I was walking to the store when a black pick-up truck rolls by and matches speed with me. The driver’s side window was open and the man inside said, ʺHey baby.ʺ
I kept walking. He asked, ʺYou ok?ʺ I looked over at him and he gave me a thumbs up. ʺYou want a ride?ʺ I shook my head. I get this all the time, every time I walk to the store. I consider it a good day if I make it there and back (about 2 blocks) without getting hassled. Normally they just keep rolling by after getting a flat look and a shake of the head. But not this guy.
ʺDon’t get me confused, bitch!ʺ He yelled at me. ʺYou f***ing bitch, f***ing slut.ʺ He’s screamed this at me. I got scared, but I was kinda just shocked, and I got off the sidewalk and tried to use the bushes and trees as cover. He drove on, albeit slowly, and gave me this death stare as he turned the corner.
I kept walking but when I got to the intersection, I saw he had parked his truck in front of the store I was going into. There’s two little competing convenience stores, one on each corner – I went to the other one of course. I kept thinking to myself – like he thought he was doing me a favor by harassing me, like I should be flattered somehow, the pig. Yet as angry as I was getting, after the initial fear waned, I still dawdled in the store and kept checking the parking lot through the windows.
On the way back home, I took the inside path near the trees and I saw him creep by. I managed to make it into my complex without him seeing me because he had driven on; he was holding up traffic.
– “Going to the Store”
Location: Gretna, LA
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