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I made a friend in a game; we clicked, and I really liked him. He’s the kind of person you meet and think, “I want to be friends with him no matter what.” He has such a radiant energy that it’s impossible not to like him. A few months after meeting him, he told me in a text:

“I could edit one of your messages to make it look like you said something bad, then spread it around.”

My mind went blank. Could someone really be that cruel? I hadn’t done anything to him; I’d always supported him during the time we spent together on social media and in games. I felt like I should walk away, but I didn’t. Why? Because I like my solitude, but I like it even more when he’s there. I’ve gotten used to his presence, and that’s the problem. When we don’t talk, I feel like something’s missing—as if I’m incomplete without him. I talked to him about it; I told him it was wrong, but he played dumb, acting like he didn’t know what I was talking about. And, honestly, the problem is definitely me. No one forced me to depend on him; I put myself in that situation all on my own.

I had planned to write him a letter for New Year’s and cut ties with him, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m afraid of leaving him alone, but I’m also afraid he’ll follow through on what he said in that text message. I’m not afraid of being exposed, but rather that he’ll manipulate others’ perception of me with a fake screenshot. But I have no proof of what he said and no way to defend myself. And even so, I can’t bring myself to hate him—or myself—it just doesn’t come naturally to me. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?