Killmonger's One-Shot Collection

Catfish

(8969Savage:) How did the surgery go?

The chat bubble popped up on Cassie’s laptop while she fretted over dinner, her mind drifting. She dropped the chopped veggies in the skillet and skipped to the counter where the laptop was plugged to check it. It seemed like this stranger whoever he was could always read her mind.

(Cas_Cas:) She came out. She’s alive, you know, but we’re still a little shaken up.

(Cas_Cas:) Open heart surgery is terrifying. I was on edge all week. I prayed so hard that I wouldn’t lose my mom.

Staring at the screen she wrestled with herself before typing again.

(Cas_Cas:) I cried like a baby. I felt like I was alone and if she died I’d really be alone.

She wondered if she’d typed too much. It was practically a paragraph. Before she could think too far into regret, his reply appeared.

(8969Savage:) That was a scary ordeal and you handled it very well. If you didn’t cry I might’ve side-eyed you.

(8969Savage:) You will never be alone. I’m not with you physically, but I care about you and I’m here for you whenever you need to talk. You never have to feel like you have no one.

She sniffed, blinking back fresh tears that threatened to fall. Then she had to stir the veggies and check the pork chops in the oven. She’d been talking to this guy for all of three months and already he held a high place in her life. She trusted him yet she didn’t know who he was.. the magic of the internet.

It was fine, except for those times when she wondered who it was she was sharing her business with. Who was it and where in the world were they where they’d type to her little lonely self everyday?

With no one around her that she could express herself with, she appreciated his presence in her life. It had been so random. She was on tumblr and someone had messaged her, a guy, and he wasn’t a bot. She wondered how he’d found her until she found he’d reblogged from some of her mutuals as well. He had no pictures of himself on his blog, just random reblogs. It looked like the account was somewhat new. Still, she was not rude. He spoke kindly and so did she. Quickly, the conversation blossomed and she realized he was a normal person online looking for someone to talk to just as she was.

The one and only time he had crossed the line had been in the third interaction. He’d said something about hooking up and she shot it down letting him know that she was indeed married. Not necessarily happily, because there were a lot of communication issues between her and her husband.. but married nonetheless. He backed off and she thought it might be the end of their contact, but it wasn’t.

He never brought anything remotely sexual up again, but he did express an interest in her life, her ups and downs, her emotions, and her experiences.. things she’d never shared. Things no one typically asked. He didn’t just hope she was okay, he invested himself and it made Cassie smile.

It was true, she was no longer alone.

The front door opened and her husband walked in, suitcase in hand, talking on his cell phone. She closed the laptop gently. Was it cheating? She’d never crossed the line with the man on tumblr, but emotionally she was closer to the stranger than she was to her own husband. She felt inexplicably guilty almost as if she had done something she shouldn’t have done. She certainly was keeping this man a secret.