3x25: Housesitting Gone Wrong

[00:00:04] My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 3 episode 25 of Let's Not Meet a true or podcast This happened two summers ago While I was house sitting out in California for an older couple that I had met at a conference for work

[00:00:32] It seemed like a dream scenario the couple wanted to vacation in Hawaii for two weeks But didn't want to board their cats and I had been chatting with them about wanting to visit, California again

[00:00:45] Where they happened to live because I loved it the first time I went there And we figured that we could mutually benefit if I came out there and house sat for them So I flew out there and they showed me around for a few days

[00:00:59] They taught me how to care for the cats two of them one that was extremely shy And I barely saw which is important for later and their plants They gave me access to their house and cars

[00:01:12] These people were very generous and before I knew it. I had dropped them off at the airport, and I was on my own At first I was on a dream vacation I was staying in Oakland and taking trips to San Francisco Sonoma Monterey in

[00:01:28] The mornings I could walk out the front door and shortly be hiking the paths surrounding nearby Mount Diablo And it was ultra content with the world I was so enamored by the area that I had actually started looking into some steps to relocate out there

[00:01:47] But one day about halfway through my final week there when I got back to the house. I felt really odd Almost like I shouldn't go inside I shook it off and went inside anyway because it was getting late, and I needed to put out dinner for the cats

[00:02:05] Once I was inside I forced myself to ignore how off it felt And I made some food for myself went to bed and was shocked to find this shy cat Hiding under my bed and crying This was the first time I had seen her close up

[00:02:24] The entire time that I had been there up to that point she never left my host's bedroom Unless she didn't realize I was around Again, I ignored the weird feeling and just assumed she decided that I was okay, and I went to bed

[00:02:40] I did start locking the bedroom door that night though. I also remember about halfway through the night I thought I heard someone walking around in the gravel outside the window But after listening for a bit, I didn't hear anything else. I just went back to sleep

[00:02:59] The day after in the morning. I still felt a bit odd, but kept up my plans for the day I drove out to a music festival in Sonoma and went clothes shopping I had an overall great day

[00:03:14] When I got back to the house though, I found the front door locked in a way I hadn't left it Basically, my hosts never locked the deadbolt only the lower second lock and that's the only lock my key worked on So I never messed with the deadbolt

[00:03:32] But it was definitely locked So I had to call my hosts and find a hide-a-key which to their credit safety wise was Buried a whole foot underneath a bush outside and had definitely not been unearthed in a long time

[00:03:50] So I used that when inciting kept the key with me just in case it happened again And it did but with a different door and this time I had stepped out into the garage to get a drink and

[00:04:03] When I turned to go back to the house, the door was shut and locked. I could use my normal key on that door, but I was still pretty Bewildered. My own cats are whack. So I think that in my mind

[00:04:20] I was trying to come up with a way that the cats could be Locking me out of the house, but I was I was coming up empty I decided I must have been misunderstanding how the locks worked and just wrote it off and started

[00:04:33] Checking and triple checking the locks when I went out of the house or into the garage That night when I went to bed, I really felt this awful feeling of unease it was still there and

[00:04:47] So was the shy cat who was clearly unhappy to see me, but also wouldn't leave the room But again, I just locked my bedroom door and went to sleep The next morning felt awful nausea and body ache

[00:05:01] I had no desire to leave the house. So I decided to stay in in Netflix for a day This vacation stay was like a full two weeks So I didn't feel like I was in any hurry to get all my touristy things in anyway

[00:05:18] But as the day went on I started to feel that feeling of wrongness again, and it morphed into an incredibly watched feeling Around mid-afternoon. I got to the point that I was so uneasy that even feeling awful

[00:05:34] I decided to get out of the house for a bit and shake it off. I was getting a bit low on food So I went to the grocery store and bought a couple of food items that I didn't think would hurt my stomach

[00:05:46] And as I started to leave the checkout the cashier said the generic have a great evening And I instantly I just started crying Shocking myself and the poor cashier because I had just

[00:06:02] Had this intrusive thought that said you might be the last person to ever say that to me When I got into my car, I was still crying and my entire body was telling me not to drive back to the house. I Couldn't not though

[00:06:17] Because I didn't want to neglect the cat So I drove back parked in the driveway and convinced myself After about half an hour to just go and open the front door once I did that I thought I

[00:06:31] Would get over it and I would be able to at least feed the cats and maybe I'd go get a hotel room Afterwards, but my body physically would not let me get inside It was like I was stuck in the entryway. I

[00:06:47] Then made a deal with myself. I would yell into the house saying I Had already called the police and that they were on their way in Panic logic. I figured that would make anyone who was in the house leave So I faced the inside of the house

[00:07:05] Looking down the hallway towards the bedrooms and did just that The second I finished saying They're almost here. So if you want to avoid being arrested you need to leave now The light in my host's room turned on and I heard banging I

[00:07:28] Immediately hightailed it back to the car Called the police for real and proceeded to have a mental breakdown while talking to the dispatcher Once they got there, they checked the house and didn't find anyone But the double doors to my hosts bedroom were left wide open

[00:07:48] I'm glad the cats didn't get out There was also a pile of food wrappers in the corner behind the blinds So they said it looked like someone had been there What makes it so scary to me is?

[00:08:02] That nothing was taken and based on the shape of the house That would have been the perfect vantage point to see me in the living room as I stayed home sick To explain this the house was in an L shape and from the windows into the garden that

[00:08:20] Were in my host's bedroom. You could see the living room windows Also the minute the police were gone They said they couldn't prove anyone was there

[00:08:29] There were no signs of forced entry and we couldn't get a hold of my hosts immediately to verify if anything had been taken Which once they were back they verified that nothing had been taken as well So they said they'd patrol a bit but nothing else

[00:08:47] The shy cat was right back in the hosts bedroom, and I didn't see her again until I left to go back home so Basically, I think the intruder had been there at least two days

[00:09:01] Forcing her to choose between two strangers and leading her to choose one that was At least a little less strange me It messed me up pretty bad Especially because they didn't catch the person and they didn't seem to have any desire to look I

[00:09:19] Still had to stay at that house for the next three days nothing else odd happened, and I didn't feel off the rest of the time that I was there, but

[00:09:28] The damage was done. I never felt completely safe in a home without doing a complete search before bed since But I am extremely glad my gut spoke up. I guess I'd rather have some residual anxiety than be dead

[00:09:44] So whoever was in my hosts house watching me, let's please never meet In The summer of 2018 I was in a long-distance relationship Not that long he only lived about four hours away Well, it was pretty serious though

[00:10:16] But also pretty new at the time my boyfriend who had driven those four hours to see me on every break that we had from school Essentially begged me to come visit him at his grandmother's house I Didn't have a car at the time

[00:10:31] But I really wanted to impress him and show my dedication to the relationship by going to visit him So I dropped some coin on a Greyhound bus and was excited to meet up with him At first everything seemed fine

[00:10:44] I took a seat at the back of the bus because I really didn't want to speak to anyone But the bus was pretty full so inevitably this guy sat next to me There were no red flags

[00:10:56] He just seemed like a regular guy maybe in his late 20s early 30s So I put my earbuds in and just ignored him Before I continue I'd like to highlight some character flaws of mine at that time Well when this happened, I was 18. I was extremely non-judgmental

[00:11:16] I tended to see the best in people even to a fault This tends to land me in very bad and sometimes dangerous situations At 18, I simply didn't know any better and I kind of looked over potentially concerning actions

[00:11:31] There was a guy in the seat in front of us who would not stop talking to no one in particular But he was facing a girl in the next set of seats across from him again. I didn't want to judge

[00:11:44] Maybe he had some type of mental problem. He couldn't help it He was doing no harm so I ignored him and Continued to stare out the window listening to music that is until he turned around and stared at me

[00:12:00] Now I might have been naive, but I wasn't stupid a chill ran through my spine as I made eye contact with him He had these cold callous eyes and his skin lacked so much saturation. It looked like he'd been covered in dust. I

[00:12:16] Take out my earbuds and he immediately turns to the guy next to me and they engage in conversation I was really set on edge when I overheard them discussing how they were both ex-convicts and had recently gotten out of prison

[00:12:32] Remember me being non-judgmental. I figured maybe they served prison time for something that was minor given their access to public transportation Transportation But I'm not sure how all of that works. Obviously, they don't do background checks for Greyhound buses, but still I

[00:12:50] Tried not to think anything of it The man in front of us turns to me now and I can't remember exactly what he said But he called me baby, which kind of freaked me out But I couldn't say I wasn't used to it

[00:13:04] I figured it was just another grown creep hitting on me annoyed I put my earbuds back in and ignored him until the bus stopped at a rest stop most people got off

[00:13:15] Including the guy next to me leaving just me and the guy in front of me in the back of the bus He asked if I would come up and sit next to him and make friendly conversation and my dumbass actually did it

[00:13:28] keep in mind that I was 18 and Unfathomably stupid and I also lacked that gut feeling that something was wrong He starts telling me that he just got out of prison and he hasn't seen a woman in a long time

[00:13:42] I said something along the lines of that's unfortunate and inched away from him He scooted over to me so close that our legs were touching and that's when my heart rate started to pick up The next thing I know his hands are on me

[00:13:57] He'd wrapped them around my waist and went on about how small it was and then Commented about how it had been so long since he touched a woman. I was paralyzed

[00:14:07] I had no idea what to do. He kept going on about how I should be a model while continuing to grope me Again, I was absolutely terrified and couldn't bring myself to move soon enough

[00:14:20] Everybody got back onto the bus including the guy who sat next to me who shot the other man a weird Look that prompted him to let me go. I Scrambled out of the seat and still sat behind him not knowing what else I should do

[00:14:35] But feeling safer that other people were on the bus He didn't bother me again after that. So I just prayed that it would stay that way But it gets worse

[00:14:47] The bus stops at another rest stop and this time I get off not wanting to be stuck in that vehicle again I'm just chilling as much as one can chill after something like that

[00:14:59] When a girl I recognized from the bus came up to me. She said hey that guy you were talking to He just left in a car, but is circling the building He keeps leaving and then coming back

[00:15:15] I'm sorry. I didn't say anything earlier. I thanked her for the warning I put on a hoodie and the 85 degree weather Flipped it up. So he wouldn't see me and I got back on the bus Luckily, I never saw him again

[00:15:30] I was too embarrassed to tell anyone what had happened due to my lack of competence and general understanding of how the world can be When I met up with my boyfriend, I gave him very vague details wanting to forget it ever happened

[00:15:45] But now I don't think that's possible Ex-convict on the Greyhound bus. Let's never meet again last year after a blissful first year of living in a new apartment all on my own for the first time a Man moved in next door that I'll never forget

[00:16:12] The layout of my apartment is crucial to understanding the incident The most important part is that my balcony and his balcony are only partially separated by a wall There is a solid two-foot gap in which you can easily walk from one to the other For context

[00:16:33] I previously had a very lovely woman living next door for the entire first year and that I lived there Who never crossed this balcony threshold without being explicitly invited? I only throw this in there so you can understand that I wasn't previously concerned about someone infiltrating my space

[00:16:53] This is the first time I met this new neighbor He was unloading the groceries from his massive truck into the assigned parking spot next to mine As I was driving up he and a girl I assumed to be his girlfriend were unloading boxes from Costco. I

[00:17:12] Noticed them speaking and as soon as I was out of my car, they went silent. I Nodded to them and Proceeded to the elevator and the guy ran up behind me. He threw some boxes down and begged me to wait No problem. I'm a good neighbor

[00:17:31] While in the elevator the girlfriend refused to make eye contact or speak to me a little weird, but I just thought she was shy But he quickly introduced himself and was extremely chatty in

[00:17:46] The first 45 seconds that it takes to get to the floor where our apartments were he asked how I liked the place Where I was from and where I worked looking back

[00:17:58] His enthusiasm was a little strange, but I chalked it up to him being excited to be in a new place For the sake of the rest of this story Let's call him Sam Sam was maybe 33 6 foot tall with a slim muscular build

[00:18:15] He also had hair buzzed extremely short as if to mask his balding Pretty average looking by all accounts The first few weeks we run into each other He makes small talk and he always refers to me as miss

[00:18:32] I assume it's because he forgot my name and he wanted to be polite. I Almost never see his girlfriend after that first night But occasionally I can hear him talking to this lady in his apartment as the walls are reasonably thin

[00:18:49] One night about three months after Sam moved in my boyfriend is spending the night And we're watching movies on the couch. It's maybe 11 30 p.m The back of my couch is against the wall that I share with Sam and we hear some

[00:19:06] Banging noises my first thought is that it was he and his girlfriend getting it on Boyfriend and I laugh and I turn up the volume a little bit to drown them out Then in addition to the banging the neighbors begin

[00:19:22] Screaming we can hear objects being thrown glass shattering The words are muffled, but there is distinctively anger and crying going on My boyfriend the gym that he is Steps into the semi shared balcony and in his loudest voice ever He yells without crossing Sam's balcony

[00:19:46] Everything okay in there The girl opens the sliding glass door on Sam side a minute or two later and says sorry about that So we leave it alone I'm concerned, but we have no idea what actually happened and we decide to go to bed

[00:20:06] This was a big mistake. I Wake up around 3 a.m To more screaming, but my boyfriend refuses to wake me up And I'm not about to take my five-foot self to break up whatever is going on at 3 a.m I consider calling the police

[00:20:23] But I was a bit drowsy and convinced myself that maybe I dreamed it I deeply regret that decision the next morning I woke up to some terrible personal news an

[00:20:36] Entirely unrelated death of a friend and pretty much that put the events of the night on the back burner. I Didn't forget but it also wasn't on my mind

[00:20:47] Fast forward about two weeks. It's a warm day, and I'm outside reading a book in a robe sports bra and shorts I'm in my chair that faces away from Sam's apartment. So I can't see his side from where I am

[00:21:02] I'm deep in my book when suddenly I get tapped on the shoulder Sam is standing behind me and he asks if we can talk for a second This man is already crossed and albeit invisible line by coming onto my side of the balcony

[00:21:19] But I also can't get to my door without physically moving him aside. So I asked him what's going on he told me it was his birthday and asked if I knew where to get some weed because I

[00:21:29] Seemed like a girl who knows how to have a good time As we live in a state where weed is legal I told him that I'm sure Google would provide the best dispensary in the area, but I personally didn't have any

[00:21:42] He proceeds to tell me how drunk he got last night And at this point I'm itching for an exit as I start to move as if to signal that I'm done talking He reaches out from my shoulder and tells me he hit slash

[00:21:56] Scratched my car last night because he was driving very very wasted Remember his massive truck He says all of this with a smile on his face almost laughing

[00:22:10] I'm surprised but mostly want to get away from him because my creep senses are starting to tingle and I don't want to blow Up at him for hitting my car

[00:22:20] He says he'll send me his insurance information if I give him my number and thankfully I knew that would be a bad call I make a bad nervous joke about

[00:22:31] Knowing where he lived and said if the damage was bad enough. I would knock on his door to get the insurance information He counters by saying that he will leave a note with his info on my door

[00:22:44] He retreats from my balcony while also saying he'd prefer to just pay me cash and not involve insurance I Give it an hour or so Then I head down to assess the damage

[00:22:58] I did this because I didn't want to walk down at the same time as him and I would risk having him follow me Sure enough. There are two long scratches on the driver's side door

[00:23:12] They're not deep or worthy of a call to insurance immediately just kind of superficial I Really didn't want to get involved with him in any way. So I decided that I could deal with the scratches

[00:23:25] But this little event has kind of shaken me at this point. I knew something was off about him Nothing unusual happens as far as I'm aware this night However, the next day is a Saturday I have work the next day and I'm at home all alone

[00:23:43] Watching some action movie. It's around 11 p.m I'm on the sofa with my cat curled up on top of me and the movie is relatively loud So it takes me a little while to register this banging noise coming from the hallway of my apartment building. I

[00:24:01] Honestly only noticed because my cat had woken up and got all puffed up and freaked out I Turned down the volume of the film and suddenly the banging is getting louder and louder

[00:24:13] And just as I stand up I hear five words. No one wants to hear coming from their door Open up. It's the police My stomach dropped to the floor. I had lied to Sam the day before I

[00:24:29] Totally had weed and I had smoked a joint outside on the balcony The part furthest away from Sam's maybe 20 minutes before I'm totally panicked high as a kite and trying to control my breathing so I don't immediately come off as suspicious and before I answer the door I

[00:24:48] remember checking the peephole to see a close-up of a cop's face and Then opening the door coming face to face with six officers all with guns drawn

[00:25:00] I'm about point five seconds away from completely pissing my pants in fear still convinced. I'm somehow in trouble for smoking a joint The officer who seems to be in charge can sense instantly the level of my panic and he says ma'am

[00:25:15] You're not in trouble. We need to speak with you about your neighbor. Can we come in? At this point I'm reeling and my whole being is tense I let the cops in but my heart hasn't moved from my throat

[00:25:28] The policeman in charge asks me about my interactions with Sam I tell him I barely know him and that he lives next to me only moved in a few months ago. I Asked why they needed to be in my apartment I'm scared

[00:25:44] But also I don't typically get along with cops and I have the right to know why six of them Practically waved their guns in my face The lead officer proceeds to tell me that Sam is a bad guy

[00:25:57] They apparently beat his girlfriend so badly the night prior that she was now in ICU for her injuries They told me that Sam had a gun and had barricaded himself in the apartment next to mine

[00:26:10] They said they had spoken to my building manager and knew my place had access To his balcony and they needed to use it Then they asked me to go into the bedroom and lock the doors and turn the lights off

[00:26:25] The next 30 to 45 minutes were absolute hell in my panic I had left my cell phone on my kitchen counter and had to sit in my room Listening to the commotion No shots were ever fired, but there was a lot of yelling and what sounded like things being thrown

[00:26:44] eventually after what felt like a lifetime the main officer knocked on my door and Told me that Sam had been arrested and thanked me for letting them use my apartment They asked me questions for maybe 15 minutes and then left. I Wish this is where the story ended

[00:27:01] But there is a bit more in the days following Sam's arrest I became even more panicked about him coming back to the apartment building worried about retaliation I Hadn't said anything to the police to technically incriminate him

[00:27:16] I had proof of nothing except his word that he was the one who scratched my car But I didn't tell them about the night my boyfriend and I heard them fighting About five minutes later Sam reappeared at the building as I was coming home from work one evening

[00:27:34] He tried to approach me, but the elevator shut just as he was running to catch it My whole body got tense like the feeling when you come close to getting in a car accident, but narrowly avoiding it. I Stayed off my balcony

[00:27:51] Entirely from this point and always kept the curtains closed We didn't speak or really see each other at all for another few weeks and then we had our final interaction

[00:28:04] Sam stopped me in the parking lot one night running after me as I was about to get into the elevator He begged me to tell him why I let the cops in that night

[00:28:14] I told him the honest truth that I was stoned didn't know what to do and had a bad history with the cops This is all true. And again, I was concerned about him trying to retaliate He then got pretty upset and kept trying to repeat the questions

[00:28:31] Obviously wanting a different answer from me When I couldn't give him one he then offered me three thousand dollars to testify as a character witness on his behalf because I Quote knew him and I knew how he really treated women. I Was speechless and very freaked out

[00:28:53] He told me his hearing was next Thursday morning and he asked if I could show up I Was like a deer frozen in headlights for a moment and then somehow Got the hell out of there after mumbling a sting of words that were almost likely incoherent

[00:29:12] The Wednesday night before his trial I came home from work and my cat was acting very weird Like something had spooked her and her tail was all puffed out I Kind of shook it off, but I noticed through the curtains that there was

[00:29:28] Something taped to the outside of my sliding glass door Apparently Sam had left a post-it with his phone number and name underneath it. I'm counting on you it said Needless to say I never showed up

[00:29:45] I took a photo of the post-it grabbed my cat locked all the doors and Stayed at my mom's house for about five days after that happened. I

[00:29:54] Did phone the police to let them know that he had been on my balcony again, but they never followed up with anything Eventually, my boyfriend came and we went back to my place together Everything was as it should have been We never saw Sam again

[00:30:08] But a few weeks later a lady I had never met before was cleaning out his apartment Maybe a month after that new people moved in Things had been normal ever since I Tried calling the police and the county jail to see if he was in lockup again

[00:30:26] But no one was able to release the information to me. I'm hoping that means he's there If he did what the police said that he did To Sam I will say I'm not really sure what happened

[00:30:40] But my biggest regret is not calling the police when I felt I should have in my gut. Let's never meet again Thanks for listening to this week's episode of let's not meet a true horror podcast this week you have heard worst neighbor

[00:31:11] Ever by reddit user little spooky girl How's sitting gone wrong by reddit user? Blading beastie and finally an ex-convict who got a little too close by reddit user bitter drink I hope you enjoyed this week's episode And if you'd like more head over to patreon.com forward slash

[00:31:30] Let's not meet podcast to get this weekend's bonus episode along with all of the previous Episodes and don't forget you can always send your stories in to let's not meet stories at gmail.com And follow me on twitch at twitch.tv forward slash

[00:31:46] Let's not meet streams where I'm streaming video games horror movies and just chatting most nights around 8 p.m Pacific Standard Time. I'll see you next week for a brand new episode of let's not meet