I called the police on my neighbors today.

The Cardinals are in the playoffs so I was watching the game on my laptop while I was folding laundry, trying to be productive when I have been so unmotivated lately to get off my butt and do anything. I suddenly heard an obnoxious amount of yelling and screaming outside and I thought, here we go again, my annoying neighbors are at it again. My neighbors always seem to be verbally fighting, and with the walls being so thin, I can hear almost every word. It’s not a surprising occurrence.

But then I heard someone yell, “Go get your shoes! They’re fightin’ in the street!”

That caught my attention. I looked out my window, which faces the street, and there are two guys just beating the crap out of each other in the middle of the road. I thought, whatever. Not my problem. I’m gonna try and ignore the drama outside and just watch my game and fold my laundry.

I continued to hear shouts about somebody’s baby daddy and someone’s husband and someone else’s girlfriend and it was like high school again, except with grown adults who don’t know how to act. I looked out the window and watched one of the guys go back to his car and was for, one moment, happy that maybe he’ll leave and it will be over. But he instead grabbed a pipe and started walking back towards everyone else.

That was the point when I started to get nervous. My neighbors were yelling to shut and lock the door and I was just imagining this guy breaking down the door and murdering everyone. I grabbed my phone and called my mom, explaining the situation to her. She told me to call the police.

So I did. I gave them my address as the situation outside escalated more, the shouting and brawling now inside of the apartment building, right outside my door. The dispatcher told me they would be sending a unit out. I stayed away from the door and just tried to wait it out. What was little old me going to do against the mob of people outside?

It became quite. Silence had never made me so anxious before. At least six of the people were piling into their SUV, including two children. That made me mad. How are you going to act not only so immature, but so dangerous around two kids under the age of eight? Do what you want to yourself, but take care of your kids.

By the time the police arrived, everything had settled down. I didn’t go outside and talk to them because my two neighbors were still out there. I didn’t want to create any conflict between them and me if they knew that I had called the police and were angry for it. But I didn’t feel safe. The situation was out of control and I want to contact my apartment management to make them aware of the situation but I’m not really sure if that’s the right thing to do.

Regardless, I’m staying the night at Andrew’s apartment tonight just to be safe. When people are so angry that they get a pipe to hurt someone, it wouldn’t surprise me if they came back later with something more dangerous. I want no part of it.

You can live on a nice, quiet, residential street, and still have absolute trash as neighbors and you can’t do crap about it.