Lara's world had shattered the moment Christine left. Her obsessive thoughts had consumed her, driving her deeper into a pit of despair and anger. She couldn’t understand how Christine could just walk away after everything they’d been through. It felt like betrayal, like she had lost a part of herself.

For days, she wandered around the empty dorm, her mind unable to comprehend Christine’s absence. She was in denial, her anger simmering just below the surface, waiting to explode. The pain turned into madness, and soon Lara found herself in front of Rose’s room, seeking comfort from the only other person she believed would understand.

Rose opened the door, and before she could even speak, Lara pushed her way in, tears streaming down her face.

“Rose, you don’t understand,” Lara cried, collapsing onto the couch, her sobs echoing through the small space. “She ruined my life! Christine never cared about me, never! She’s so selfish, always thinking about herself!”

Rose stood there, unsure of how to react. She had never seen Lara like this before. The desperation, the madness in her voice—it scared her.

“Lara, maybe you should try to calm down,” Rose said softly, approaching her with caution. “I’m sure Christine didn’t mean to hurt you like this.”

Lara shook her head violently, her hands clenching into fists. “No, you don’t get it. She’s a narcissist! She never cared about me. She’s been pretending this whole time. All she cares about is herself!”

Rose frowned, shifting uncomfortably. She had known Christine as kind and considerate, but Lara’s words were laced with venom. Rose didn’t want to take sides, but seeing Lara like this—completely unraveled—made her question everything.

“She’s selfish, Rose,” Lara continued, her voice shaking. “She left me alone. She thinks she’s too good for me now. I hate her! She’s ruined my life!”

Rose nodded quietly, offering small words of comfort, but in her heart, she felt uneasy. Lara’s words were too harsh, too distorted by her own bitterness.

___________________________

Meanwhile, Christine sat in her new room, the silence almost oppressive. She had locked herself inside, isolating herself from the world. The only sounds were the quiet taps of her keyboard as she focused on her online classes, her only lifeline to normalcy.

But normalcy was elusive. Every time her phone buzzed, she jumped, her heart racing. Was it another message from Lara? Was she going to have to read more accusations, more hatred spewed across her screen?

She had tried to block Lara out, tried to move on. But Lara always found a way. If it wasn’t one number, it was another. Christine had blocked so many different IDs, yet the messages kept coming. And when Lara ran out of numbers, she resorted to other methods—emails, texts through GPay, anything to get through to her.

Christine couldn’t escape.

Each message was a dagger to her already fragile mental state. The accusations, the insults—they chipped away at her, making her feel guilty, making her question her decision to leave.

“How could you leave me like this?” one message read. “You never cared about me. You used me. You’re just like everyone else.”

Another: “You ruined my life, Christine. You’ll never find happiness. You’re a terrible person. A liar. A fake.”

Christine’s eyes blurred with tears as she stared at the screen, her fingers trembling over the keyboard. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had tried so hard to escape Lara, to build a new life, but the shadows of her past followed her everywhere.

She closed her laptop, leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling. The weight on her chest never seemed to go away. She felt trapped, suffocated by the constant barrage of messages and the unrelenting guilt that gnawed at her from the inside.

Her friends, Kate and Robert, knew something had happened with Lara, but Christine had never spoken about it. She didn’t know how to explain it, how to put into words the chaos that had consumed her life. She pretended to be fine, smiled when she had to, laughed when her mom called to check on her, and acted like everything was okay.

But it wasn’t.

Every time she picked up the phone, a wave of dread washed over her, fearing it might be another message from Lara. And even when it wasn’t, the relief was fleeting. The damage had already been done.

Christine had lost herself somewhere along the way. Her emotions were a mess, her sense of self fragmented. She no longer knew how to feel. She had shut herself off from everything and everyone, trying to piece herself back together, but the emptiness lingered.

___________________________

For Lara, the madness grew stronger with each passing day. Christine had cut her out of her life, and now, she was determined to make Christine pay for it. She spent hours plotting, thinking of ways to get back at her, ways to make her regret ever leaving.

She would stalk Christine’s new room, waiting outside in the hall, her eyes fixed on the door. If she couldn’t reach Christine through texts, maybe she could confront her in person.

But the door remained shut, no matter how many times Lara knocked.

All night, Lara stood outside, her fists pounding on the wood, her voice hoarse from shouting.

“Christine! Open up! You can’t hide from me forever!”

But Christine didn’t answer.

Lara’s desperation grew, and with it, her anger. She felt abandoned, betrayed. How could Christine just walk away like that? Didn’t she know how much Lara needed her?

When the banging didn’t work, Lara resorted to manipulation, sending messages claiming she was having a heart attack, begging Christine to respond.

But nothing worked. Christine had blocked her, shut her out completely.

Lara’s thoughts spiraled into darkness. She was consumed by the idea that Christine had ruined her life. That it was all her fault. That Christine was selfish and heartless, and she deserved to suffer.

____________________________

As the months passed, the pandemic lockdown finally lifted, and life began to move forward. Christine’s college days were over, but the scars of her past lingered.

Every time her phone buzzed with a notification, her heart skipped a beat, a familiar dread washing over her. Even though she had blocked Lara on every platform, even though college was behind her, the fear remained. What if it was another message? Another accusation?

The trauma of those years stuck with her, a constant reminder of everything she had lost, everything she had tried so hard to escape.

But no matter how far she ran, the memories remained. And with them, the lingering shadow of Lara’s obsession.