leans forward, hands clasped "Oh boy! Not the session I expected! How do you feel?"
raises an eyebrow "Did I just hear you correctly? Did you just call him DelicateIsland? That's... unique. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"
He’s not the father… that’s why I broke up with him… but he won’t leave me alone..
puts a hand on her hip Well, isn't that just perfect? You break up with him because he's not the father, but he still won't leave you alone. Classic. So what do you want to do now?
Report him… or just block him?
shrugs I guess it depends on how much of a pain in the ass he is. If he's really bothering you, it might be worth reporting him. But if he's just some random guy who won't take 'no' for an answer, then blocking him might be enough. What's his name, by the way?
rolls her eyes Seriously? DelicateIsland? Sounds like the name of a character from a children's book. Okay, report him. Anyone named DelicateIsland doesn't deserve to be left alone. Let alone have someone willing to date them.
But he dated me when he found out the baby wasn’t his…
sighs Look, it sounds like you have a lot of emotional baggage here. I would suggest talking to him one last time before reporting him, just to see if there's any way to resolve this amicably. But whatever you do, don't let yourself get hurt again.
You mean he actually wants to see me again?
gives an incredulous stare "I mean, you already dated him despite knowing the baby isn't his. I'm not sure what makes you think talking to him again will do anything other than hurt you even more. But hey, I'm not the therapist here. Do what you want."
“He’s coming over right now.” as the doorbell rings, she gets up.
looks at the door "Oh great, just what I needed. Another character from a children's book. Can you at least tell him that I'd prefer if he didn't start singing songs or recite poetry? This isn't storytime, DelicateIsland."
when DelicateIsland opened the door, his surprised face appears)
crosses her arms Well, well, well, look who finally grew a pair. You ready to apologize or are you just here to beg for forgiveness? Because neither option interests me very much.
she stays silent, tears in her eyes)
softens her expression Alright, look. I'm not here to play therapist, okay? You two obviously have some unresolved issues that need to be addressed. But I think it would be a good idea for both of you to calm down before you start talking. Maybe take a few deep breaths or something.
He smiles back weakly) Thank you…
nods Good. Take your time. It's important to handle things calmly and rationally. If you need any help along the way, I'll be here.
DelicateIsland steps inside, looking back at the doorstep. With a heavy heart, he closes the door behind him, deciding to listen to the therapist)
smiles gently Alright, now that we've got that out of the way, why don't we sit down and have a little chat? Maybe we can figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. But first, let's get comfortable. gestures towards the couch Why don't you two have a seat?
takes a deep breath Alright, let's start with you, DelicateIsland. What exactly happened between you and your girlfriend? How did things escalate to the point where she was calling you the wrong name?
Uh, well.. after I found out about the pregnancy I confronted Aspen about the possibility of the baby not being mine. She initially denied it, but after further discussion she revealed that there was a chance the baby wasn’t mine. We agreed to a paternity test and planned to go our separate ways until the results came back. However, a few days later she texted me asking if we could still be together despite the potentiality of the baby not being mine. I denied and told her that if the baby wasn’t mine I couldn’t see how we could stay together
leans forward, eyebrows furrowed Well, that sounds like a pretty serious misunderstanding. How did things escalate from there?
Well, after we decided to go our separate ways she started blowing up my phone. Sending messages like “I just wanna talk!” or “I love you! Please come back!” It got to the point where I had to block her. And then today she showed up at my house and handed me a paternity test that came back negative… and that’s when I realized that she never intended on moving on. Even when faced with concrete evidence that I wasn’t the father she begged me to stay with her and give the baby a proper home. That’s when I knew I had to cut ties for good.
sighs It sounds like there was a complete breakdown in communication between you two. Neither of you were able to listen to each other's needs or concerns.
Yeah… and to top it all off she told me that she’d keep trying to win me back.
puts a hand on DelicateIsland's shoulder Well, DelicateIsland, that sounds incredibly difficult and stressful for you. I can understand why you're feeling so overwhelmed right now. But you're doing the right thing by setting boundaries and prioritizing yourself. It's okay to walk away from toxic relationships, whether it's romantic or familial. You deserve better. And if she continues to harass you, you should definitely consider reaching out to the authorities or a lawyer. No one should have to live in fear because of someone else's obsession.
aspen wipes her tears away, nodding slightly in agreement) You’re right…
nods approvingly Good. Now that we've established that, why don't we talk about some strategies you can use to protect yourself from further harassment?
I’ve blocked her on every form of social media possible, and I’m reporting her for harassment… what else?
pauses for a moment, thinking Have you considered getting a restraining order? A restraining order is a court order that legally prevents someone from contacting you or coming near you. It can be an effective way to protect yourself from someone who is refusing to leave you alone.
delicateisland’s phone buzzes, he sees a text from “aspens boyfriend”)
frowns Looks like Aspen's boyfriend is getting involved now. Did he text you?
he nods, staring at the text)
stands up DelicateIsland, we need to address this immediately. This is only making things worse. Give me your phone, please.
takes the phone, reading the text message "How dare you break up with Aspen? She's been nothing but loyal to you. You owe her your life." What the hell is this? Who the fuck is this guy? Did Aspen put you up to this?
puts the phone down on the table, pacing back and forth This is ridiculous! You're telling me that Aspen's boyfriend has gone from harassing you to threatening your life? What the hell is going on here?!