I live in Chicago and don’t have a car since public transportation is so much easier. I went to do some gig at a local bar, and after it was done I headed home. My friends and I were all taking different rail lines back home so we said goodbye and parted ways... After walking for a bit I realized how late it was and it hit me that the bus I was taking wasn’t a late night bus and didn’t run past 12 o’clock. I saw a taxi go by with it’s lights on. I just got paid for the gig at the bar so I thought, hell, why not? I usually don’t use taxis because they’re too expensive but I was tired and just wanted to get home. The guy stopped without me waving my hand which i thought was weird, but oh well he probably saw me and thought I looked like I’d needed a ride, right?....I hop in and he asks me where I’m going...I tell him my neighborhood and he starts driving to that direction. I didn’t tell him where I lived exactly but gave him the main intersection closest to me. As we start getting closer he starts asking about my tattoos and piercings.. I get asked a lot about them so I didn’t think much of it. I just said where I got them done and a little bit about them. He also asked if I have my nipples or genitals pierced… I tell him that I dont. He then asks me to get a drink with him, to which I reply that I have a boyfriend. He begins begging me. By this point we are about to pull up to the intersection near my apartment and I basically tell him thanks but no thanks for the date. Out of the blue, he pulls over to a parking lot and locks the doors. I look at him, scared, and he says to me “the only way you’re getting out of here is if we grab a drink” .. and gives me a sinister smirk. I’m terrified, frozen in fear. My phone is dead so I couldn’t even call anyone. I’m not sure how I thought of this but I say “okay we can grab a beer and hang at my place, okay?” I tell him to pull into a 7-eleven so I can buy us drinks. I get out and tell him I’ll be right back... His eyes followed me the whole time as I walked through the parking lot. I go in and act as if I’m asking the cashier to open the cooler for me but instead I tell him that this taxi driver is insane and I need help. I live not too far from this 7-eleven and know the cashier by name. He lets me out of the back door and walks with me through back ally way to my apartment which was about 2 blocks away. He had his co worker keep an eye on the guy until I got back safe. I made it home and thanked the cashier a million times. He said he was happy to help and told me to keep my door locked and that he’d try to get the guys license plate number. By the time the cashier was back the driver was gone.. I’ve never taken a cab since and don’t plan on taking one any time soon... This story took place years ago, but it stays in my memories to this day. For some context, at the time, my parents would go out running with friends once a week and leave my sister and I (me, 14, her 10) alone for a few hours. They would leave at night so they usually wore neon clothing while on their run. Where I lived, it's common for houses to have a 7ft+ wall around it. The door to the front yard could be opened from the kitchen, and you could see who was ringing the doorbell on our security system screen. This was a regular night. My parents left in a taxi about 20 minutes earlier to get to the meet up point with their friends. Our doorbell was broken and my sister and I happened to be in the room when the security system screen lit up, showing a man looking at the ground wearing a neon yellow windbreaker. "Oh, dad's home early" I pointed out, a little confused. "Yeah, maybe he hurt himself." My sister walked over, reaching out to the display to open the door when I stopped her. My dad is a fairly tall man, about 6ft, while this guy looked about 5'5. "That's not dad" We both froze. The screen is supposed to turn off after 30 seconds or so, however it stayed on for around 3 minutes, telling us this guy was ringing the bell repeatedly. He seemed to be getting frustrated and started banging his fists against the door. We could hear him shouting slurs at us, calling us names, telling us to let him in. Eventually he walked off, throwing his hands in the air as if he was extremely mad. My sister and I stayed huddled in her room, terrified until our parent called us about 45 minutes later, asking us to open the door for them. I don't know why we didn't call them when we first saw the guy. Shock? Scared of being in trouble for almost letting a stranger in? By the time they'd come home we had calmed down and told them everything. Turns out my parent took an unmarked taxi that was privately owned and did not belong to any company. My dad forgot his windbreaker in the taxi on the way to the meet up point. So it seems the driver came back, posed as my dad, and tried to get into the house. We haven't been left alone since, and it took me ages before I finally stopped being scared of this man who had our address and somehow knew that my sister and I were still in the house. It still fills me with dread thinking how long this guy has been watching my family in order to plan this.