“Together Forever”

This all started a little over a year ago when I was scrolling through a certain dating app. I’m a guy in his mid 20s just wanting to find someone to connect with. I’m painfully introverted so going out and meeting people has always been difficult for me. My friends try to set me up with girls that they know but things never work out. I’ve spent most of my life just being that friend who the girls love as a brother. Well post quarantine and I really, really wanted to just be with someone so I decided to try and put myself out there with online dating.

Making a profile was awkward, I didn’t know what to put on there that made me appealing. I took a selfie to show what I looked like, but was hit with the cruel realization that I was not only boring but unattractive. Kris, age 26, I live alone, no pets but I love animals, watching movies, and my perfect night is staying at home binging something online. My picture was of me at an awkward angle, flashing a goofy smile with my brown hair in its usual shaggy mess.

I spent a good hour swiping left and right on my phone’s screen, reading the different profiles of people in my area. Honestly most of these women were way out of my league and it was to no surprise that I had zero matches. Anxiety eventually got the best of me and I decided to just leave my phone on the table. I didn’t want to pace back and forth so I watched one of my favorite comedy movies to calm me down. A couple of hours later I took a deep breath to see….no matches.

In just a few hours my self esteem plummeted to a new low. I know a few hours isn’t long but there are hundreds of people in my area and yet…here I am with no matches. I thought maybe I should broaden my area so I increased the range for matches. It got to the point where my results showed women a few states away. My phone sat quietly in my hand. My heart just couldn’t take it anymore so I decided to sleep it off.

The following morning I didn’t even want to look at my phone, so I ignored it while I got ready for work. Before stepping out of my apartment I sucked it up and clicked on my phone to see that I actually had a notification from the dating app. You Have One New Like. God, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw that. I quickly got onto the app to find…a blurry picture of someone. Get Premium To See Who Likes You. I let out a groan, but succumbed to the pressure of the marketing.

On my screen was a stunning woman with shoulder length blond hair, a beautiful pearly smile, and shining blue eyes. Her name was Mia and she was on the other side of the US. She listed some of her favorite movies on her profile, some of which were mine. Mia displayed pictures of her in scrubs at a hospital I assume she works at, herself in a cringy yet cute duck face pose with a peace sign, and a picture of herself in a dress at a beach. She described herself as “An introvert just trying this whole online dating thing out. Looking for something serious, please.”

I swiped on her, super like, whatever it was that showed this stupid app that I wanted to talk to her. A couple of minutes later I got a message, “Hiiii.” I was taken aback, my heart started to thump and I took a few minutes just to gather enough composure to say, “Hey.” Smooth moves, right? It just took off from there, fortunately she seemed pretty talkative and carried the conversation. She asked me questions like “What do you like to eat?”, “What do you like to do on the weekend?”, and “What do you do for work?” I answered everything she asked and she told me her answers, “I love meat. I’m a fatty, sorry lol.”, “I just like staying in, watching a movie or something 🙂.”, and “I’m a nurse! I love my job!”

She was so cute and I responded to each of her texts as soon as I could. We talked all day and that made me feel so damn elated. She didn’t make me feel uncomfortable, talking to her was so easy, and god my heart was beating out of my chest. She eventually gave me her phone number and honestly I was a little reluctant to text her. She messaged me “Text me, you goof XD.” I felt so nervous and I responded, “You want me to text your actual number lol” A few minutes later I got her reply, “I gave it to you didn’t I? XD”

So I did just that, I texted her and we continued talking. The day quickly turned into weeks of us talking and the texts became phone calls. We exchanged pictures everyday, nothing lewd, just smiling faces we’d exchange with one another. Mia became a part of my life and I fell in love with her. Our casual conversations became serious talks of being together in the future. I was happy with this, having someone to talk to and feeling loved was what I wanted.

I thought that I was in the perfect relationship until things suddenly took a turn. A few months into our relationship Mia started to become a bit obsessive. I don’t know what suddenly changed but she insisted on calling me every hour of every day. She would even call me a few times in the middle of the night just to check in on me. I would wake up in the morning with dozens of text messages and if I didn’t reply during the time that I’m awake she would call me to ask what I was doing.

I wasn’t sure what to think, I thought for a moment that this was all normal behavior. I mean, things were going so well and I didn’t want to lose Mia over something stupid like too many texts. When her calls and messages started to get in the way of my work I tried to tell her to ease up a bit. I told her I loved her and that I wasn’t up to anything underhand, but she would laugh it off. “Oh, I know. I just can’t be away from you for too long.” I worried that the long distance was a bit too much for her, but I just wasn’t prepared to pack up everything and move with her just yet.

I was beginning to lose sleep due to the constant check-ins. There was no way that a person could call and text every hour of every day but she did so with ease. Mia was relentless while I was beginning to grow more weary everyday. I finally told her that I needed a break and she…she snapped at me on a phone call, “No..no..no..no. Don’t leave me alone. You said that you love me and I LOVE you. So what if I call a bit. I just want to be with you all the time.” I started to feel bad as if I was the one in the wrong, but the next day it got worse. Her calls and texts came every few minutes now. I finally told her on text, “Enough is enough! Please just leave me alone!”

The next morning I noticed that I actually had a full night’s sleep, not only that I awoke to no new messages on my phone. I messaged her to make sure that she was okay, but I got no reply. Then the next day came and still no text. I couldn’t help but feel bad so I texted her sorry…still no reply. I felt really bad actually, but at the same time I felt relieved. It was as if a grip had loosened around my throat and I was free. I wanted to be in a relationship and I think I loved her but it was so suffocating.

That night I got a notification from Mia with a picture of a sign, not just any sign, it was one of those welcome signs you would see when entering a state. “WELCOME TO ALABAMA” This wasn’t a picture on google, this was a picture that she took on her phone and sent to me. Mia was in my state, which wouldn’t be weird but she supposedly lived in New York. Then she sent me a picture of another sign “WELCOME TO…” she was in the city I live in. Then another picture except this one had the office where I worked along with a text, “Almost there.”

I was hit confusion, then terror crept when I realized that I had told Mia almost everything about where I worked at…and where I lived. I heard a light tapping coming from my front door. A familiar yet chilling voice could be heard from the other side, “I’m here..” I just stood there in silence, frozen like a deer in headlights. I wasn’t sure why, this was someone I loved but I felt so afraid. Then a sharp scraping noise began to pierce the silence, she raked her nails on my door. “Come here, Baby. Come closer.. I know you’re in there..” she said with a snarl.

For some reason my feet wouldn’t move, in a normal situation you should be happy seeing your partner…but I was overcome with dread. The voice on the other side of the door sounded like Mia but it was somewhat dissonant as if another lower voice was overlapping hers. I couldn’t help but hold my breath…I didn’t want her to hear me inside of my home. The scraping noise ceased and her voice let out a wail, “Beee wiiiith Meee.”

I felt my body begin to shake as I stared towards the front door…it was silent for a moment longer and then I saw the door knob twist. The door began to slowly creak open…it sounded like a scream. When the door was fully open I was met with darkness…there was no one at the front door. I finally released my breath and I quickly took in oxygen. “H-hello?” I called out…nothing responded. I tiptoed towards the door, wary if what I just experienced was just part of my imagination or something much worse.

When I finally made it to the door I reached my head out of the threshold and looked around. This was another stupid move I made. Before I knew it something was pressed against my nose and mouth, I started to feel dizzy then everything faded to black. I’m not sure how long I was out, but I awoke with a splitting headache and my throat felt raw. I was staring up to more darkness, my back was against something hard and smooth, while my whole body felt cold. I looked around and realized that I was on the floor somewhere stripped completely naked.

My arms were above me and I felt cold metal around my wrists, I was handcuffed to a pole or something. My legs were free but I felt too weak to move them. I heard footsteps coming towards me and in the corner of my eyes I could see her, Mia, in a white dress with a crazed look on her face. She got on top of me, despite the slight numbness I can feel her weight pressing on my waist. Mia bent over and placed her lips on mine. I felt a sharp pain then the taste of iron touched my tongue. Mia rose and her mouth was covered in my blood. I felt a warm trickle just down the corner of my mouth.

This was no longer the woman I fell in love with. The racing I felt in my chest wasn’t from love but from terror. Her blonde hair was matted, her blue eyes were cloudy, and her smile was stained red with my blood. She was breathing heavily as if excited for this moment and said, “Let’s be together…let’s become one..” She began to lift her white dress over her head to reveal her bare skin. That’s when I looked down her body…down her chest…to her stomach to see…another face staring at me.

I let out a shocked wail, on Mia’s stomach…stitched to her skin was the dried face of another person…a man. She noticed my surprise and slid her fingers down her body to the face that I was staring at. “I hope you don’t mind, Baby. He’s just another one that I love…b-but it’s okay. I won’t love him as much as you.” she said with a smile plastered on her face. She reached towards something beside me…it was a small paring knife. She hummed as she took the tip of the blade and it pierced the skin near my cheek bone. I was about to let out a yell but her free hand clasped my mouth before I uttered a noise. “Shh..shh..shhh. Don’t make a noise…Don’t move or I will mess up..”

I was able to exert enough strength to resist and Mia pulled the blade from my face. “STOP! PLEASE! STOP MOVING!” she screamed but I continued my attempts to get her off of me. She looked at me with eerily pleading eyes and said in a calm voice, “Don’t move Baby. I need your face intact…” Then Mia’s eyes widened as if she had an epiphany. “Oh Baby…” she cooed, “Don’t be jealous of this…don’t be jealous…” She removed her hand from my mouth and grasp the small blade.

She pressed the paring knife into her stomach, on the edge of the face she had sewn onto her. “Don’t worry, Baby, you’ll have the only spot okay?” Blood sprayed on me as I watched in horror as she slowly cut and peeled the excess flesh from her belly. Tossing the face aside as if it were trash her gaze shifted back towards me. Mia giggled as she said, “Now you’re the only one for me…” I was frantic at this point, I tugged and tugged my arms, the handcuffs were tight around my wrists and I can feel the skin tear.

Mia inched closer and closer with the knife to my face and I continued my futile attempts to escape until….I heard a disgusting crack. Before I knew it my right hand was free from its cuff and with my left hand balled into a fist I cracked it against her temple. Her body came crashing down but I didn’t pause for a second. I held my bloody right wrist and limped towards the nearest open door.

I had no idea where I was but I was obviously some abandoned building. I was surrounded by debris and I traced every corner for an exit…or at least somewhere to hide. “Baaaaby…where aaaare youuuu..” I head her voice behind me. I continued to hobble forward and I just ducked away into the nearest room. The room was some kind of medical room, there were old filing cabinets and tables piled up. I quickly squeezed myself into the rubble and held my breath.

Her voice echoed through the air as she neared the room I was in. I saw through the cracks that she was at the door….looking around like a beast…a monster. After a few seconds she advanced and I took my chance to go towards the window. The window was already smashed open with bits of sharp glass on the edges. A cool breeze hit my bare body and sent a chill down my spine. I carefully grasped the glass in hopes of breaking it to allow an easier escape through the window when I suddenly felt a tug on my throat.

My body flew backwards and I was back onto the floor. Mia was standing before me with her blade glinting beside her. “Be with me…” she said, “BE WITH ME!!” she lunged towards me and I closed my eyes. I felt the sharp edge pierce the flesh. I opened my eyes to see her staring back at me with wide eyes and the piece of glass I had grabbed deep in her throat. My vision was soon covered in scarlet as I pulled the glass out of her throat and her blood sprayed all over me.

Her body collapsed and she slowly outstretched her hand to me, “Sta..stay..” she said as blood filled her mouth. I couldn’t help but cry as I ran through that building like a mad man. I don’t know how long it took but eventually I found the exit. I roamed the streets for what felt like an eternity until the police finally found me. A naked man running around the city covered in blood. They took me and I was examined by an EMT. At the hospital I told the police everything that had happened and they confirmed Mia’s corpse at the building I described.

Apparently Mia wasn’t her real name at all and she was on the run for the murder of a previous lover who wanted to leave her. Mia or whoever she was…she was obsessed…she was unhinged. She didn’t want to be alone so badly that she thought she had to do what she did in order to prevent that loneliness. She was afraid of me leaving her but that doesn’t make any of it okay. It took a while for me to recover physically but it’s going to take a lot longer to recover mentally…emotionally. But I think things have gotten worse…the other day I was washing my face and behind my reflection was…it was something that looked like Mia and she whispered in my ear, “Together Forever…”