A Word Of Warning.

The truth was I was being stalked! Yes stalked! Me! Who would have believed that that friendly guy I met on a forum was planning to take over my life. Don't they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? No way! Take it from me, it's just a irritation.

He seemed a really good guy at first, you know the type, everyone's friend. Married, like me. Had a child, like me. I guess that is where we found common ground, as well as our love for comedy and reading. I already heard that he was very popular and friendly with some of the existing members so when my PM box pinged up showing a message I was quite chuffed. We soon became good pals and it was only a matter of time before he suggested we exchange phone numbers. I was comfortable with that.

Initially.

We would exchange banter on and off the boards in PM and I would often get 4 or 5 texts a day which was fine as I enjoyed our exchanges. Then the phone calls started. It was good to finally put a voice to the personality and we would talk and laugh for ages. But then it started to get a little irritating. Some days I didn't feel much like talking and would want to immerse myself in my internet surfing and board banter with no distractions. My 'real' friends knew what I was like and knew I liked to keep my internet persona separate from my real life.
Still, I tried to be patient though.

Some days I would be out with my family and my phone started ringing and I would let it go to voicemail, or ignore the odd text here and there. I could hear sighs from my 'better half' and sense an atmosphere when my phone went off yet again as we were trying to drop off to sleep at midnight. The thing is I didn't want to put it on silent in case it was then thought I was up to no good...which of course I wasn't! He wasn't my type for a start!

Then he started saying little things on the boards that made me feel a little uncomfortable. People knew we talked off the boards but it was almost as though I became a 'no go'. I would try to strike up conversations with people and they were really off with me and the conversations were always really stilted, yet still he could do no wrong and I knew he was still really popular as he would tell me all about it. Okay, he would boast to me all about it! I knew, despite his wife, he was 'playing' some of the younger girls on the boards and as soon as a new member would join he would pounce on them like a lion on it's prey.

One day someone said something on the boards that made me feel the need to PM them. The conversation got around to my friendship with him. The person I PM'd told me some of the rumours that had been floating around the boards about ME! And guess where these rumours had come from? HIM! I was livid! But I knew I had to bide my time, speak to a few people.

A bit of investigation led to more and more information. He'd completely screwed me over and played me like a fool.

I decided to Google his name and see what it came up with. It only took me 5 minutes of searching to find his profile on another forum. I clicked on his page and what I found made me feel sick to the stomach. It wasn't his face that was looking back at me on my screen. It was mine! It wasn't his profile...it was mine! I looked at the last few threads he had made. All me. The things I said, the things I did, the things I loved..even personal stuff I had told him about my family.

Right now I hated him! I picked up my phone shaking...I could hardly find his number in my phonebook.
I dialed his number...