I never thought someone from Tumblr would be able to find me in the real world.
I never thought Id be woken up by an intruder inside of my double bolted apartment.
In high school, I played Dungeons and Dragons.
God & Man
In college, I logged onto Tumblr in between classes to RP.
I never thought a fictional character could fuck up my life so badly.
I never thought someone from Tumblr would be able to find me in the real world.
I never thought Id be woken up by an intruder inside of my double bolted apartment.
You certainly dont look the part, were the first words he said.
My eyes slingshotted open to see the teenaged boy hovering in the doorway between my bedroom and the hall.
Who the fuck are…
A jolt snapped through my body.
Adriana, your hair is supposed to be blue.
My name is Kelsie.
Slightly stronger this time.
I peeled the cardboard flaps open with my chipped nails to slide out the bottle and glove.
You want me to dye my hair with this?
His character had a crush on mine.
They spent an evening at her place eating ice cream and swapping stories about their pasts.
They kissed at one point but got into an argument soon afterward and it got violent.
The night ended with a gunshot, which was common for my RPs.
I made my characters badass to make up for how fragile I felt IRL.
For much longer this time.
Tears pricked my eyes from the pain.
Seeing no other option, I rose with my supplies and he followed me by the step.
When we reached the bathroom, I applied the color and sat in silence.
He used the one on his phone instead.
His case held a PopSocket with a picture of a bloody handprint across it.
When it beeped, signaling my time was up, I shoved my head under the sink.
Now cut it, he said.
He rummaged through his bag for a colossal pair of scissors.
You told me you had a pixie cut, Adriana.
I loved my hair.
I wanted to keep my hair.
Okay fine, I said, reaching for the scissors with a plan to use them as a weapon.
He shook his head.
Made a twirling motion with his fingers.
He wanted to cut it himself.
I twirled around, the beat of my heart tripling as chunks of hair littered the tiles below.
It only took two minutes.
Two minutes to destroy hair that took decades to grow.
Now for the tattoo, he said.
Are you out of your goddamn mind?
How do you think thats going to happen?
Did you fit a tattoo gun in your fucking Mary Poppins bag?
He dipped his hand into the sack.
This time, he pulled out a thin blade.
I could call for help.
I could take a stab at squeeze my legs through.
I could…
A never-ending shock spiked through my arms, my legs, my torso.
I collapsed onto the floor, gasping and writhing.
Strands of hair no longer attached to me got sucked into my mouth.
The boy crouched over me and the sensation stopped.
I let him grab my hand.
Spread out my forearm.
Dig a line through my skin, then another and another.
The blood slumped onto the floor, making a trail across my skin.
It felt like my organs wanted to run away from there, even if that meant leaving me behind.
Satisfied with my makeover, Jayden said, Your apartment is cute.
And youre really nice.
Did I get that backwards?
The same words from the RP.
I thought they were stupid the first time but hearing them aloud made it worse.
A socially awkward psychopath.
How long is this going to last?
I asked, finding the strength to push myself into a sitting position.
I played dress-up for you.
That should be good enough.
Thats not your line.
Its time for your lines.
Luckily, he gave me some leeway.
I didnt have to remember the words exactly.
My mind traveled elsewhere as we went through the motions.
We ate ice cream.
We chatted about our made up pasts.
I spoke from muscle memory while thinking about ways to escape.
I fast-forwarded through the story in my mind.
Our characters had shared a few kisses while watchingNetflixon the couch.
Then he tried to reach under my skirt and I threw a fit about him moving too fast.
They kept fighting for the weapon and then…
And then…?
I realized we never finished our conversation.
Is that why he showed up?
To finish the story?
To see how it would end?
He slid closer to me on the couch, signaling it was time for the kiss.
I swallowed my disgust and leaned into him with an open mouth.
I hoped he wouldnt mind the derailment of the story.
I hoped the kissing would distract him for long enough.
When I reached the crease in the center of the couch, my fingers brushed against metal.
He had stored it there.
I made the night end with a gunshot.
