3x11: Pete, My Childhood Stalker

[00:00:04] My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 3 episode 11 of Let's Not Meet a True Horror Podcast I work at a large crafting store in California And I've been there for a year and eight months now. A little background before I explain what's been going on is needed

[00:00:34] So last year we hired a guy named Hayden Hayden was a little quiet on the first day But quickly became more talkative and over the next couple of weeks started and never stopped talking He would constantly say weird shit for instance one day

[00:00:49] He was put in charge of building furniture our store carries stuff like furniture and home decor as well He was apparently having difficulty Assembling the table that he was working on and said something about cutting his wrists if he can't figure out how to put it together

[00:01:06] Another time we were both working in the stock room, and he kept talking about how much he looked like the Parkland shooter Nicholas Cruz I'll admit he did in fact look like that kid but it was creepy nonetheless I

[00:01:22] Remember one day I had gotten off of work and was waiting for my ride to pick me up when out of nowhere Hayden Walked up behind me He just stood there with an awkward smile on his face, and I politely asked him. What's up?

[00:01:37] He said something to the effect of oh nothing much. Just enjoying my lunch break. I'm thinking about going inside Taco Bell and shanking someone Taco Bell was right across the parking lot of our work He pretty much laughed and said he was joking after saying that

[00:01:57] When my wife picked me up we saw him walking towards the Taco Bell and just flashed us a creepy-ass ear-to-ear smile So the last straw for me was when he and I were assigned to work our spring freight and get it loaded up on a large U-boat

[00:02:16] Our shift started at 7 a.m.. And was over at noon It was 11, and we still hadn't finished our tasks because Hayden wouldn't stop goofing around He would also work very slowly on purpose and would only take one item to the U-boat at once

[00:02:33] Our boss came to where we were working and was upset that we weren't done yet He told us that we would both get written up at the job wasn't finished before we were off. I was pissed off at this point and Hayden knew it

[00:02:46] He seemed to feel bad for pretty much getting me in trouble and he apologized He then said something that really concerned me He said in the most serious tone I had ever heard him speak in since meeting him If I get fired, I'll shoot this place up

[00:03:04] He went on to say that he knew where all the emergency exits are and would first shoot all of the cashiers Then move up to the other employees in the store I'll admit that I didn't immediately report what he said

[00:03:19] But it did have me on edge and I kept thinking about what if After some convincing from my wife. I finally did the right thing and informed my manager They took a written report from me and contacted the police

[00:03:33] After two more days of working with Hayden he was fired and subsequently arrested for his threats The week after he got arrested my boss held a meeting with the entire staff and told everyone about what had happened

[00:03:46] After everyone left the meeting he pulled me aside and revealed to me what the police and Hayden talked about during the interrogation. I don't completely remember what was said

[00:03:56] But Hayden apparently admitted that he said what he said and kept asking if I had been the one who reported him Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was working at the same store

[00:04:10] Still am and I was heading to the break room for my final break when I heard a voice from one of the aisles to the left a Man standing next to the paint case. They asked if I could get them some paint While I was opening the case

[00:04:26] He addressed me by name which I immediately thought was weird because I wasn't wearing my name tag on this particular day Out of curiosity, I asked him how he knew my name and he said it was just a lucky guess to which I thought

[00:04:42] Bullshit mainly because his tone and voice seemed to be sarcastic The entire time I was getting his paint. He was staring at me with a smirk on his face He then began to ask me questions about my name

[00:04:56] Which is the same name as a popular TV show character? He asked what year I was born why my parents decided to give me that name, etc At this point I started to walk away as I had other things to do and the whole time

[00:05:11] I was trying to walk away. He was still trying to talk to me. I heard him yelling my name from three aisles down. I Went and stood in the warehouse until I thought he was gone Later that same day one of my co-workers

[00:05:25] They asked me if I knew the guy who was buying paint and I told them that I didn't She told me that he approached her and asked her all kinds of questions about me Like if I was a good worker, and if she likes me as a co-worker

[00:05:41] This is an ongoing issue too as he's come into the store two other times One being yesterday during my day off and apparently asked where I was. I Don't know for sure

[00:05:52] But I suspect that this guy might be cousins with Hayden as they sort of look alike and have similar mannerisms Both look similar to the Parkland shooter and have that same creepy vibe

[00:06:06] Tonight, I worked the closing shift and was outside getting carts after the store closed at 8 p.m When two SUVs pulled into the parking lot One of them parked behind the store and the other one parked in the main parking lot I

[00:06:20] Was standing in front of the entrance doors when a man dressed in all black and wearing a hood stepped out from one of the SUVs Another guy walked up next to him and they both started approaching the store. I politely told them that we were closed and

[00:06:38] Then looked down to notice a large baseball bat in hoodie guys hand. I started repeatedly ringing the bell to be let back inside and these two guys were just pacing back and forth in the lot Staring right at me. My manager let me in and called the police

[00:06:55] The guys were long gone when they got there though This could have easily been a totally unrelated incident But I thought I'd still update because the whole thing just makes me think It could be you know who

[00:07:09] So this all started when I was around 15 years old so about eight years ago I was dating a girl from two towns over. I would usually get the train to hers and back However, this one night her family was not supposed to be home

[00:07:36] And we were kind of being watched by her brother who was about 19 or 20 and pretty chill The plan was to stay the night. We were both up late playing the Wii but her parents unexpectedly came home

[00:07:48] I never got along with her mother and the whole thing kind of got heated and I was kicked out of the house and Told that I couldn't stay over It was about 2 a.m.

[00:07:57] And I didn't want to call my own parents and worry them and wake them up My mother is a very strict woman. So I began the long trudge home It was roughly about an hour and a quarter worth of walking

[00:08:11] So I wasn't expecting to be home until very late So I walked along the weird concrete bit just above the beach not sure what it's called I stopped after about half an hour of walking as there is a public toilet

[00:08:24] Which is kind of run down but also open 24 hours and I was desperate I was expecting it to be empty or just at least have like a homeless dude sleeping in it But I was wrong

[00:08:37] There was this guy using the urinal this guy looked to be in his mid to late 50s Maybe a little on the overweight side, but not extremely he had gray messy hair But other than that, he looked pretty normal. He definitely didn't look homeless

[00:08:53] I remember he made a quick joke about something, but I can't remember what I politely laughed Did my business and left? After another 15 minutes of walking the weather had gotten pretty bad It started to rain heavy and the wind was picking up. I

[00:09:12] Seem to remember this was around November. So it was pretty cold Anyways, so I'm walking in the car drives by it beeps and pulls over just in front of me I had assumed it was someone that I know but I couldn't think of who it could be. I

[00:09:29] Got to the car and the dude from the toilet was inside He asked me where I was headed and I told him he said that that was a long walk and I couldn't be expected to walk all that way in this weather and he offered to

[00:09:42] Give me a lift in Hindsight, I probably should have refused but the weather was bad and at the time he wasn't giving off any weird vibes The drive took about 15 minutes or so, maybe 20

[00:09:55] The more I was in the car with him the more I started to get vibes that there was something off about this guy he was telling me his best friend was 14 years old and

[00:10:07] He stays over at his place a lot and they drink together. And if I ever wanted to join I was welcome He was asking me some really invasive questions as well. I don't remember fully what they were

[00:10:20] I just remember that it's not the kind of questions you would ask someone if you were giving them a simple lift home Anyways, we got to the street around the corner from my place and I asked him to drop me off there

[00:10:34] I told him that my house wasn't accessible by the road and that I would walk the rest of the way He gave me his number and told me to ring him when I got back to my house safely as he wanted to make sure

[00:10:46] That I got home. Okay, I Asked him what his name was as at this point. He knew my full name and he just said Pete I said Pete what my phone wants a last name

[00:10:59] He wouldn't tell me he just kept saying just call me Pete. I later found out that Pete was a fake name Anyway, I got into my house and I texted him just to let him know that I was home safe

[00:11:13] Probably a bad decision but back then I was full of bad decisions to be honest The next day came and I was expecting everything to go back to normal It didn't because I stupidly gave Pete my number when I texted him

[00:11:28] I started to get texts from him every morning basically saying good morning to me and wishing me well I replied to the first few and then started ignoring them He then started trying to ring me every single evening

[00:11:43] I would ignore most of his calls, but he would often repeatedly ring until I answered He was sending me these texts inviting me over to his house for some drinks

[00:11:55] He kept telling me he just gotten himself a pool table and he wanted me to come and play it with him He was telling me a story of a friend that he was playing pool with the 14 year old that I was talking about

[00:12:09] he accidentally let slip that the guy called him John I Asked him about this. I said, I thought your name was Pete. He said oh no, my friend's name is John I said you just said that your friend called you John and

[00:12:27] You told me that your friend was named Tom He said oh, well some people call me John It's a nickname But his name is John too He hesitated saying this and it kind of clicked that he was telling me a bunch of lies. I

[00:12:45] Kept refusing and he kept asking After a while, my mom wanted to know who this dude was who kept texting me and ringing me. I told her and she rang him herself from her phone and

[00:12:59] Told him if he carried on texting and ringing me like this that she would be calling the police I didn't get any more texts from him after that, but it didn't end there. I had a routine you see and He knew it

[00:13:13] I always walked my dog half-past four every morning and Played with her for 40 minutes out in the field at the end of my street just near where he had dropped me off. I

[00:13:25] Started to notice his car pulling up there within five minutes of me getting there with my dog He had tinted windows But I would always notice the car lights were always left on and the engine was always running also, I recognized his car

[00:13:40] I would occasionally notice that the car door would open and I would see a large flash from that direction as if someone were taking pictures I Started changing the time that I walked the dog but he would eventually figure it out and start showing up either earlier or

[00:13:57] Later to coincide with my walking her This went on for months and I never mentioned it to anyone but one day it just stopped He stopped pulling up at the side of the field and I never saw his car anymore

[00:14:15] No text messages. No phone calls from him. It all just stopped. I Ended up getting a new phone after about a year and had that one for another two years I dug out my old phone when I was around 18 or 19 after the aforementioned dog had passed away. I

[00:14:34] Had some old pictures and videos of her on that phone and I wanted to transfer them over to my PC So that I always had them. I Turned on the phone which had been turned off for several years now. It still had that old SIM card in it

[00:14:50] That's when I got my final message from Pete It was an odd one and was about 14 months old it said something along the lines of Hi, I know we haven't spoken in a while

[00:15:04] but I just thought you should know that over New Year's I was diagnosed with an illness and I've been told that I don't have long left to live You were a good friend in the short time that we knew each other

[00:15:18] I live at and he included the address and would really appreciate it If you could come around just so I can have one last chat with you I've got some beers here. And if it gets too late, you can stay the night

[00:15:33] Just drop me a phone call when you want to come around so that I can get everything ready for you See you soon No idea if Pete or John was genuinely ill or just trying to lure me to his house

[00:15:50] I've never been to the address that he sent and never responded to him or heard from him since I Didn't reply to him and that was the last I heard from the guy

[00:16:00] So yeah, that's the story. I guess it's not tremendously exciting, but it kind of had a big impact on me during those years I hope you enjoyed He was my very first kiss and also the first abusive relationship We first started dating when I was a preteen

[00:16:31] He was super attentive and protective of me from the very beginning It wasn't until the fifth month when I started noticing alarms going off loudly in my head He had taken me on a cute roller skating date

[00:16:46] Then we had sat down for a bit to take a break when two of his friends showed up At this point the vibe from him was no longer safe The smile he had five minutes beforehand was replaced with a look of pure hatred

[00:17:01] He switched into this odd predator mode and told me to kiss him with tongue in front of his friends I told him that I was not ready to do something like that and especially not in front of other people

[00:17:14] He didn't like that answer and pulled my face to his and started forcing his tongue into my mouth. I was a pretty small girl, but luckily I was able to push him away long enough to start running towards a more populated part of the skate rink

[00:17:30] I told him to stay away from me for a while while I waited for my mom to pick me up I didn't tell my mom what had happened because I was in shock and confused

[00:17:40] I was young and I didn't want to get in trouble for kissing a boy so I decided to just ignore him until I was able to process everything A week of successfully avoiding him at school passes when he has worked up the nerve to try something again

[00:17:58] He found me surrounded by a group of friends and decided to try his luck I didn't even notice that he was there until we were practically bumping elbows Being that close to him definitely put me on edge and I nearly shit myself when he started speaking to me

[00:18:15] It was all pointless small talk until he realized that I wasn't in the forgiving mood Then his mood shifted like before and he was just staring at me Like I was the most disgusting human on the planet.

[00:18:31] I was holding one of those old portable CD players when he yanked it out of my hands and started trying to shove it in his bag In a shit attempt to steal it. I yelled at him to give it back and tried prying it from him

[00:18:45] Which he apparently took offense to because he punched me in the face with enough force to drop me to the ground I obviously started crying and we were both sent to the principal's office His dad was the football coach in that Midwestern community

[00:19:02] So he was able to talk to the principal and only required his son to attend detention once for his punishment We didn't see each other too much after that and thankfully ended up going to different high schools

[00:19:17] Then I run into him at a Taco Bell drive-thru my sophomore year I didn't realize he was the cashier until I was at the window about to pay when he made awkward eye contact with me I pretended I didn't recognize him and

[00:19:33] hurried with the transaction until I was able to speed away Unfortunately, he saw our chance meeting as a sign of fate and attempted to send the equivalent of a quote you up unquote text to my Facebook profile Unfortunately, I can never unsee this ultra cringy attempt at flirtation.

[00:19:55] I think I saw you at a Taco Bell today. I was the cashier lol You're pretty cute still and I was wondering if you wanted to send some booty pics

[00:20:06] My response was an immediate block and I made sure to let my sisters know about the incident because I Just had to tell somebody If I had known then just how dangerous this teenage boy would become I wouldn't have taken any of the incidents

[00:20:23] So lightly, but I'm not a psychic After some awkward laughs, I moved on with my life and continued to date less shitty people Fast forward to today when my sister sends me an article from her local news report featuring my dear first boyfriend's picture

[00:20:42] Apparently he decided to stab someone in the throat at a popular venue when they tried defending a woman he was physically attacking We dated nearly 10 years ago, but I still can't shake the feeling that I definitely dodged a bullet

[00:20:57] It's a strange feeling when you realize that dangerous people are weaving in and out of your life without even knowing Before it's too late sometimes According to the comments in this article

[00:21:10] He had a habit of assaulting women in his life and had a history of obsessive stalking. I Imagine justice will be served swiftly due to the manner of the crimes and the overwhelming evidence Supporting the case against this psychopath. I hope however that we never meet again I

[00:21:44] Was in junior high school, I was quite an odd kid I liked having colorful hair piercings and all that kind of stuff the school that I went to was near Atlanta So there weren't many people like me I

[00:21:57] tried to find friends that like the same kind of music and Had the same interests as I did and I could normally kind of brush off any weird energy that people put off and Ignore it But I just wanted friends

[00:22:13] Anyway, I was at the gym one day hanging out with a group of weirdos and there was this guy that I hadn't seen before He was wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt and jeans that were about a size too small His name was Ernest

[00:22:29] We immediately clicked with each other in a platonic way because we laughed a lot at the same things We started hanging out in the gym together every day people watching and making fun of people that play basketball

[00:22:44] It wasn't too long until he started making fun of my appearance and making me feel absolutely terrible about myself. I Had really bad acne in high school and he joked saying that I had meth skin first strike

[00:23:02] Me being tough. I kept hanging out with him and eventually it led to hanging out after school He would invite me over to his house and we only stayed in his room

[00:23:13] He refused to let me meet his family. His parents didn't really speak English, but I still wanted to meet them I always thought that it was weird that Ernest didn't know Spanish But his siblings did and when he did speak it sounded Russian

[00:23:30] He pretty much only played It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on the TV He rambled about superheroes and would always come up with these strange scenarios where he was an evil villain and how much power he would have Fast forward. I get a job at a pizza place

[00:23:47] Ernest gets the same job at this pizza place So inevitably we are always together Always, I mean he pretty much never let me out of his grasp It got to a point where he took me to school every day in his PT cruiser

[00:24:04] Which is still something that gives me chills every time I see one of those damn shoe-shaped ass cars We started skipping school a lot I mean we pretty much went to school about two to three times a week And this is where it starts to suck pretty bad

[00:24:23] He started pressuring me to do sexual things with him I don't really want to get into details because it's pretty disturbing but he manipulated me and the situation in such a way that I felt like We were in a relationship because I thought I needed him

[00:24:40] He really convinced me that we were a couple but I was so repulsed by him that I I couldn't fully accept that He started telling our other friends that he had sex with me and that we were in a relationship. I

[00:24:55] Denied it all to this day. I deny it. I lied to a therapist I've lied to my friends, but right now I'm admitting to all of it At one point he ended up living with me and my family he stayed in the same room as me

[00:25:10] He had convinced my entire family that he was gay so that he could live with me he literally dressed up in pink and put on a scarf and Pranced around my aunt to win her over with this fake personality

[00:25:23] I was so used to living in chaos that this was barely a problem for me During all of this. He was such a rude piece of shit to me as well

[00:25:34] I remember asking him for a ride one day. I can't remember to where and he just said no for no good reason. I Started getting really pissed off because he couldn't actually give me a reason He just kept smirking at me. He did this type of thing frequently

[00:25:50] We were sitting in the living room and he silently got up and drove somewhere came back Walked to the living room doorway and just stared at me for like 15 seconds then walked into my room

[00:26:04] I hear a bunch of rustling so I storm in there thinking he's up to something sketchy He's gotten completely dressed into his sleep pants with his hand in his pocket He just wouldn't take his hand out of his pocket at this point. I'm scared

[00:26:19] I forced my hand into his pocket and I pull out a knife. I Don't remember how the night or days continued after that Fast-forward again, I met my best friend Kayla's birthday party and everyone is camping in the backyard

[00:26:35] Ernest hated Kayla because she was a way out for me in his perspective at least She got in the way of us I'm sweating typing this out This is probably one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me

[00:26:50] The sequence of events is a bit blurry, but I do remember it. I Had made it clear to Ernest at this point I had made it clear to Ernest at this point in time that we were not a thing and that he needed to let go of

[00:27:03] That fantasy. I Had a crush on this boy named John and we slept in the same tent together Morning comes and I hear Ernest outside just asking people if they knew where I was

[00:27:17] Someone said she's in a tent with John. I was scared immediately. I knew something bad was going to happen The tent rips open I don't have a shirt on he began screaming as loud as he can

[00:27:32] Cussing all of us out and pitching an absolute fit then he storms off He goes to his car and calls me and tells me to get in the car now

[00:27:43] Everyone there was freaked out and Kayla advised me not to go to the car because she knew how scary Ernest was Just as a person. I Didn't want anyone to be uncomfortable

[00:27:54] So I figured that if I went to his car, it would ease everyone just a little bit that he wasn't there. I went as Soon as the car door closed we sped off fast very fast I looked over at him wide-eyed and he's screaming crying with

[00:28:14] Absolutely, no expression on his face tears streaming but emotionless He says you were supposed to love me he said it over and over again He starts speeding faster He says if I can't love you than no one else can

[00:28:33] I'm actively having a straight panic attack in the passenger seat. I can't hear because my ears are ringing I can't see a thing Meanwhile Kayla has already called my mom and somehow my mom left the house fast enough to track us down in that PT cruiser

[00:28:50] He parks at a church and my mom is watching us Ernest has a box cutter at his side. I Get a call from my mom. I can't remember Exactly what she said, but I remember it was something along the lines of I'm going to slit your fucking throat

[00:29:09] to earnest He started coming to his senses if you can even call it that and he drops me off back at Kayla's and Tells me that he's going to kill himself after he drops me off

[00:29:23] Kayla and I were frantically trying to call his parents about a possible imminent suicide However, they could not speak English He called the police on himself because he thought that he was going to harm himself or someone else

[00:29:37] He was gone for a couple of weeks and when he came back he parked outside of my school waiting for me to come out He runs up to me I Noticed that he had a plaid button-up shirt on and it was tucked into his pants

[00:29:51] Which was extremely odd to me and I knew immediately that it was some kind of fake personality He was speaking differently as well Proper almost like a few weeks had turned him into a saint

[00:30:04] It wasn't long after that that I had admitted myself into a mental institution because I just kept breaking down Everyone in the groups told me to get rid of him and I had not realized how serious this was until I saw everyone's

[00:30:18] Reactions to the stories. There are so many stories about this psycho, but I can't even type it all out I did get rid of him. I Found new friends and without them. I don't know how this would have gone. I

[00:30:33] Haven't seen or spoken to him in about three years, but let's not meet ever again Thanks for listening to this week's episode of let's not meet a true horror podcast this week you have heard I Think someone is stalking me at work by reddit user air fried chicken 98

[00:31:12] Pete my childhood stalker by reddit user a ZZ bowl mighty My first boyfriend turned out to be a murderer by reddit user funky disco ball and finally I Attract exactly the wrong people. I read it user ghetto wedding

[00:31:30] Please send your stories in to let's not meet stories at gmail.com If you have any questions, or you just want to chat it up email me at let's not meet podcast at gmail.com

[00:31:39] I'm on twitter at let's not be cast and search for the Facebook group. Just search. Let's not meet I'll see you guys next week for a brand new episode of let's not meet