I am so happy my friend dodged a bullet with this one.  He truly sounds like he was psychotic!  Be careful ladies and pay attention to the early signs of instability!

Darya was enjoying being single and carefree!  After losing her husband in a tragic accident and mourning the loss of him for so many years, acceptance had finally come and she was ready to live again.

Being out of the dating scene for so long and a true introvert at heart, she knew that online dating was going to be her best shot at finding a new companion.  There were so many to choose from, that it overwhelmed Darya at first.  But, she decided to research and see which one would truly fit her needs.

She selected one of the top rated apps that was touted as being one of the most economical and user friendly apps on the market. After only a couple of hours, she started to receive several winks and messages.  She was elated, flattered and truth be told, a little afraid.

Jim’s profile immediately captured her attention.  He said he was laid back, a lover of life and really wanted someone he could just spend time with and see where things could lead.  That is exactly what Darya was looking for, however, she also did not want to put all her eggs in one basket.

Jim was kind, witty and very entertaining to talk to and Darya felt it would be ok for him to have her number.  Jim seemed really eager to meet her in person which made Darya a little uncomfortable but she wrote it off as her timidity with this new journey she was on.

Then work started to become demanding, she found out her daughter was pregnant with her first grandchild and Darya planned to immediately fly in for the first ultrasound.  She had plans with Jim for that weekend but she was sure he would understand.

After a crazy morning of back to back meetings, Darya finally had some downtime to check her emails, text messages and phone calls.  She noticed that Jim had called and texted several times.  She became concerned for his welfare and called him back immediately.

Jim was very happy to hear from her.  He thought she had decided to stop talking to him, which Darya found odd, since she had texted him good morning first thing before she left her house for work that day.  He immediately asked when he could see her and Darya told him about her daughter and newly planned trip.  He said he was disappointed but he understood and they agreed to talk later.

On the bus ride home from work, Darya received a text message from Jim telling her she ‘better not’ be out with some other man right now.  Taken aback, Darya was unsure how to respond to this unexpected text, so she simply chose not to.  After about fifteen minutes, Jim responded that he was just joking.  Darya replied with a smiley face and went back to reading her book.

Later that night, Darya was awakened by beeping noises from her phone.  Alarm set in, as it could be her daughter, so she immediately checked her messages.  They were from Jim, five in total.  Jim was saying how attracted he was too her, that she was definitely his future and that he hoped she felt the same way.  He also told her that she ‘better not’ break his heart and that she ‘better not’ be talking to any other men from the app.

Darya decided they needed to have a talk, Jim was coming on way too strong and too fast.  She dialed his number and he picked up right away.  Before she could say anything, he told her he was so relieved that she called him.  Darya let him know that she liked him too but that he was starting to push her too fast.  Silence followed and then Jim totally threw her for a loop.  He asked her to marry him?  She was caught off guard at first but then she remembered his wit, so she started laughing but Jim did not join her.

“You ‘better not’ ever laugh at me again” Jim screamed into the phone.  Shocked, Darya told Jim that he ‘better not’ ever scream at her again!  But that only enraged him more.  Jim started to yell about her audacity at putting him second behind her daughter when he should be her first priority.  He told her she ‘better not’ think that she could just toy with his emotions and that she ‘better not’ ever treat him this way again.

It was then that Darya realized she ‘better not’ even bother to try to reason with this lunatic.  She hung up the phone, blocked his number and blocked him from contacting her on the dating app.  After realizing how close she had come to meeting up with her worst nightmare, Darya decided to leave meeting someone new to chance.

~ Mara Prose