Horror Stories - 4 Disturbing TRUE Spring Break Horror Stories

Episode Date: April 6, 2025

4 Disturbing TRUE Spring Break Horror Stories will keep you on edge all night. In this episode, we explore four of the most chilling tales that occurred during what should be a relaxing holiday. Discover why these stories have resonated within the community, leaving many unable to close their eyes at night. If you like mysteries and suspense, this episode is for you. Don't forget to subscribe for more terrifying content and share if you dare! #HorrorStories #SpringBreak #RealFear #HorrorOnHoliday #TrueStories #UnsolvedMysteries #NightsOfTerror #TrueTerror #Chills #Supernatural Horror stories, horror on spring break, tales of fear, terrifying stories, true horror stories, real fear, nightmare vacations, you won't be able to sleep, nocturnal terror, real scares, guaranteed chills, spring nightmares, sleepless stories, vacation mysteries, spring urban legends, ghosts on vacation, paranormal encounters, supernatural experiences, chilling stories, terror testimonials, horror tales, true terror, scary anecdotes, terrifying vacations, disturbing stories, spring of fear, tales from the crypt, horror myths, spine-tingling tales, ghost stories, nights of fear, springtime fear, encounters with the unknown, scare stories, legends of terror." Song: Ghost Composer: Tim Beek Website: https://soundcloud.com/timbeek License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello everyone and welcome back to horror stories. I know many of you use these episodes to fall asleep, so before you drift off, I'd love it if you could leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from around the world. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're enjoying the episodes. Story one, I'll get straight to the point. My middle son is a senior in college. He's a good kid most of the time, but right now I'm a bit upset with him because he just asked me for money for a spring break trip to Hawaii.

with his friends, which caught me off guard. As I said, he's a good kid and I want him to have fun, but something about the way he asked didn't sit right with me. His mother has been struggling with her mental health lately, and it would have meant a lot to her to have him around, but I guess he's more concerned about getting drunk on a beach with his fraternity brothers. I can't even say I blame him. I was exactly the same at his age, and I see a lot of myself in that kid. All of this actually made me remember my own college days and reminded me of something I hadn't thought about in a long time, which is the story I'm about to tell. Interestingly, my son is the one who introduced me to this page, so maybe he'll get a kick out of this if he ever reads it.

I went to Wharton, class of 85, something I'm still very proud of. It was and still is the most prestigious business school in the world, and I took that reputation very seriously. I had fun, but I also worked like crazy. It was a different time back then. Many of my peers were wild, wolf of Wall Street style, and I did my best not to get dragged into that life. However, in my junior year, I did something a bit impulsive. I was dating a Puerto Rican girl named Maria Munez, whom I remember fondly. Sometimes I try to imagine what my life would have been like if I had decided to take things further with several girlfriends I had, she being one of them. Instead of going home for spring break as I usually did, Maria convinced me to go to Puerto Rico to meet her extensive family.

It was my first time on the island and I was eager to impress her, so I agreed without hesitation. That said, I was nervous. I didn't want to mess anything up and Maria often joked about how open Puerto Rican families were, so I knew they already knew a lot about me. It turned out that my anxiety was mostly unfounded as I got along with everyone from the get-go and it seemed like they really liked me. Most of the trip was about meeting her relatives, but we also had time for some outings on our own. After all, it was spring break. One of those outings was a hike through El Yonke, which fun fact is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System. Neither of us had a car, obviously, so Maria's mother drove us and dropped us off at one of the more

popular trails. We were both quite mischievous, so we definitely took advantage of the fact that neither of us had to drive. The plan was to hike, enjoy the scenery, and sneak in some rum. Everything was aligned to be perfect, but we quickly realized there was a big problem. The trail we were most excited about was closed. I don't remember why, maybe due to flooding or maintenance, but all I remember is that Maria was really upset. I tried to calm her down by suggesting that we could just hike one of the many other trails the forest had to offer. She wasn't convinced and told me, that the trail we had planned was like the main one and that the others didn't compare at all. How one trail could be astronomically better than another, I really couldn't say.

She was determined, however, and I had long since learned the dangers of arguing with her about something like this. So I asked her what she wanted to do instead. She said we should just walk the closed trail. As I said, I was somewhat rebellious back then, so when she suggested that idea, I was on board. We had come all this way and now a rule was going to stop us. No way. She gave me that look and that was all I needed. We made sure no one was around, ducked under the barriers,

and began to climb the trail laughing like a couple of idiots. At first it was exactly what we wanted, even better. We felt like we had the whole forest to ourselves, which was especially incredible considering how popular this trail would have otherwise been. Imagine visiting a famous natural site in the world, except you're the only one there. That kind of exclusivity is impossible to find. Anyway, we walked for a while, passing small waterfalls and admiring the beauty of the forest. And yes, we were also drinking.

Not excessively, but just enough to feel a good buzz. It was really fun, I have to be honest. But then out of nowhere Maria screamed and jumped back, nearly knocking me over. That instantly put me on high alert, although I didn't know what had scared her. I looked around frantically until I saw it. A little further up the trail was what appeared to be a freshly decapitated mongoose. Let me repeat that. It was a mongoose, a big one at that, and it looked like its head was completely missing.

I told Maria to stay where she was and approached the corpse by myself, hoping maybe it was a stuffed animal or something. It wasn't. I inspected without getting too close and confirmed what I initially thought. Its head was cleanly sliced off. The cut was too precise to have been anything but a knife wound, which was deeply disturbing. The worst part, however, was that the body hadn't started to smell yet, which probably meant it hadn't been there for very long.

Maria was trembling. I was mostly in shock. I tried to reassure her by saying something silly, like crime in a national forest was unlikely. though even I couldn't explain it. I put my arm around her and guided her past the body, trying to block it from her line of sight. All I could think about at that moment

was putting some serious distance between us and that poor lifeless creature. We walked in silence for a while, and although we were moving away from the mongoose, I could tell the moment had passed. The adrenaline had worn off my buzz and wiped out my good mood. As bad as I felt, I could tell Maria was significantly,

more shaken and couldn't imagine she was enjoying herself in the slightest. She said she wanted to continue with our original plan of walking the entire trail to the other side, but it was obvious she no longer wanted to be in that forest, and I couldn't blame her. As we walked, I couldn't stop racking my brain trying to understand what we had stumbled upon. It made no sense. I wasn't aware of the hunting laws there, but I couldn't imagine that hunting in a national forest so close to a pedestrian and trail was legal, and yet that was the only explanation I could think of. Why they had left that mongoose body there to rot was beyond me, but there was no other rational explanation. Maybe it was a hunter who had taken the opportunity to have that part of the forest all to himself,

like us. I really didn't know. Maria and I walked another mile or so with me trying to cheer her up the whole time, but nothing was working. Eventually, she admitted that she didn't feel well and wanted to go back. I didn't argue, although I definitely dreaded having to pass that place again, mainly because I wasn't sure how it was going to affect her, and I just wanted her to be comfortable. We retraced our steps and I could tell we were approaching the spot where the mongoose had been. I told Maria to keep her head down so she wouldn't see, and she did. I braced myself as we turned the last corner, but when the spot came into view, the mongoose was no longer there. Someone had moved it.

My heart started racing and I began scanning the nearby trees, terrified that there might be someone hiding among them. I wasn't prepared for what came next. Instead of seeing a person, I noticed something hanging from one of the trees. It was a mongoose. It was tied up with rope, its legs bound together. There was a sickly green liquid dripping from its body that hadn't been there before, and it was slowly spinning with the wind. I couldn't help but curse out loud when I saw it, which made Marie. Maria open her eyes. As soon as she saw it, she let out a scream of pure bloody terror.

Before she could freeze, I grabbed her wrist and told her to run. We bolted down the trail trying not to trip over each other. I let her go ahead of me and kept glancing over my shoulder, half expecting someone to follow us. Instead, a deafening scream echoed from somewhere behind us. It was the scream of a woman, and it was absolutely terrifying. It sounded like the kind of screamed someone who was being attacked would admit. I felt Maria's body jerk mid-stride, and for a second I thought she was going to collapse. She let out a sob of panic and tried to push herself even harder, but she was already out of breath. I maintained my grip on her wrist, practically dragging her as she slowed down. We couldn't stop. My own chest was burning,

but we needed to keep moving. Eventually Maria could barely run anymore, so we had no choice but to slow down to a brisk walk. I turned around completely and began walking backward, keeping my eyes fixed on the trail behind us. I was gearing up for a fight. Something had tied up that mongoose, something had caused that scream. I was 100% sure I would see something charging at us at any second, but it never happened. The start of the trail finally came into view, and for a brief second I thought we were safe, but then I saw someone standing near the barriers, watching us. It was a park worker with his arms crossed, clearly angry. As soon as we passed the barriers, he started yelling at us for breaking the rules and told us he was kicking us out and banning us

for life. But then he took a good look at Maria, who by that point was both sobbing and physically exhausted. I told him everything, leaving no detail out. He took it very seriously. He told us we both had to accompany him, so we did. We were taken to a small ranger station near the parking lot where a supervisor was waiting. I had to go through the story again, and then again when they called the police. Maria didn't say a word. Eventually, her mother arrived and we left, still shaking. I never found out anything about what the authorities found, or if they even bothered to investigate. I'm sure Maria's family might have heard something, but we ended our relationship the following summer and lost contact after that. So I really wouldn't know. I hadn't thought about this experience

in a long time, but it remains as unsettling as it was in those years. I think the worst part of it all was that scream because we never saw anyone else on that trail, and I have no idea who it belonged to. Story two, I consider myself a pretty laid-back guy, and I'd say the same about most of my friends. This happened last year, so I'll get straight to the point. Spring break was supposed to be just me and my friends, Jackson, Ariel, and Isabel, camping on a secluded beach in Alabama. No crowds, just stars and waves. We arrived late, later than planned. We parked in the nearest parking lot and started walking towards the beach.

The place was dead silent. No other campers, fishermen, nothing, just empty sand stretching for miles. According to Isabel, who knew the area, locals sometimes used that part of the beach. for night fishing, but that night it was empty. It wasn't completely dark yet, but the sun had already started to set, so we needed to set up camp quickly. Jackson and I started setting up the tents. Since I had driven, I had brought my dog Bean, a Doberman who loved the sand, so we all enjoyed watching him run around and roll in it. At one point, Ariel pointed out a car in the distance, saying it had already passed by twice. I turned and saw an old beat-up SUV slowly driving along the access road

that ran parallel to the dunes. The access road was nothing more than a strip of compacted sand wide enough for a car. On one side was the beach where we were, and on the other, a line of bushes. From where we were, you really couldn't see the main road. The car passed and eventually disappeared down the road. The four of us shrugged it off and went back to setting up camp. When we finished, we decided to crack open some beers and chat in a circle. The girls were drinking seltzers instead of.

of beer and we teased them about it. It was almost completely dark by then. I don't remember who noticed first, but the car that had passed was back, only this time it stopped when it was parallel to us. The driver's door opened and a man got out. I could tell it was a man because he was really tall, though I couldn't make out any features of his face. He started walking towards us and the girls got nervous. Jackson and I told them not to worry and stood up to intercept the man before he could get to our camp. Bean was already on high alert, so I told him to come with us. As we got closer, I began to notice that he walked strangely, with a slight limp in his gate, and he almost tripped a few times. When we were close enough, Jackson said,

What's up, man? Serena trying to keep things light. The guy wasted no time immediately saying, You're on my property. He stuttered a bit, and I guessed he was a little drunk. I told him, we thought the beach was public land. Keep in mind it was very unlikely that some guy owned the beach. There were no private property signs anyway. After I said that, the guy didn't respond. Instead, he pulled out a knife. Bean started growling in response to the man's body language, which honestly should have scared the guy, given how intimidating Dobermans can appear, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he started charging at us with the knife extended. Bean lunged at him and jumped to bite his arm holding the knife, causing him to fall to the ground.

I yelled, no, as loud as I could, not wanting my dog to get stabbed, but Bean somehow made the guy drop the knife. The man screamed in pain while Bean bit his arm. I whistled for him to get off and he obeyed. He returned to my side, but kept his eyes on the guy, who was now writhing in pain on the ground. Eventually, the guy got up and started running back to his car. Jackson and I ran back to the girls telling them everything. By the time we finished, that SUV had already left. The girls wanted to pack up and head back to the car, but there was a part of me that was nervous about that plan. That guy was unhinged. There was no way to know what he would do, and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of walking in the dark with our hands full. Isabel, however, made a good point,

saying he might come back with a weapon or something. I told Ariel to call the police and let them know where we were and what had happened. Once the police were near, the four of us began walking towards the parking lot with our stuff. Bean was on high alert, and I have to admit the only reason I felt even remotely safe was because of him. I noticed lights ahead near my car and felt relieved when the officer came out to take our statements. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. He quickly pointed out that the tires on my car were slashed and I was horrified to discover that was the case. The officer drew his weapon. and told me to unlock the car, which I did. He opened my trunk, but thankfully it was a false alarm.

The officer was kind enough to help me with my tire situation. Thank God we brought Bean with us that night. That guy was probably a drunk lunatic. It could have probably been a quadrupled murder if he had gotten what he wanted. Finding a secluded spot to hang out is definitely a good time, but obviously it comes with its risks. Story 3. It was spring 2,00023. It was spring 2,000, my friend Michelle and I booked a trip to Miami for a weekend. It was the first time in Miami for both of us, and we were both 22 years old. We stayed in a hall house in Winwood, which was about a 20-minute Uber ride from the beach. We arrived on Thursday and would stay until Monday.

We landed quite late on Thursday, so we just went out to some nearby bars that first night. It was fun. The next day, we took an Uber to Miami Beach to enjoy a beach day. We brought the towels from the rental and just lay on the beach for hours. Several groups of guys approached us and we either dismissed them or whatever. But there was one guy who approached, I guess specifically me, who had a really charming accent, seemingly nice and forward personality. And honestly, everything about him was attractive from his hair to his physique.

He introduced himself as Will, asked what our plans were for the evening, and asked for my number. And honestly, I gave it to him. Then he walked away down the beach. He didn't seem to be with anyone. We watched to see if he stopped to try to get more numbers, but he didn't. He just kept walking away, looking at his phone, and eventually left the beach heading towards the street. Michelle was a bit jealous that he paid more attention to me, I could tell. Later that day, after the beach and some bars, he left Miami Beach because it was a bit too crazy for us.

Definitely because it was spring, but it was just too much. We went back to the rental with some drinks and snacks from a nearby store. We drank in the backyard by the pool, listening to music on Michelle's speaker while planning our night. It was at this point that I texted Will asking what he was doing that night. He replied very quickly, saying that he and his friend didn't have plans yet, and then suggested that the four of us go out around Windwood. Michelle jokingly asked if the friend was handsome, but I wasn't going to ask that. We made a plan for Will and his friend to come away.

for a pregame with us at the rental, so they arrived around eight. The friend's name was Ken, and he was also surprisingly attractive. I could tell Michelle was pleasantly surprised. They brought their own drinks and left them on the kitchen counter, and we drank on the patio for like an hour. They seemed very normal. Everything seemed fine. Eventually, we walked to a nearby bar, also in Windwood. I have to admit that Michelle and I were already drunk, and Ken and Will kept buying rounds of drinks. Things got blurry pretty quickly. I wouldn't say I blacked out, but parts of my memory became foggy at that point. Eventually, Michelle and Ken went to another part of the bar, presumably to make out, so I was left alone with Will for quite a while. Eventually, I had to go to the bathroom,

but before I left, I remember him asking what I wanted for my next drink. I replied a tequila with soda. When I came out of the bathroom, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Will was like like lurking in the corner of the bar, clearly doing something suspicious. I walked in one direction to get a better angle and saw that he had two drinks in front of him, but he was bent over them, as if he was doing something with my drink. I might have been drunk, but that was enough for my intuition to tell me I needed to leave. I walked away without him noticing to the other side of the bar looking for Michelle, but she and Ken had disappeared. So I ran out of the bar and tried to call her several times, but she never answered. At that point, Will sent me a message asking where I was.

I ignored it. I sent several messages to Michelle asking what happened, where she was, and then eventually dropped the bomb that I think Will was trying to drug me and that we should stay away from those guys. I started walking back to the Airbnb. That's when Michelle responded asking why I thought Will was trying to drug me. I told her because he was lurking over the drink he had ordered for me, doing something in it. She replied that maybe he was just using his phone. I tried calling her, but again she didn't answer. Instead, she responded by message saying she was still with Ken to just text. I texted back that I had already left, so I wasn't going back anyway, and suggested she meet me at the Airbnb. She replied that she would be back soon. So I walked back. When I arrived, I let myself in with the

code, the door automatically locked after about 10 seconds. The same with the back door. I was really drunk and alone, honestly worried about Michelle, but also wondering if I was overreacting about the drugs. Maybe he was just on his phone. Either way, it was too late. I was surprised that Will never tried to text or call me again. The next thing I remember was the doorknob of the back door moving and then I heard the sound effects of the lock button followed by a failed attempt sound. Then I got a text from Michelle saying to open the back door. I went to the back door and called Michelle's name through the door. She didn't respond. So I tried calling her phone, but she didn't answer. I got a text that said, hurry up, open the door. He's coming. And that's when I really started to get

scared. I shouted through the door. Michelle, you're scaring me. There were no pee-poles or windows to look through to see if it was really her. I pleaded with her to please respond she never did. There was a peephole in the front door, so I rushed to the front and looked through it. At that moment, I felt sick, scared for my life, because I saw what appeared to be Will hiding beside the front door. A thousand thoughts crossed my mind, like if Michelle was running from Will. I was still too terrified to open the back door without her confirming it was her. I texted back saying I was calling 911 right now.

She didn't respond. I really did call 911 and explain the situation, and while I was on the phone, I checked the people again, and Willa disappeared. When the police arrived, I let them in, and within five minutes, one of them asked if my friend was blonde, and I said yes. Then he told me another officer had her in his patrol car and was bringing her here. I felt so relieved, but also horrified. When she arrived in a second police car, she had been visibly crying, was very drunk,

and as best she could, explained that her phone had been stolen, and she had been lost wandering the streets for an hour until someone helped her call the police. All the text messages I received from her number were never from her. It was that guy she was with, can her whatever his real name was. We also found her phone thrown in the backyard pool. Clearly they left the second I mentioned the police. We had to file a police report giving every last detail as specifically as possible. They said they would get the security recordings from the bar we went to.

We also had to contact the Airbnb host and immediately cancel our stay and move somewhere else. It was a long, nightmarish night. Obviously, the rest of our trip was completely ruined. It took a whole week before we heard from the police, and the only reason they called was to confirm the name that guy had given me because it didn't match the phone records for that number, which I had already figured out myself. He was using another stolen phone.

After that, I never heard from the police again, which is absolutely nauseating how little the police prioritize cases like this, even with easy evidence. I have no interest in returning to Miami after this horrible experience. Honestly, I could have been murdered. Story 4. My friend Lena and I had been looking forward to spring break for weeks. We were two college juniors on a tight budget.

desperate for a change of scenery, but neither of us could afford the classic trips to Mexico or Hawaii. So we were pretty much limited to somewhere within the continental United States, preferably not too far away. That's why when we found a cheap Airbnb near the historic district of Charleston, we booked it immediately. Five nights of food, bars, and exploration. It seemed exactly what we needed, plus it was my first spring being 21, so I wouldn't have to constantly stress about place is likely to snatch my fake ID. By the third night we had settled into a routine, sightseeing during the day and hopping between restaurants and bars at night. I'm not a big drinker and neither is Lena, so we were enjoying more of what the city had to offer. That early

evening we ended up at a small seafood place we found online, fried shrimp, hush puppies, sweet tea, you know, that kind of vibe. The place really felt like a hidden gem and I was impressed Lena had managed to sift through all the touristy stuff to find something more authentic. However, the good vibe didn't last. We were in the middle of our late lunch when my phone buzzed. Looking down, I saw it was a number I didn't recognize. The message simply read, hello. I stared at it for a few seconds before showing Lena and asking if she knew the number.

She looked at my phone and shook her head, no. I assumed it was just a scam or something, but usually those scam messages say more than just, Hello. Maybe it was a wrong number. I quickly replied, who is this? And went back to eating. Lena and I were laughing about something silly when another text from that same number appeared on my phone. It said look outside. That made me pause. I looked toward the window next to our table, expecting to see someone waving or joking around. Maybe one of my college friends had coincidentally made a trip to Charleston at the same time as us, but there was nothing. just the street with people passing by as if nothing was amiss.

I told Lena someone was messing with me and she agreed, saying it was probably just a joke. I laughed, but deep down, it really unnerved me. None of my friends are really the type to do that, but I figured it could have been some guy who had been pestering me before and was bored or something. Up to that point, everything still seemed harmless, but then another message arrived a few minutes later,

just saying one word. Anna, that stopped me cold. If this person knew my name, it definitely wasn't a wrong number. Probably not a scam, either. I showed Lena breathless, and she reminded me of something I had completely forgotten. On our first day in Charleston, Lena and I had entered one of those raffles at a local cafe. It was one of those winner-free meal promos where they asked for your name, number, and some other details. It had completely slipped my mind, but as soon as Lee,

Nina mentioned it. That was all I could think about. I hadn't given my number to anyone else in Charleston, so it made sense. I told Lena that whoever was sending the messages probably had her number two, and we both got a bit freaked out. Dinner wasn't as fun after that. Honestly, I felt too exposed. We paid the bill and decided to shake off the bad vibes at a rooftop bar across town. It was crowded and seemed like the kind of place that attracted a younger crowd, so it was an obvious choice. After a few drinks, I began to relax and Lena and I were back to enjoying ourselves, but of course that didn't last long. I received another message from that number, but this one was much worse. It said nice red jacket. I froze. I was indeed wearing a red jacket, in fact. I was one of the few people there even wearing red. I scanned the crowd frantically, but it was futile. The place was packed with people laughing and drinking, but nobody was staring at it. I was staring at it. I was standing. at me, at least not obviously. I showed Lena the message and she said we should leave. We both started making our way back to the Airbnb as cautiously as possible. I kept looking back to make sure we weren't being followed and we weren't. Upon arriving, I bolted the door and checked all the locks. We closed the curtains and locked all the windows too, trying to convince

ourselves we were overreacting. But an hour after getting back to the Airbnb, we started to get hungry, yet neither of us wanted to go out. We ordered Uber Eats instead, choosing a burger place just a few blocks away. I always have my Uber Eats setting on leave it door by default, since I had a bad experience with a delivery guy a while back that I don't want to talk about. The estimated wait time was 50 minutes, which felt like an eternity. We distracted ourselves by watching some silly reality show, trying to shake off the persistent paranoia from earlier. For a while, it worked. Eventually, someone knocked on the door. I checked my phone and saw a notification from Uber Eats saying the driver was arriving. I was confused. Normally, Uber Eats would send a picture

when the food was left, so I wasn't sure why our driver had knocked. I looked at Lena and she seemed just as puzzled. I got up and checked the Pee-Pole. Yes, there was a burly guy in a hoodie holding our food bag. He looked like a normal Uber Eats driver. I watched him for a few moments, expecting him to leave our food and go, but he just stood there. After a while, he knocked on the door again and loudly said, Uber eats for Anna. I told him thanks and that he could leave it there, but he still didn't move. There was a long pause, and then he finally said he needed me to come out and sign something quickly. That wasn't right. I exchanged a knowing look with Lena. Something was very wrong with this. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed 911, whispering just in case.

I wasn't going to argue. Looking back, talking out loud to that guy probably wasn't a smart choice because after that he started knocking on the door more aggressively. He kept saying he had other deliveries to make and just needed a quick signature, but I knew that was a lie. When I didn't respond, he started jiggling the doorknob, and when that didn't give, he began banging on the door, yelling my name. I honestly thought he was going to break the door down, and I don't think Lena and I would have been able to defend ourselves if he had. But then I heard a siren in the distance and the banging on the door stopped. I heard the food bag drop on the porch, followed by rapid footsteps moving away from the house. There was quite a commotion in our yard. We heard

officers shouting and sirens blaring. Lena and I rushed to one of the windows just in time to see two officers tackling the guy in the hoodie a few houses down. We didn't dare go outside, but we watched as they handcuffed him and escorted him to the back of one of their cars. The officers then came to our house and we told them everything, including the texts I had been receiving. By some blessing, one of the officers had been patrolling just two blocks from our Airbnb when Lena made the call, explaining how they got there so fast. Luckily, we were in a very busy area. They took our statements and told us we would hear from them soon.

It turned out our cafe theory was correct. he worked there. He had taken pictures of the raffle forms and had been following us since that afternoon, probably because we had written that we were just visiting for spring break, and that made us easy targets or something. The cop's theory was that he had followed us home from the bar and had been waiting outside our house. When the Uber Eats driver arrived, he must have convinced him to hand over the food, maybe pretending to be my boyfriend or something. The guy also had a criminal record, which made the situation even worse. We were dealing with someone with a very violent history,

and that was frightening. The rest of the trip was pretty bad, and when it came time to leave Charleston, I felt relieved. I still don't know what that guy's plan was. Maybe he thought if we opened the door, he could push inside and do God knows what. Either way, I try not to think about what might have happened if Lena hadn't called the police when she did,

or worse yet, if the police hadn't been able to get there in time.