The Night You Became My Monster

The night you became my monster, you let yourself into my room after I was asleep. We had kissed earlier on the couch. You asked if you could come to bed with me. I said no.

We had just met, only four hours earlier. You knew one of my relatives. You were just passing through town and needed a place to crash. The relative said you were an “upstanding guy.” A former officer in the Marines and a real “gentleman.” But for the purposes of this story I’ll call you Rapey Rick.

You offered to buy me dinner in return for the crash pad. Sure, I said. I didn’t have any other plans. I was living alone. I was living lonely.

You showed up at the door with roses and wine. It felt a little strange. But, you were a “gentleman.” Maybe a bit old-fashioned. You took me to a really nice place for dinner and an even nicer place for drinks after. We talked like old friends.

At home later on, we sat on the couch and small-talked for awhile. I was getting tired. I don’t normally spend that much time with strangers but I had enjoyed our evening. You didn’t seem like a monster; you were a good listener. But after a certain point I got tired and didn’t feel like talking anymore. I said, to extricate myself, that I needed to take my medication by a certain hour. I said it, and I remember in the following days thinking I shouldn’t have said…