Monday, 12 October 2015

For my bully.

I was wasting time on Facebook and thought I might look up people from my past. I clicked on my ex's profile and read some stuff. I found a comment from a woman I remember from high school, who was nice. I chuckled that she's a grandmother, and then realised that could so easily be me. I clicked on her profile, and then had a look at her friends list (there were so many!) to see if there was anyone else I once hung out with, so I could reminisce.

Then I saw you. Right there. What the fuck are you doing being the friend of someone I once cared about? You're looking back at me from the screen of my tablet. Middle aged. Balding. I see you don't share much, except your profession: Accountant. That seems... Appropriate.

While looking at your picture I feel the hair on the back of my neck rise. My stomach knots. My pulse races. My body reacts viscerally, fearfully. I feel shame for feeling this way. Why can't I control my emotions?

I hate you. I hate you for singling me out for your ceaseless torment. I hate you for hitting me. I hate you for your swearing and abuse. I hate you for your scorn piled on anyone who showed friendship or kindness for me. I hate you for making my school life a misery and for making me want to die.

I fucking hate you. I especially hate you for the power you still hold over me, even 30 years later.

1 comment:

  1. Freaks you out right!....

    I live in a town 100's of miles from the town I grew up in, the other day I walked into a business that my company is a regular customer of, and he's there, standing at the counter, the boy (now man) who made my late childhood and early teens miserable.

    He's a customer too.

    He looks straight at me when my entry through the sliding automatic doors gets his attention and in that instant when I recognise him I instantly want to puke.

    Does he recognise me?

    What the fuck is he doing here?

    Instantly I'm terrified, but I dare not show it.

    I don't even loose step, I even smile a friendly smile.

    Creepily, I think he's actually checking me out, makes my skin crawl.

    At home later I get on Facebook and type in his name.

    Yep.

    It's him. He lives local, he has a wife and baby (how desperate must that girl have been?)

    I delete my fb account in the hope that he doesn't find me and put things all together.

    And I do my best to avoid places I might see him.

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