Chapter 2: Shadows That Linger
His name doesn't matter now. But back then, it did.
He was charming in the beginning — sweet words, soft texts, compliments that made Mimi's cheeks burn. He made her feel seen. That was his first trap.
Then things started to twist.
He became clingy. Possessive. Obsessive.
"Where are you?"
"Who are you with?"
"You better not be talking to anyone else."
"If you ever leave me, I swear to God, I'll find you."
The messages stopped being sweet. They became threats wrapped in affection. He wanted to know her passwords, check her phone, control her every move. And she... she was too scared to push back. Because part of her felt like maybe this was love — maybe this was what she deserved.
She didn't know she could feel relief when someone wasn't around.
Whenever he touched her, she flinched. He gave her the creeps. His hands always lingered too long, his eyes too hungry. He was like a shadow that clung to her, refusing to let her breathe.
The only moment of clarity came late one night.
She was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if this was all life had for her. A broken home. A creepy boyfriend. An identity she had to hide like a secret blade under her skin. She whispered the truth to herself — the truth she never dared to say out loud.
"I like girls."
And just like that, everything inside her cracked open.
She didn't want him. She never did.
She had tried so hard to make it work — to feel something, anything — but her heart had always been somewhere else.
She was a lesbian.
And it was time to stop pretending.
She typed the breakup paragraph with shaking hands, pouring her fear and finality into every word. And then, she sent it.
At first, there was silence.
Then—
"You think this is funny?"
"You're joking, right?"
"You're going to regret this."
"I'll ruin you."
She blocked him. Blocked his number. His socials. Deleted his photos. Tried to rip every piece of him out of her world.
But predators always find cracks.
One afternoon, she came home from school, exhausted. The yelling had already started at the front door, but she ignored it. She went to her room, collapsed onto her bed, and napped for an hour.
When she woke up, she checked her Gmail.
And her blood ran cold.
From: No Reply
Subject: Game Over.
"You really thought I was gonna let this slide? I know where you live. I'll dox you. I'll tell your family everything. You'll wish you never messed with me."
Her hands shook. Her vision blurred.
The next messages came from his brother. Vile, disgusting words. Mocking her, threatening her, calling her broken. And then came Lexxie — his brother's girlfriend.
A walking garbage fire.
Lexxie flooded her inbox with screenshots, rumors, cruel memes. She called Mimi disgusting, mocked her for her sexuality, for breaking up with "a king like him." She turned Mimi's pain into a public joke.
Every notification chipped away at her.
Mimi stopped eating. Stopped sleeping. She stared at the ceiling most nights, wondering if disappearing was the only way to make it all stop. She even stood on the edge of her bathtub once, just staring at the tile floor like it was calling her name.
But she didn't jump.
Not yet.
Because fate, as cruel as it had been, was about to offer her something unexpected.
Someone unexpected....
To be continued...