and brother are in their early 30s.

[00:06:01] Ever since that day, it's been hard for me to stay home alone for long periods of time. My husband doesn't even know this story yet. But to those gunmen who were stalking my grandma's house to do God knows what to us, let's not meet.

[00:06:18] We kids are all grown up now and will not hesitate to defend ourselves or each other if necessary. I've worked in multiple hotels around the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texas. Because of this, I have a lot of hotel stories but this one has stuck with me.

[00:06:49] I was on the 3 to 11 p.m. shift one night and it was fairly slow. Some people checked in, asked questions, and requested towels, pillows, or blankets, the normal stuff. As the evening wore on, the lobby died down around 9.

[00:07:06] Side note, the hotel that I worked at was not huge, maybe 85 rooms. The hotel was right off the highway in a kind of rural town. Between 3 in the afternoon and 7 in the morning, there's only one person scheduled to work

[00:07:20] reception and there are no maintenance people, housekeeping staff, or anyone available during that time. Being that alone was scary sometimes. At this hotel, I had regular guests who I saw often which made me feel safe.

[00:07:37] These regular guests were mostly people who stayed at the hotel since they traveled for work often. Some of these regulars were men who told me that I could call them if I ever needed help. Of course, none of these regulars were here on the night that this happened.

[00:07:55] Since this evening was so slow, I was video chatting with my boyfriend. Video chatting with him made me feel safe because at least he could somewhat see and hear what was going on. I heard the ding of the elevator and someone coming down to the lobby.

[00:08:10] I told my boyfriend to be quiet since a guest was coming. A man in a t-shirt and jeans with no shoes exited the elevator and approached the reception desk. Hey there, how can I help you? I asked generically. We've got a problem, he laughed.

[00:08:29] Oh no, what's the problem? I asked, preparing for the standard problem. You have to come up to my room, he insisted. This didn't register as weird to me just yet.

[00:08:41] Lots of guests requested for me to go up to their room to take a look at things that were broken or didn't seem to be working. I'm unable to do that because I have to stay at the desk but if you tell me what the issue

[00:08:53] is I can try to help you, I offered. No, you have to come up to my room and see for yourself, he replied blankly no longer laughing. I can't do that sir, I reaffirmed.

[00:09:07] Look I'm not one of those weird people, I know you probably think that I'm crazy. Look he insisted as he pulled out his wallet and showed me a badge and ID card, I'm a cop.

[00:09:19] I believe you, I don't think you're crazy, I'm just not allowed to leave the desk. Tell me, what's going on in your room? I didn't believe him, I thought that he was being odd.

[00:09:32] I took a thorough look at him, his jeans and socks were muddy like he had been rolling around outside, his shirt was on backwards and inside out and his hair looked really dirty.

[00:09:43] You're not going to believe me unless you go up there and take a look for yourself, I'll even stand outside the door while you go in, he persisted. Sir I can't, I replied. Even if he stood outside the door, I would never agree to that.

[00:10:00] Okay then, I'm not staying in that room, there's a devil in the wall, he explained. Um okay, how about I get you moved into a different room on a completely different floor, I suggested while giving him the number of a vacant room.

[00:10:16] No, is there another devil near that room? He said. It looks like I have another room a couple of doors down from that, I offered. I know you don't believe me, you have to go up there and look, the devil is in the

[00:10:32] wall and his face is coming out, he continued. I didn't want to argue so I told him that I would look at the room after he switched rooms, I had no intention of checking his room out by myself though.

[00:10:47] It seemed like telling him that I would check out the room eventually calmed him down so he took the keys to the other room. I'll be out of the old room and into the new one in five minutes, then you can go up

[00:11:00] and see for yourself, he said. Okay, I will when I have a chance, I replied. The man left and I didn't hear from him for a while. My boyfriend remained on the video call during the entire conversation.

[00:11:14] He didn't like that I was alone, this man made both of us feel weird. My boyfriend told me not to go upstairs because the guy seemed like he was playing some sort of game and he thought that he had bad intentions, just from hearing him over the phone.

[00:11:31] I felt it too. I listened to my boyfriend and I stayed at the desk. He stayed on the call with me. I checked in a couple more guests while stocking some of the things at the counter. I also cleaned up the area to keep myself busy.

[00:11:48] Though the situation was over, I assumed that the guy was happy in the new devil free room. I guess he wasn't as content as I thought because he came down again 45 minutes later, cursing under his breath.

[00:12:01] He stared at me intensely as he walked through the lobby and out the front doors. This is fucking bullshit, so stupid, he said. I felt uncomfortable with how intensely he stared at me. I didn't say anything as he walked past me and left the hotel.

[00:12:20] He had a big dirty duffel bag with him. He got in his truck and pulled away. I still had another hour left with my shift until my coworker would be there with me. I waited impatiently.

[00:12:32] When my coworker finally arrived, I rushed him over to clock in so that we could go up to the room where this man was together and we could see what in the world he was talking about. I explained the entire situation and how weird the guy was acting.

[00:12:48] My coworker was just as interested as I was to find out what was really going on. We got up to the room and looked around. It was a bit dirty. The blankets were torn off the beds and were thrown onto the floor.

[00:13:01] But there wasn't a devil in the walls. There was a spot of paint with a color that was slightly different from the color of the rest of the room. It was probably where the maintenance staff painted over a stain or something.

[00:13:16] Nothing else was off about the room though. We checked the closet, checked the restroom, but we couldn't figure out what the man was talking about. Did he use the other room? My coworker asked.

[00:13:28] He said he was going to the other room right after I gave him the keys, so I think so, I answered. We walked over to the other room, went in, but everything looked clean. There wasn't any dirt from his boots, pants, or duffel bag.

[00:13:45] The beds were perfectly made and untouched. My coworker and I looked at each other and felt uneasy again. I think he was waiting for you to come up to the first room, my coworker said. What was the man planning to do when I got up there?

[00:14:02] I don't know what would have happened in that room if I would have gone up and checked, but I don't want to know. To the disturbing man that saw the devil in a hotel wall, let's not meet.

[00:14:31] During my first year of university, I worked at a chain restaurant. I was in between friend groups and was in the process of ending a tumultuous relationship with my summer boyfriend. This summer boyfriend showed up unannounced at my new place of work begging to talk, so

[00:14:49] I asked to switch shifts to avoid him. My new shift began at 4 in the morning and ended at around 9 or 10, in time for me to head to class right after. My shift was chaotic in the early hours as people grabbed breakfast and fueled up on

[00:15:06] coffee before work, but there was downtime between the rushes. One day during downtime, I began to form a friendship with the star of the show, Ben. I'm a 5 foot female with wavy blonde hair and green eyes.

[00:15:24] Ben was over 6 foot 5 with one eye that appeared larger than the other. He had an awkward slanted smile and he was 32 at the time. I have always found myself to be drawn to awkward individuals.

[00:15:38] I just find unique people more interesting to be around, more enjoyable than the cookie cutter personalities I would so often encounter. The other women at work seemed to avoid Ben. They would even ignore him if he spoke to them.

[00:15:54] This was initially what made me want to strike up a conversation with him. I felt bad for him. Ben worked in the wee hours of the morning with me and we bonded over having similar tastes in music and movies.

[00:16:07] I began to enjoy my early morning shifts with my new friend and any uncertainty I might have had about this slightly odd guy melted away. He and I became very close friends. A year later, I found out that my updated school schedule clashed with my opening hours

[00:16:23] at the restaurant. I ended up pursuing a temporary career at an Italian restaurant in town, which was where I met my future husband, Oliver. Ben and I continued to talk daily, even though we were no longer co-workers.

[00:16:38] We would text each other constantly about mundane things, jokes, new bands that we liked, etc. We also grabbed lunch together, went to the movies together, and hung out fairly often. After I began to date Oliver, things obviously slowed down with Ben.

[00:16:57] Oliver wasn't crazy about Ben, but he wasn't a controlling guy. Oliver didn't want to get in the way of my friendship with Ben. Shortly after Oliver and I started dating, I found myself in need of a new roommate.

[00:17:11] Oliver had four roommates at the time and lived in a party house on campus. While I enjoyed the parties and my time with Oliver, I was not interested in living in a house full of men. Ben offered to have me move in with him.

[00:17:24] He painted the perfect picture saying that I would be living rent-free with a good friend. Ben said that I was, of course, welcome to live with him. Obviously this sounded incredible as the paycheck I received bi-weekly as a hostess was lackluster.

[00:17:41] I moved in with Ben soon after and all seemed well. All I had at the time was two or three bags of clothing, no furniture. Ben told me that I could have his bed since he preferred sleeping on the couch anyway.

[00:17:55] As the weeks went by, everything seemed great. Ben and I got along. We took care of the apartment and hung out between my time with my other friends, Oliver, and school. Until one day, things took a very dark turn.

[00:18:11] I was in bed when I suddenly woke up with the feeling of dread. When I opened my eyes, there was a massive shape standing in the doorway. I quickly realized that it was Ben. I typically only slept in my underwear with the door closed.

[00:18:30] I pulled the covers up around me and groggily asked, Ben, is that you? He didn't say anything. He continued to stand there with his gigantic frame filling the doorway. After a few moments of this, he stepped into the room and then he sat on the corner of

[00:18:50] the bed. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that he was clutching something in his hand. It looked like it was a piece of cloth, maybe. Ben sat there in silence until I finally said something to him again. Hey, man, I asked almost breathlessly. Did you need something?

[00:19:11] It's pretty early. He finally spoke. I talked to my mom earlier. Do you know what she said? She said it would be something incredible if you and I fell in love. You know, after living together and being such good friends. I stared at him.

[00:19:32] Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or awake. This was such a strange encounter and my half-awake brain just wasn't processing what was happening. I think I said something like, yeah, that would be wild before rolling over and falling asleep again.

[00:19:51] The next morning, I had almost forgotten about what happened. The interaction was so creepy and it felt dreamlike. I figured there was no way this close friend of mine was watching me sleep like a fucking serial killer. Then I saw my clothing bag.

[00:20:08] I remembered that Ben was holding a piece of cloth during our weird conversation. I noticed several pairs of my underwear were strewn across my bedroom on the floor like they had been rummaged through. I could tell there was something missing.

[00:20:26] I immediately called Oliver and told him about what was going on with Ben through shaky tears. Oliver encouraged me to move out that day and I decided that I was going to.

[00:20:39] The plan was to have Oliver pick me up that night when he got back into town and I would stay with him until I decided what I wanted to do. I packed up my belongings and stayed in my bedroom all day long.

[00:20:51] I did not venture into the other parts of the apartment as I didn't want to hear Ben try to explain himself or even worse, not even acknowledge what was going on. I could hear Ben moving around the apartment throughout the day.

[00:21:06] He's a big guy so every footstep felt like it shook the floor. I remember realizing how small and defenseless I truly was against this man. I questioned everything that I ever knew about him. I had believed he was my best friend.

[00:21:22] The evening finally came and Oliver texted me to let me know that he was coming to get me. I had this sense of dread and I begged Oliver not to knock on the door or to come into the apartment.

[00:21:35] I was worried about Ben's reaction and I even felt like I was betraying Ben. Looking back now, I know this is completely absurd but at the time I couldn't help but feel so guilty. I think I was just ashamed of my own misjudgment.

[00:21:52] I waited for Ben to start snoring. I wanted to confirm that he was deep in sleep before sneaking out with my belongings. I quietly opened the door to the apartment and gently closed it behind me. Oliver was waiting patiently in the hallway.

[00:22:09] He took my bags and I gently slid my key into Ben's apartment under the door. And that's when I felt it, the shaking floor. I felt Ben's footsteps booming before I could even hear them.

[00:22:24] The door swung open and Ben stood there, his face in a heat of rage. I looked up at him. That look that I saw in his eyes was wild. It made my blood run cold. Never had I seen someone look at me with such hate before.

[00:22:39] And that's exactly what filled Ben's eyes, pure hate. Where do you, he began, his voice now growling, where do you think you're going? Oliver pushed ahead of me and said, we're leaving, your key's on the floor.

[00:22:57] And with that, Oliver steered my frozen body out of the apartment building and into his car. By the time Oliver and I reached his house, I was hysterical. My head rushed with thoughts and fears. I felt so fucking naive.

[00:23:11] After that night, I started receiving texts from strange numbers saying things like, whore, die slut. And even, I miss you. I received a barrage of it all. I knew that it was Ben. The texts eventually stopped and things started to calm down.

[00:23:30] One day, Oliver dropped me off for my shift. As a restaurant hostess, I had to basically stay in one spot all day at the front. Then Ben walked in. He didn't say a thing. He just sat in one of the booths and stared at me furiously.

[00:23:49] I was so afraid that he was there. My hands would shake whenever I handled menus and seated guests. I tried to avoid eye contact with Ben, but I could feel his eyes on me, watching me, my every move. I texted Oliver. Ben showed up.

[00:24:07] Oliver responded, I'm almost there. The next few minutes were excruciating. I felt my skin tingle under Ben's glare. I was shaking so much that I thought that I might pass out from fear and exhaustion.

[00:24:22] Finally, Oliver entered from the back door of the restaurant, taking both me and Ben by surprise. As soon as Ben saw Oliver, he grabbed a metal toothpick dispenser and chucked it at Oliver's head. Ben narrowly missed hitting Oliver and he bolted out the door.

[00:24:41] Oliver chased after Ben, but he quickly drove off in his green sedan. I sent Ben a text letting him know that if I ever saw him or received another message from him again, I would be contacting the police.

[00:24:54] Thirteen years have gone by since that incident and Ben never contacted me again. So to Ben, let's make it another 313 years before we ever meet again. I was 14 years old when I met Joe. He was a new kid in my 8th grade class.

[00:25:25] He sat beside me in my first period science class. Joe was older than me as he had been held back a couple of years for being suspended and failing classes. He started out fine, he was very talkative, kind, and funny and all of the girls thought

[00:25:41] that he was very handsome. Joe and I began this short-lived friendship, speaking in class and then catching up in the hallway. We even texted and went to a few baseball games together with our mutual friends. I started to notice that Joe would get obsessed with certain girls.

[00:26:00] In particular, he confessed his love for his neighbor at the time. She had a boyfriend and she was three grades ahead of us and felt odd that he had no conscience of her having a boyfriend.

[00:26:15] He confessed his love for her after knowing her for only a couple of weeks. Joe and this neighbor only talked to each other a few times at the time of this love confession. He posted photos that he took of her online without her permission.

[00:26:31] He would also post pictures that he had taken off of her Facebook page. He wrote letters to her and he went to her house to profess his love. I started distancing myself because I thought that this was so freaking weird.

[00:26:46] She eventually confronted him and told him that she didn't love him. This girl's mom helped her file a restraining order against him. A month or two went by and Joe started to get very flirty with me.

[00:26:59] I didn't think anything of it because he was always playful in conversation, but this was different. He flirted by saying things like, I'm going to marry you or I can't wait for you to have our children. It was very uncomfortable, but it wasn't something my adolescent self comprehended

[00:27:18] as completely creepy even considering he was three years older than I was at the time. Joe began to text me constantly and he wrote me letters. He began to follow me in the hallway at school and check on me in classes throughout the day.

[00:27:33] Yes, he would walk into other classes that he wasn't in and check on me. His letters would say things like, to the love of my life, I want to walk with you forever. I want to touch you forever. I want to be with you and nobody else.

[00:27:49] The thought of you leaving me would kill me. I would not survive. This started to concern me. He would follow me to the bathroom and wait outside for me. This didn't just last a few weeks. This lasted for four years. I dated other people and Joe hated it.

[00:28:08] He would threaten them and write them Facebook posts telling whoever I was dating that I was his and I just didn't know it yet. He ventured into dating, but the few girls he dated would find me and message me to tell

[00:28:23] me that they broke up with Joe because he confessed his love for me. He said that he didn't want to hurt me by dating other people. I grew very jealous of my relationships and started sending me flowers or gifts at school. It was too much.

[00:28:40] I grew very cynical about it. I would give his gifts away or throw his flowers away in the trash. When I was 16, I started driving myself to basketball and football games and met up with my friends there.

[00:28:54] We would always see him right when we pulled into the parking lot. He would always meet me where I parked the car and walk me inside the game. I started having a friend meet me by my car in the parking lot. Joe did not like this.

[00:29:08] He started poking fun at it and he wouldn't leave me alone. He began sitting around me at the games. He would always approach me to give me things. He would ask me deeply personal questions about me and my boyfriend.

[00:29:21] I would always find another seat to try and get away from him. There was one basketball game in particular where he was sitting two rows ahead of me because that was as far away as I could get.

[00:29:32] I saw that he went to unlock his phone and he had a picture of me as his phone background. It was weird because it was a photo that I had never even put on the internet. I ended up leaving the game because I was terrified at this point.

[00:29:48] That photo had only been on my phone, meaning that he had to access my phone at some point. The next day my friends told me about how Joe showed them an entire gallery of photos that he had of me.

[00:30:02] Some of them were from online and some of the pictures he had taken of me sitting at my desk in class. It was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced. Joe found out where I lived. He had control of my phone somehow.

[00:30:18] He was exposing pictures of me and my private messages. He knew my parents' names and he followed my brother who was living at home around town to see if I was meeting up with him. He knew too much and I started to grow worrisome.

[00:30:33] I couldn't even go to the store or out to the movies with friends without seeing Joe there. He knew my every move. He talked about wanting to do sexual things with him at school and then he went into detail

[00:30:46] about what he would do if he pulled me into one of the closets. At this time he was 19, writing letters and following 16 year old me around. He handed me a letter pleading for me to be with him saying that he couldn't live without me.

[00:31:03] This would be the last letter I ever got from him because I went off in the hallway in front of everyone. I yelled at him and told him to never talk to me again and called him a creep. He cried and stormed off.

[00:31:15] Thankfully that was the last day of school before summer. During the summer there were occasional Facebook messages from him begging for me to love him but he never responded. I found out that he was moving to Florida just before the junior year was about to start

[00:31:32] so I blocked his phone number and I blocked him on all social media and just like that summer came and went. Joe moved to Florida. He got some girl pregnant, married her then quickly split because he said that he had another woman that he couldn't get over.

[00:31:52] It's been 7 years since I last heard from Joe. I'm now happily married and living in a different city. My husband however received a message from Joe a few months ago. Joe asked my husband how I was doing but my husband refused to respond and blocked him.

[00:32:12] Joe was hands down the creepiest person I've ever encountered. He stalked me for 4 years and I feel like he still searches for me to this day hoping to find a new profile or new photos of me to stalk. Joe I hope we never meet again.

[00:32:43] This story is about something that recently happened at a cousin's wedding. Honestly I only went for the food but long story short I started helping my sister and mother. We were setting up the tables, moving stuff wherever it needed to be and talking with wedding guests etc.

[00:32:59] After doing that for a while my mother suggested that we sit down since there was nothing left to set up. I agreed and sat down with a coke in one hand and a water in the other. As I was sitting an older lady approached me.

[00:33:13] She grabbed at my hand gesturing that she needed something. My mother was still sitting down. My mother and I hadn't interacted with each other much since we were busy with the wedding set up duties. We weren't introduced as relatives to the wedding guests so this older lady probably

[00:33:30] thought that I didn't have a guardian with me. Being native I asked this lady what she needed help with and she told me to follow her. I didn't think much of it since I had been helping out. My mother was talking with some relatives and saw this happening.

[00:33:48] I was nearly at the exit with this older lady when my mother caught up to us. It was all a haze from then on. I had never seen my mother stop a conversation and come after me so quickly. Parents usually spend hours talking to relatives at family events.

[00:34:05] My mother held my hand as she asked the lady what she was doing. The lady muttered something and then said, oh nothing. But then it definitely didn't look like nothing to my mother since the lady was trying to exit with me.

[00:34:22] I was shocked and my mother yelled at the lady. Apparently this lady needed a ride and thought that I had a car. But that's not what the lady said to me at all. She said, there's something around the corner. Help me go get it.

[00:34:37] My mother asked the lady who she was and the lady started rambling and said, I'm well known around here. People were now crowding our table. My aunt was also there trying to help deescalate the situation.

[00:34:54] Nobody else at the wedding seemed to know who the lady was and this was a friends and family event only. I checked out of the conversation and I wasn't really paying attention anymore. I just felt embarrassed that my mother was making such a big deal of this.

[00:35:10] I realize now, this is what you do as a parent when your child almost goes missing right under your nose. I sat anxiously confused at what just happened. After a long lecture, I was ready to start mingling around again.

[00:35:26] I almost forgot about the whole situation until I saw that lady again. She was still lingering around telling everyone that she was mistaken for an abductor. After the wedding, I helped with cleaning the aftermath.

[00:35:40] I went out to load some things into the car and I saw the lady outside of the entrance. I talked to her because I felt bad about the situation. I even apologized to her because I honestly felt awkward.

[00:35:51] She told me how beautiful I was and she even said she had somebody for me. Huh? It was strange and I never found out if this was a joke or not.

[00:36:04] My mother asked me if the lady had grabbed my hand while she was trying to lead me outside and I said yes. Apparently, the lady told my mother that she never held my hand and never asked me to be taken anywhere. I was shocked because she clearly did.

[00:36:22] What more did she lie about? She switched up her game when she had to explain herself because she was caught. At least that's what my aunt had to say about the situation. I don't know why I followed the lady so willingly that day.

[00:36:36] I guess it's because she was an older woman who seemed like she needed help but I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I'm so grateful that my mother was present and quickly knew that something was off.

[00:36:48] I don't know what her intentions were but to that creepy old lady, I hope we never meet again. Our final story this week contains some disturbing content involving domestic violence and pregnancy. Listener discretion is advised. This story begins in early March. It happened in the Midwest.

[00:37:20] It was pretty cold during the day and below freezing at night. I had just moved back to my hometown. I had been home for about two weeks when I finally was able to schedule a time to meet up with two old friends at our local Dairy Queen.

[00:37:35] As we were heading inside, I noticed a really cute guy wearing a puffy orange jacket riding on his skateboard. We locked eyes for a moment before I headed inside. As my friends and I got ice cream, we sat down and started talking about old memories from high school.

[00:37:53] We eventually got onto the subject of current relationships. I told them I wasn't in a relationship and planned on keeping it that way at least while I worked and went to school. My closest friend who we'll call Hannah talked about a guy she had recently moved in with.

[00:38:11] She started talking about how he was violent and she was afraid to leave him. All of a sudden, the guy in the puffy orange jacket came and sat down at our table. He looked at us and said, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation.

[00:38:26] If you need help moving out or getting away from him, my roommate and I would be happy to help you out of that bad situation. We were all a bit shocked, but I was determined to get her out of that situation so I piped up.

[00:38:40] I'm sure Hannah could live with me until she has things figured out. Hannah nodded in agreement and her sister, who we'll call Haven, said she would help the next morning. We were talking for another hour or so when DQ was closing for the night.

[00:38:59] My friend and I headed outside with the puffy orange jacket guy in tow. The girls left, then it was just him and I in the parking lot, leaning against my car. It was only 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

[00:39:15] I looked at him holding his skateboard and asked if he wanted a ride home. He agreed and asked me to drop him off at McDonald's, the one that was close to his place. I parked and he finally introduced himself. We'll call him Coda.

[00:39:31] I told him my name as well and we parted ways. The next morning, the twins and I met at the McDonald's I had dropped Coda off the night before. I brought a few boxes to help Hannah move out quickly while her boyfriend was at work.

[00:39:45] Coda walked in with an older gentleman who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. Coda introduced us to him, saying it was his roommate Jacob. Then we headed to Hannah's house. We helped her pack up and went to my place.

[00:40:01] We unloaded what would fit into my car and then went back for the rest. Coda and I stayed in the car to keep watch just in case Hannah's boyfriend came home early. We were talking and he told me about his hobbies and interests.

[00:40:16] I told him about mine as well as my plans for school. He said he had just turned 21 a few months prior and I was freshly 18. Coda and I exchanged numbers after returning to my house to drop the rest of Hannah's things off.

[00:40:32] After that, I took Coda and his roommate to their place then I went to work. Over the next few days, Coda and I texted a little bit. He quickly started visiting me at work while I was on my breaks and eventually he asked

[00:40:44] me to officially be his girlfriend. We had been talking for a while by that time so I said yes. About two months went by and things were going very well. The pandemic started and I was a non-essential worker so I moved in with Coda because I

[00:41:02] couldn't really keep up with bills. Hannah and I moved into a one bedroom apartment with Coda and his roommate Jacob. Coda and I slept on the bed in the living room while Hannah and Jacob slept on a bed in the bedroom.

[00:41:18] Jacob and Hannah were getting very close at this point. A few weeks passed and it was midday. It was starting to warm up so we were able to go on late night walks downtown.

[00:41:29] I also started doing more photography outdoors as that's what I wanted to go to school for. One night, we went out walking and I saw an old friend of mine that I hadn't talked to in a long time.

[00:41:42] I stopped to catch up with him a bit before Coda and I went on our way. As Coda and I walked away, he started asking weird questions about the guy friend. He wanted to know everything. Coda asked, how did you know him? Were you ever intimate with him?

[00:42:00] Where does he live? Are you going to start hanging out with him now? It was a whole string of questions and I just brushed them off. He and I went home and walked in on a fight between Jacob and Hannah.

[00:42:14] I remember the fight being about Jacob cheating on Hannah with her twin sister Haven. Coda and I took different sides of the argument. I agreed with Hannah that Jacob was 100% wrong and Coda took Jacob's side. It all eventually deescalated and we all went to bed.

[00:42:34] The boys slept in the living room while Hannah and I slept in the bedroom. One month later, Coda and I moved into his parents' house because his father's health had significantly declined. His dad needed someone home with him at all times to help around.

[00:42:52] His mom worked two jobs and Coda recently got a job at McDonald's not too far from his parents' house. I was very close with his family as I was taking care of his father and his niece.

[00:43:04] As I grew closer to Coda's family, things seemed to be going amazingly. He had a steady job, I was taking online classes, helping his family and taking care of an absolutely adorable little girl.

[00:43:18] One day after he came home from work, I sat him down to talk about kids and how badly I wanted one just to see how he might react. He was so excited. This allowed me to build up the courage to tell him. I was pregnant.

[00:43:35] He was over the moon. One month later, he proposed when we were walking along a river not too far from the house. I said yes. Almost immediately after he proposed, he completely changed. It was almost like something switched in his brain and he no longer cared.

[00:43:53] I was his and he could do whatever he wanted to do. I started to keep a very close eye on him. Over the next few months, I noticed red flag after red flag. He was becoming dodgy and avoiding questions.

[00:44:08] He started lying to me about who he was hanging out with and where he was going. He became controlling. I wasn't able to leave the house or talk to anyone that he didn't approve of.

[00:44:18] It got to the point where I wasn't allowed to talk to my friends or go to work unless he was able to come along and watch me. The last straw was when we got into a fight after I had a six month checkup on me and the baby.

[00:44:31] I had tested positive for chlamydia. I was confused because he was my first. Yes, my first. He was the only guy I had ever been with. He swore it had to be my fault and started asking if the baby was even his.

[00:44:48] He accused me of cheating on him. I brushed it off and went quiet to avoid continuing the fight. I decided to follow him when he said that he was going to work.

[00:44:59] He went to the motel next door to where he worked and met with a girl in the parking lot. We started making out so I took photos on my phone and left to pack my stuff up. I packed up everything that I owned and his family helped me.

[00:45:15] When he got home from work, I was gone. His family told him that I moved out and I didn't want to hear from him for about two days. I moved back into my grandfather's house.

[00:45:27] Now right when you walk through the front door of my grandfather's house, there were stairs leading to the other floors of the house. The kitchen, bathroom, office, living room, master bedroom, and dining room were all on the main floor.

[00:45:39] When I went downstairs, there was another living room, bedroom, and bathroom along with storage areas. I had just gotten off of work and my grandfather was out of town visiting friends. I came home, tossed my keys on the table at the entryway, and went downstairs to my bedroom.

[00:45:57] I got to the door of my bedroom and opened it. It was pitch black since it was after dark. As I reached for the light switch, I heard the springs of my bed. It sounded like somebody stood up from sitting on the bed.

[00:46:13] Before I had time to react, I immediately was grabbed by my throat and shoved against the wall. It was Koda. It almost seemed like his brain was vacant. He was a shell of a human in this moment. He seemed almost robotic. I gasped for air.

[00:46:34] He then gripped my throat tighter and got very close to my face. He smirked a bit before saying, You thought you got away with it, didn't you? I managed to grab his pinky finger. I ripped it backwards as fast as I could to get him to release me.

[00:46:50] As soon as he did, I bolted out of my bedroom and up the 18 stairs to the front door. I heard him yelling at me as he bolted up behind me. Being six months pregnant at the time, I wasn't getting up those stairs very fast.

[00:47:05] As my right foot hit the tile at the top of the stairs, I felt a hand grab my left ankle. He yanked my leg out from under me, causing me to fall. I hit my stomach on the edge of the wooden stairs.

[00:47:17] I screamed in pain and he flipped me over and sat on top of me. The look in his eyes made me fear for my life. I was sure that he was going to kill me.

[00:47:28] He said that I was either going to be a good girl and go home with him or he was going to kill me. He said he would kill me, the baby, my grandfather, and my little brother. My fight or flight kicked in. I called his bluff.

[00:47:45] I said, If you kill me, everyone will know that you did it. You'll never be able to meet our son. He shrugged then got off of me. I stood up and he walked towards the kitchen. I used that moment to get out as fast as I could.

[00:48:01] I tried to unlock the door but the click of the deadbolt caught Coda's attention. He ran over, slammed the door, locked it, and shoved me down the stairs. I was knocked unconscious for a few seconds.

[00:48:14] I kind of remember opening my eyes and seeing him run down the stairs toward me. He was muttering to himself about not actually wanting to kill me. He just wanted to scare me. I lay there, not moving and holding my breath.

[00:48:29] He watched me for a second then left me there when he thought that I wasn't breathing. I let out a deep sigh and sat up with a piercing pain in my head and my ribs. I was sure I broke my ribs and had a minor concussion.

[00:48:44] I went to the bathroom, cleaned up the blood from my mouth and chin, and called Haven to take me to ER. I got checked out and sure enough, I had a concussion and two broken ribs as well as a fractured wrist.

[00:48:58] They found a faint heartbeat from the baby and sent me home with care instructions. I went to Haven's apartment so I didn't have to go back to my grandfather's house. Sadly, I miscarried the next day.

[00:49:12] About a week passed and I was back at work helping train a new person. Coda walked in. He looked at me like he saw a ghost. His expression changed from surprise to anger as he approached me. He started threatening me and yelling at me in front of customers.

[00:49:31] A guy picking up a door dash order escorted Coda out while someone else called the police. They filed witness reports and I filed a restraining order.

[00:49:43] Soon after that, I moved about an hour away with one of my closest friends because I was so terrified of living in the same town as Coda.

[00:49:53] It's been almost two years since we've spoken but a month ago I got a letter in the mail addressed to my apartment but with no return address. I almost immediately recognized his handwriting and a wave of nausea washed over me.

[00:50:10] I opened the letter and there was a piece of paper that looked like it had lived in someone's pocket for a very long time. The paper was worn and the ink was starting to bleed into the paper as if it had been wet at some point.

[00:50:25] In the center of the paper it said, Now that I know your address, keep one eye open so you can see me when I kill you. I ran inside and showed it to my roommate. He drove me to the police station.

[00:50:40] They put the letter into evidence for the case that I had been building against Coda. They said for the next few weeks they will have a cop circle my apartment complex hourly. Then my roommate and I went to Walmart.

[00:50:54] We got security cameras and a motion activated camera that takes high definition photos. After receiving that letter, I never heard from Coda again. Just this past week, a friend of mine sent me a news article with Coda's name in the headline.

[00:51:10] He was arrested for possession of weed and meth as well as attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Coda, you scum of the earth human, I hope we never meet again. For your safety.

[00:51:29] Don't forget to stick around after the music if you're a patron for your extended ad-free version of this week's episode and if you want to get access to that and all of the bonus content, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast

[00:51:54] to sign up and support the show today. This week you have heard three gunmen who stalked my grandma's house by Kitty. The devil in the walls by Emily. Ben by Caitlin. Joe by a listener that asked to remain anonymous.

[00:52:09] Creepy unknown lady at the family wedding by Soft Nights. And finally, karma got him by forever traumatized 666. All the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors.

[00:52:23] Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. As always, if you have a story to share, make sure you send it to let's not meet stories at gmail.com

[00:52:33] and don't forget to check out the new episodes of my other podcasts, odd trails, my true paranormal podcast and the old time radio cast at cryptic county podcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. I'll see you all next week for a brand new episode. Please stay safe.

[00:52:54] Time listener of the show, and I've been going to bed.