I woke up that morning as happy as I could be. I slowly dragged my body into the bathroom and began to get myself ready for the day. I got out of the shower and wrapped myself up into the soft, blue bathrobe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. The tile floor was cold and with every step it seemed to get colder. I opened up the door and went downstairs to feed my black lab puppy that I had gotten a couple weeks prior to today. I unlocked his kennel and he stretched out his small body before jumping on me. I kissed his head and then walked over to the pantry and filled his bowl with food. I sat the dish back down by his kennel and I walked into the living room and turned on the tv and put on the news while I waited for Lucky to finish his breakfast and then we went back up to my bedroom so I could finish getting ready.

I sat down at my vanity and opened the drawer which contained all my makeup. I looked at myself in the mirror. Bags under my eyes, pale lips, tan skin, and a small bruise to the right of my nose. I grabbed my concealer and put it on the bruise and under my eyes to lighten the darkness of the circles. After concealer, I put on powder to cover up any other flaws that might've been lurking on the surface of my face. Eyeshadow, mascara, and then it was time to start my hair, first -- the police man interrupted me, “this is all very helpful but, can you get to the part about the break in?” I laughed quietly, “oh, yes. I'm sorry.”

Shortly after getting dressed, I heard a loud thud coming from downstairs. Lucky began to bark and I tried getting him to stop but, he wouldn't. I stood frozen for a moment until I began to hear footsteps coming towards the stairs that led to where me and Lucky were. I grabbed him, shut the door quietly and then locked it. We hid in my closet and began to hear footsteps coming up the stairs and to my bedroom door. I put my hand in my pocket and moved it around looking for my phone. Shoot, I thought to myself, I left it in the kitchen when I went to go feed Lucky.

Whoever was in my house was trying to get me. He called my name and then started fidgeting with the handle of the door. “Erin!” He shouted, “let me in, I don't want to have to hurt you.” I covered my mouth and scooched myself further into the closet. The deep-voiced man began banging on the door almost as though he was trying to break the door down. Lucky started to whimper and I pulled him closer to my chest. I was so scared but, I knew that if I kept my mouth closed he might give up. I sat in my dark, humid closet for what felt like forever just listening to the bangs, shouts, and the door knob being jiggled around. When the noises had finally stopped for a few minutes, I moved closer to the closet door and pressed my ear against it. I couldn't hear anything until I heard footsteps leading back down the stairs and then I began hearing coins hitting the ground. Shortly after the coins had stopped hitting the floor I heard the back door slam shut. I slightly jumped when I heard the bang of the door. It had surprised me.

I was too nervous to leave the closet because I didn't know if the man had come by himself or if he was accompanied by others. I felt tears roll off my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away. I had to be brave for myself so, when I hadn't heard anything for a while, I opened the closet door and peered around my bedroom. “Clear,” I whispered to myself and then proceeded to walk down the stairs and check the main floor. There was no one down there so, I ran around and locked each door and every window and then called the police. I felt like I was in some sort of a Criminal Minds episode. It all felt so surreal and it was all so shocking.

After setting my phone back down, I walked into the living room and saw that the man had taken money out of my purse. When I opened my wallet, I found a note. “I'll be back.” I have no idea who would want to hurt me so badly, I’ve never really been the type of person who gives people opportunities for revenge. The cop looked at me with a kind of surprised look on his face. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that Miss. Shay, you are extremely brave and I want you to know that you didn’t do anything to deserve any of this.” He got up and left the room we were in while I sat there reliving the incident over and over again in my head, thinking about all the things that could’ve happened to me if he would’ve been able to break into my room. I was disgusted by the thought of what he wanted so badly from me or what he was so interested in finding by getting into my room and taking me.