Watching You

        Henrietta heard her mobile bleep and picked it up. It read ' I am watching you'. She nearly dropped it as she had expected it to be from Mary as she was always late. She checked her mobile again the number on the mobile wasn't traceable who was it? Henrietta’s eyes began to dart around at the tables, the phone felt was sticky in her hand and her throat dry as she looked around the coffee tables to see whether there was someone watching her.

      The phone started to ring, she dropped the phone onto the newly polished table as it buzzed and her heart started to beat faster. She saw that it was Jack her boyfriend and she began to feel more agitated.

‘Hello’ she stuttered. 

‘It’s me I just wanted to check if you are OK, what time you coming home?’ he said.

‘I told you I was meeting Mary and would be back late’ said Henrietta. Her throat felt more dry as she spoke to him and the room felt as though it was closing in on her.

‘I just care about you and wanted to know what time you going to be home’ Jack said.

‘I know.... look Mary is here I have to go’ Henrietta agitated putting the phone down and felt relieved to switch it off.

     She was started to feel suffocated her palms were filled with sweat and she felt worried firstly by the text message and now by Jack phoning her. He was always telephoning her during the day at different times of the day to make sure how she was doing or checking on what she was doing.

 

     Henrietta  had met him on a dating website and had chatted to him for a while before deciding to meet him. Jack was extremely handsome he had brown hair and hazel eyes and was tall and she felt initially lucky to have meet him. But as time went on he kept on phoning her, she felt on edge but now this text made her feel more worried.

Mary sat down and looked at Henrietta.

‘Hey Hun sorry I am late what’s happened?’ she said concerned.

'I got this text just now I don't know who it is'.

Mary looked at the text and she shook her head. 

'it's probably just a mistake or a prankster I wouldn't worry about it'.

‘You're probably right, but to top it off Jack he has just phoned me to see how I am again’ Henrietta said.

‘Henrietta you have to dump this guy, he is ringing you all the time’ Mary said angrily.

Henrietta sat for a while she felt that Mary was right, she had been feeling controlled by Jack for a while. She nodded at Mary. She had to dump him. 

    

      Later in the evening Henrietta sat on her bed and searched some information on the website, she had sent a text to Jack saying We need to talk, can meet you at Café. She knew that he may get the idea from the message about what she was going to say, and felt better from sending the text. Her mobile phone on her bedside buzzed and she took it from the bedside cabinet next to the picture of Mary and her at Paris. She expected it to be Jack.  She picked it up and said Hi sexy I saw you at the Café today, I have been thinking about you all day. She didn’t recognise the number. Her heart started to beat faster, it was that person again. But she decided to act calmly remembering what Mary had said and felt that it must be a mistake that someone has accidentally texted her. But the fact that it said she was at the Café made her feel slightly uneasy. She decided to ignore it and went to bed.

  
   The next day Henrietta got up and her mobile phone was lit up, she took it from the dresser rubbing her eyes, she was going to meet Jack today to break up with him. She looked at the text and it said been thinking about you all night sexy. It was the same text that she had received yesterday. She felt her stomach to start to tighten so she decided to text the person back, she felt they should know they were texting the wrong person Hi please note that I think you have the wrong person you are texting. Her mobile phone buzzed again and it said Henrietta how can you say that my sexy love, I am watching you always. She felt shocked and dropped the phone.

    Her heart started to beat faster and faster and she felt scared as this person knew who she was. Who was this person and what did they want?

   Later that day Henrietta waited at the café for Jack her mind was on the texts that she had been receiving from this man, what did he want and she felt worried and scared. She kept on looking around her and watching all the people at the café, her mobile phone buzzed again and it said I am watching you at the Café. She stared at the mobile phone. Her hands were filled with sweat and her eyes were beginning to weld up with water.

    ‘Hi Henrietta’ she jumped in her chair and looked up. It was Jack. ‘Are you OK, hey what’s wrong?’ he said. Henrietta grabbed Jack and held him next to her she felt scared and needed to hold someone. He held her tight and she felt better. ‘I thought you texted me to break up with me’ he said laughing. She sat down and wiped a tear from her face, her mascara had run as she could see it on her hand. She felt scared and kept on looking around her in the café for any man who she felt may be looking at her. She showed Jack her mobile phone text messages. He looked at the messages and said ‘look this is way I have been texting you all of time and ringing you because of crazy people out there’ he said. She just nodded at him and kept on looking around the café, she felt physically sick which person was it she kept on thinking was it that man over the other side? ‘Henrietta I will take care of you and I’ll be by your side all

the time’ Jack said. Henrietta left the café with Jack shaking and watching over her shoulder.

    For the next couple of days Jack escorted Henrietta to work, college and was with her all the time as she felt afraid. But the texts had stopped. She was at home and the phone rang it was Mary.

‘Hi Mary, how are you’ she said.

‘How are you did you show the texts to the Police like I suggested’ Mary said.

‘No I haven’t as they have stopped since Jack has been taking me to work and picking me up after college’ she said.

‘Henrietta you can’t let your freedom go and let Jack take you everywhere like this. I thought you were going to break up with him?’ Mary said. ‘I felt had felt scared’ she said in her defence. ‘Look I’ll go with you to the Police station and we’ll report the texts’ Mary said calmly.

    A few hours later went to the police station with Mary and showed them the texts and explained to them about what had happened. They took the mobile phone from her and suggested that she get another phone. The police also suggested that one of the undercover officers will follow her but she wasn’t to tell anyone about it. Henrietta felt better and went home. But she found Jack outside her house.

‘Where have you been, I have been worried about you, I tried to call’ he said.

Henrietta decided not to tell Jack about the Police station but instead said that she had a doctor’s appointment.

‘I am supposed to be escorting you and why haven’t you picked up your mobile?’ he said agitated. ‘I’m sorry I went to get a new mobile and will give you the number, the texts have stopped from this guy’ she said. She could see that he was getting annoyed ‘but Henrietta you should tell me what you are doing, I get worried about you, ‘this guy is a crazy person and I need to know where you are’ he said. She started to feel tired and badgered by him. She remembered why she had wanted to break up from him he wouldn’t let her do anything without him. She felt suffocated and that Mary had been right earlier about letting her freedom go with this man’s texts and Jack.  ‘Look Jack I’ll text you my number later’ she said anxiously and walked past him into the house.

   She saw that he waited outside for a while and finally left, it took him ages for him to

leave. She felt better that she had told the police and she decided not to text Jack her number as she felt it would be better her to be away him for a while.

  
   Henrietta didn’t receive any texts for two weeks was able to sleep peacefully at night. She received a knock on her front door and it was a police officer.

‘Miss Williams I am police officer Gibbons from the Police Department’ he said.

‘Oh Hello officer’ she said startled.

‘I was allocated by the department to follow you Miss Williams to observe whether the

perpetrator was still following you’ he said.

‘Oh yes well officer I have stopped receiving those texts, I am fine the man has stopped texting me’ she said.

‘Miss Williams though you may have stop receiving those texts, in my non uniform disguise I am here to inform you that you have been followed’. He said. Henrietta felt shocked, she couldn’t believe what the officer was telling her and ushered him into the living room to sit down.

‘I am sorry to upset you Miss Williams but I have followed you several times to College

and work and can confirm that a man has been following you by the name of Jack’ he said.

Jack?! She couldn’t believe it. Why was he following her?

‘But officer Jack is my boyfriend’ she said. She kept on fidgeting with her feet and moving on the spot.

‘Yes I know when we brought him into questioning he told us that, but he has also been following you several time through the day’ he said.

Henrietta felt weak and felt sick, she had felt that Jack was controlling but she had not

realised to what extend he was going to and felt angry with herself for not breaking up with him sooner.

‘Mrs Williams during the questioning we also examined his mobile phone and I’m sorry to tell you this but he was the man who had been texting you those original messages’ he said.

‘What do you mean?’ she said in a high pitched voice. She felt as though she was going to faint, weak in the knees and was shaking.

‘Jack has two phones one that he has used to text you those original messages we found them on his phone. We checked his record and in his past his previous girlfriends have also reported that he is controlling and will use psychological fear.’ The Officer said.

Henrietta couldn’t believe it, that Jack was the one who had been sending her the

texts, it made sense to her that since she had changed phones and not told Jack she had stopped receiving the texts.

‘We will keep in him custody; he is a dangerous man he has used texts to control women to take away their confidence so that he can control their every move’ he said.

‘Thank you officer’ she said. She closed the door and she felt a sign of relief that no longer would be any one watching her and she had gained her freedom once again.