Sister jerking

My father in law has breakfast every Saturday morning at a restaurant. He gets there at 6 am when they open and usually stays until 8:30 or so. His kids and grandchildren drop in and out, most do not stay the whole time and they either pay their own checks on the way out or leave him cash to cover their bill and he pays before he leaves.
Last Saturday I went late and crossed him leaving. My wife and daughters waited for me. I ordered and they chatted while I ate. They headed home while I went to the counter to pay the check.
It was $171!
I immediately asked for an itemized receipt and after a bit of hesitation the waitress provided it. I took one l look and knew I had been stuck with my sister in laws check too. The waitress confirmed that she had been there early and didn’t pay before leaving. The waitress assumed someone else would pay it as they sometimes do. I requested that she separate the checks. My family of 4 was $60. Sister in laws’ family of 3 was $111.
The manager came over to discuss the situation and said I could pay, sister-in-law could come within 30 minutes and pay or he would call the police.
I called sister-in-law and she said she was out of town and asked me to pay it and she’d pay me ‘later’. I told her she could Venmo or cash app me right away and I’d pay it.
She asked the total and I told her. She then asked what her share was and I told her that was her total as we had separate checks. She didn’t understand how breakfast for 3 could be $111. I read the ticket. Coffee, orange juice, milk and coke for everyone = 4 x $3 each x 3 people = $36. Double cheeseburger with fries $15, side of hash browns $3, add grilled onions and mushrooms $2 add extra cheese $2 add bacon $3 = $25. All meat omelet meal $12 add a side of bacon $3 add stack of pancakes $5 = $20. French toast $10 add blueberries $1 add strawberries$1 add side of bacon $3 add grits $3 add cheese $2 = $20 = 101 + tax $10 = $111.
She said she didn’t understand how it added up to so much. I told her that was how her family always ordered so I didn’t understand how she didn’t understand how all the extra things add up, but I wasn’t willing to spend my whole Saturday dealing with it. She could send me money right away to pay her check or I was leaving without paying it.
She sent me the exact amount, no tip. I paid, tipped the waitress and left.
I told my wife and she said that her sister never leaves enough to cover her bill.
Sister-in-law called my father in law and complained that her day was ruined. They were planning to go to the opening weekend of the water park and buy season passes but couldn’t afford it after paying for breakfast. He thinks I’m a jerk for putting her on the spot knowing the probably couldn’t afford $100+ for breakfast. He says he forgot she had been there and thinks I should have just paid and asked for the money later and says he would have paid me if she didn’t.
So Aitah for asking a 30-something year old woman to pay for her own ‘forgotten’ breakfast check and insisting that she paid me right away because she has a history of not repaying debts?

For starters, I (24f) became the primary care taker of the family dog (10, beagle mix) when my dad passed away 2 years ago. I pay for his vet appointments, insurance, food, and everything in between alone. I walk him the most and I was already in 2nd in line of command for my dog before my dad passed away. It just seemed natural for me to take on the role my dog & family expected me to.
Now, My sister (29f) wants to take the dog on a camping trip for MDW with her friends and one child. She asked me and I said no. She ended up screaming at me and and calling me a jerk and how I don’t trust her with the dog. I feel very overprotective of my dog and if it was one day camping I’d probably say yes and feel uncomfortable, but one day is one day. Problem is that until April, my sister wouldn’t walk the dog without complaining and telling me how she regrets having one and was barely involved in taking care of him for the past few years, unless it was to show him off to her friends. She decided to react and feel differently about the dog in early April. She helps me by walking him in the afternoon now & at work, I still walk him morning & night.
However, I still feel uncomfortable/overprotective and I know my dog gets anxious when he isn’t in a familiar location and/or surrounded by strangers. The woods would definitely be different for him (and it’ll be around 80 degrees this weekend so being outside for so long sounds like a bad idea for him?? he is a senior!) but I feel bad that I said no now, I understand she changed her mind about the dog like a month ago, but it’s hard for me to move on from years of back and forth. so AITAH?

Just a little background: It’s been a very tough month. My mother was almost evicted from her home and then ended up in the hospital and might have cancer. Then last week, myself, wife and 8 month old all got Covid. This weekend was a family function out of town which I was against attending due to being potentially infectious but we both tested negative at the last minute and I decided to attend reluctantly. At the party it got very loud and crowded and our 8 month old was getting cranky. My wife had disappeared and I couldn’t find her so I was on my own with the baby. I was attempting to find his bottle to feed him because he was crying and was rifling though the diaper bag and was clearly in distress. This older guy (probably in his late 60’s) who is the father in law of my wife’s sister in law’s sister who is known to be a total jerk (he was a condescending judgemental prick to me once before) came up to me out of nowhere while I was trying to calm my kid down and says something to the effect of “lighten up pal, it’s a party!” I’m not sure why that set me off so much but I really let him have it. I don’t recall exactly what I said but it was something to the effect of “that’s not cool, go away!” He kind of laughed and walked away. I’m a very calm guy and pretty soft spoken and measured and again I can’t quite articulate why his comment bothered me so much. It just felt really uninvited, obnoxious, unnecessary and taunting. It was incredibly unhelpful also. This fucking guy can see I’m struggling and took the opportunity to be totally indulgent and unhelpful. Since then I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and plan to discuss with my therapist. Just wanted thoughts and opinions. Thanks.

So I lived with my grandma at her house whilst my parents house was being renovated. And to give a little background my grandfather watch abusive towards my mother and grandmother ( still to this day infact) In her childhood this causes my family to dislike him . He had a criminal record before but I don’t know why. So anyway he one night decided to put chips on the oven and leave the gas hobb/stove on. He then left to go to synagogue. After 45 mins the house was filled with smoke and it was an old house so there weren’t smoke alarms at the time mainly because he refused to put them up and my grandma was unable to. So thank GOD sister woke up and started screaming she was around 1 at the time and my parents went to go get here and when they opened the door to the hallway it was literally just smoke. They then rushed to get everyone out of the house safely and called all emergency services. Around 20 mins after they arrived my grandfather shows up and to his surprise immediately was arrested. The damage wasn’t to severe the hob and oven caught on fire and. Thank goodness there were tiles on the floor otherwise it would have spread to the rest of the house. Also most of my grandmas antique South African stuff was burnt like a zebra skin and multiple other valuables the carpet and walls were both destroyed and that’s about it. We pressed charges and he had to pay 1.2 million pounds for damage emotional damage and faced 1 year imprisonment for arson. I feel slightly guilty as it was a large sum of money. So am I the jerk?

My sibling and I (18m ) are throwing a surprise party for their 25th anniversary this upcoming Sunday . My sister has already made the necessary arrangements ( booking the hall, caterers etc). she has even made them choose their respective outfits . My sister has really worked hard and she doesn't want things to go sour .
So here's the thing : Today the hsc result came out and I've really f*cked up things and got a bad result , my parents are really disappointed, they don't even show their faces to me .
So I've made up mind to not go to the party , I feel I'll be a hindrance and my presence will really sour things up . I'm really scared that things will go down hill .I'll obviously help my sister with setting up things & miscellaneous .
Am I being a jerk ?
Please help me !!!!

Hi friends! Real talk. Last night the kids went live with Matt. Unfortunately people were being jerks so I won’t be allowing them to go live anymore. Between grown adults telling them that they’re cute but Pam’s better and pretending to be their deceased sister saying disgusting things about their mom…it’s just wrong. They’re kids. It’s a line you just don’t cross. And while we teach them about bullies, I won’t be subjecting them to abusive adults. It’s sad that there are grown adults who don’t know how to control themselves and have such issues within themselves that they feel the dire need to put children down. As their mom it’s my job to protect them so that’s what I’m going to do. And while I’m at it, I’m requesting if you’re here with ill intent to please just leave our community. We have no room in this community for the kind of hate some people have in their hearts. If you don’t like me or the way I run this business no one is forcing you to be here and you are free to leave. If I feel the need to block someone and/or remove someone from our community it is my right to do so. You may not like it or agree with it, but I can and will do as I see fit. This is to protect myself, my family, my employees, my shoppers, and anyone else who is involved with JJ Rae. We appreciate everyone who has and continues to show us love and we will continue to sprinkle love and kindness into this world whenever and wherever we can ❤️
someone’s reponse.
I don’t think that horrible post came from anyone in that Read group. I finally checked it out because frankly I was sickened by that comment. That group totally was appalled that it was posted!
I think some very sick individual posted that for attention. Maybe from the JJ Rae side to bump up engagement.
I am glad you are pulling the kids from lives. I worked in law enforcement and there are many sick individuals that easily can exploit your kids, which is heartbreaking!
I wish I could shop and show support, I was banned early on because I asked about the business being for sale. I did not mean it disrespectful at all. I just worried that I would order and then JJ Rae would close.
I figured I would wait out all of the drama and then rejoin. You have enough on your plate without adding more!
Again, I am sorry that that awful comment was posted last night. It actually hurt my heart!
Look closely at those surrounding you and make sure it didn’t come from someone in your camp. Weirdo’s hide closest to those they are most comfortable with.
I pray for brighter days for all!❤️

Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/AmITheJerk/comments/1csum48/aitj_for_cutting_my_sil_out_of_my_life_even_if_it/
Update 1: https://www.reddit.com/AmITheJerk/comments/1cu5yfv/update_1_aitj_for_cutting_my_sil_out_of_my_life/
So as ya'll know, Myself, Fern and Tom had planned some Mother's Day gifts for MIL. I gotta admit, I was worried that Margaret would show up and ruin the whole thing, but it was actually a surprisingly good day- mostly because she wasn't there, which was the OBVIOUS elephant in the room the whole time. Tom worked the grill for a while and we had MIL open the gifts I had planned - it was a small pirate chest filled with letters from Myself, Fern, and Tom telling her how wonderful of a mother she was (I had aged them and weathered them to look waterlogged and like they'd been around for a long time). I made her a boondoggle that said "number one mom" that had our names dangling from it. She opened the collage...the whole thing left her in happy tears, which was nice but also sad at the same time. She said "OP, you're such a shit for making me cry" then gave me a big hug. MIL started to talk about it all ("It's been really rough and I've been having a really hard time"), but it was cut off by the men fussing over the grill. I made the rest of lunch and we had a really, really good time for the most part.
I clocked FIL's behavior in Margaret's absence. He wandered off into the yard and stood by himself for extended periods of time, staring at the ground in silence. I registered it as pain- I'm not gonna lie, it was PALPABLE how much easier and fun and quiet the afternoon was with Margaret being intentionally excluded. I could tell that MIL really needed to talk about what was going on, especially since she was being absolutely flooded with love (in stark contrast to what she's been receiving from Margaret). I approached her towards the end of the evening- she revealed to me what she had put in the letter. Essentially, it reads something like this.
"dear Margaret- I am sorry that we are having such a hard time seeing eye to eye. I have had my conflicts with Fern and Tom in the past that we have been able to resolve; Since you do not wish to speak to me directly, I am hoping that we can communicate this way to see each other more clearly. I think youre upset with me because I married your dad- but I am not sure because you will not tell me what is wrong. I want to make peace with you, but I cannot do that with you so blatantly disrespecting me. I feel like I deserve an apology- I feel used by you, especially since I signed your lease for you when you asked right before this happened. Please write me back so we can resolve this, I love you."
Apparently, MIL had FIL read it before she sent it- this looks like a last ditch effort to rectify the tension, but I'm not sure what the outcome will be because we ALL know that Margaret is going to freak the fuck out the second she reads it. Margaret can't handle any blame and has no sense of accountability. We can all see it coming- so definitely expect an update on that.
On the ride home I absolutely fell apart. It made me so sad that she has had to go to these lengths to remedy a situation that she didn't cause in the first place. I was also very, very angry at FIL and basically the whole family for letting this go on for as long as it has.. I ended up confronting Tom about this again. I told him that there are 600 strangers on reddit calling him and his whole family spineless, and that I have found myself defending them because I know otherwise, but that in this situation those 600 strangers are absolutely right. I said that I know his dad is human, but that they are all a bunch of cowards for the "fend for yourself, just let it go" attitude they have when it comes to each of them being so wildly abused and disrespected AS A FAMILY. Fern deserves better than to have a sister that has told ME that "the reason Fern got SA'd as a kid is because h"e put himself out there like that" (excuse me?). Cory deserves better than a wife who threatens to call the cops on him for not making her dinner (huh?) . Tom deserves a better sister than one who has called me to tell me "He's a creep and I bet he's done things to little girls before" (no idea where that one came from). MIL deserves better than someone who asks her for money and favors only to turn around and rip her to shreds (the entitlement?). And FIL deserves better than to have such little self esteem that he'd rather watch his family disintegrate rather than cut out the cancer.
Yeah, I was heated. Margaret makes shit up, takes things out of context, and regularly demonstrates that she genuinely feels the world is out to get her and that everyone else is the problem. I did not let up.
Tom listened very patiently- we exchanged a lot of words and the conversation took over an hour, the end result being "My dad is nearing approachable about this subject. Today showed him the kind of life we can have without her; you definitely launched a psychological bomb at him with how well you planned the day and how much you showed MIL that she's worth something. He's struggling, but I promise that I'll talk to him about it soon. We talk 3 times a week, he knows its coming."
The last statement I made was "I am not an 'on the fence' person. I'm the only one who has outright picked a side- and it's not Margaret's because I refuse to enable this insanity anymore. It's wrong, and you guys are wrong for coddling a grown woman's hurt ego knowing that its harming literally EVERYONE else in the family. Pick a side, and be done with it. I refuse to let MIL go this alone."
We will see how much longer the circus goes on. I anticipate the events that happened this weekend leading to the biggest blow up that Margaret has had yet- the shady online posts have already started (per Tom, who has found it amusing and low of her). It's about to get a lot crazier when this letter hits, and even worse when she eventually visits FIL and sees a giant collage with all the kids except for her.
There's SO many of you that have said that you are emotionally invested in my story- I'll continue to update so we all get the closure we need. Thanks for all the support (and trash talking, I've gotten quite a few LOLs out of the comments).
Stay tuned I guess!

In my household when you play games we don’t allow other people to win by having other players go easy. The games are always fair. Also helped that when the kids were younger most games are just luck base. Really not much strategy in playing Candy Land.
This is about my youngest he is 8. His cousin Beth is also 8. My sister was over and and she brought Beth. My son and her went to play some board games. Everything was fine until Beth started crying. She lost the game and this was the third one in the row she lost. Personally it was just bad luck since the games were luck based.
My sister went to calm her down and after asked me to tell my son to lose the next game. I told her no and brought up that Beth shouldn’t have a mini breakdown to losing a board game.
This started an argument, she called me a jerk for not “ controlling my competitor son” ( her words). I told my brother about it and he also told me I should have told my kid to let her win
AITA?

So I was around seven when this happened and I was over at my dads. Mind you, im 13 now, and know the full meaning of the word. A little bit of a background check, just so you get the jist! My mom and my dad divorced in 2016, so my dad moved in with my grandmother. He eventually found he liked his crushed since 7th grade, my step-mom. Let's call her...step-mom. I also have some step-sibling. My brother, and older sister. We'll call them brother and older sister. One time we went camping. At this time my older sister had maybe just turned 8 and I was still 7. Brother was around 5 maybe. I was sitting in a dicks sporting goods chair, this will come in handy later, so remember it, and I was looking out at the pond that was near our camping site. I saw the dicks sporting goods logo, turned around, and told brother "Oh brother, your a dick." Je started rolling on the ground with laughter, or tears. It would be bad if he was crying cause he knew what it meant, but it would be even worse if he was laughing and knew what it meant. My dad came over, picked me up, and started carrying me over to the tent saying that I shouldn't have said that. Step-mom shot me a mean glare and said, very baitum, "You really shouldn't have said that." I pleaded and cried saying I didn't know what it meant. And I didn't. I was 7. "Yeah, sure you don't. Your a guy and you don't know what that means? Pft..." and then kept looking at me with this wildly mean face. My dad put me in the tent and left me there for a minute.
A few minutes later.
My dad came over and asked "Do you really not know what that word means?" I kept on shaking my head, trying to prove I didn't. AND I DIDNT! I AM WAS 7! My dad told me what dick meant, and I immediately ran from the tent without my dads permission, darted passed him whilst he yelling at me to get back there, and I hug my brother and say, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what it meant." He said I was okay. I walked back to my dad and step-mom talking. Step-mom said I should be put in the tent for the rest of the day, and that I was lying when I said I didn't know. I butted in and said "Uh, know I do. So thusfore your argument is invalid." I quote for quote said that. My dad looks down in astonishment and asks me how old I was. I told him I was 7. He says to step-mom, "I don't think he needs to spend anymore time there." I apologized to step-mom for being a jerk to her, but she huffed...puffed...then stomped away. So what, am I the jerk, for being 7 and not knowing what a word was?

Sobrang lala na yata ng attachment issues ko. I never had any guy friends kasi ang bilis ko ma attach sa kanila, ultimo simpleng aruga lang skin ay hahanap hanapin ko na. Noong pre pandemic nag karon ako ng cof sa discord, isang guy and girl. He was the first guy na kaibigan lang talaga ang tingin ko (mostly bcuz he's a jerk before). He's like a proud play boy talaga lmao. At saka he was really nice to me since he treated me as a little sister ganorn.
Fast forward, we lost contact after mag karon ng face-to-face classes cuz we got bz and we all left dc. Oh btw, discord lang talaga yung source of communication namin.
Kinakamusta ko naman sila paminsan minsan pero never na nag reply sakin yung guy, while the girl replied to me last year HAHAHHAHA tapos ngayon hindi ko na sya ma contact 😭.
Tapos nung isang araw I opened my discord again just to check if may messages ba na need ko mabasa. Tapos I have one notif, from the guy. I was surprised na nag reply pa sya kasi akala ko talaga hindi na nya inoopen yon since it's been 3-4 years the last time we talked. We catched up from the things we missed on each others life. He told me hindi narin nya nakakausap yung isa naming friend since nag karon sila ng conflict. Our conversation lasted for more than 3 hours, tangina napa open up bigla ako sa kanya HAHHHHAHHAHA and he gave me advice, he was more gentle and caring compared to the last time we talked. Sobrang sweet nya pero hindi yung sweet na nakikipag flirt 😭😭(gets nyo ba?)
Tapos ngayon natatakot na akong makipag usap sa kanya kasi feel ko talaga lalo akong ma a-attach sa kanya kung kakausapin ko pa sya daily like we used to. Tapos considering the fact na online friend lang kami, feeling ko lalo lang akong masasaktan kapag nag continue pa ako to stay in contact with him pero at the same time I also miss the way we are before nung pre pandemic 😭😭 what do i do y'all

Okay story time...
I love my mom to death she always is talking about how open-minded she is she's not racist she's not against anybody with anything right I love her she's my mom. But there's something about her that I just can't stand and she's an ally to most people it doesn't matter what your gender what this what that doesn't care about your sexuality doesn't care about your religion blah blah blah. But like I said there's one thing about her that really really bothers me and she used to work at DQ and she worked with a trans person he he was transmasc. She accepted him she thought he looked like a really cute little boy you know cuz like cute is in like oh that's a cute dog you know not like yeah.
On to the thing that bothers me... I don't remember exactly when it was where it occurred but we I want to say it was a restaurant. We were at a restaurant I think and it was a bathroom and the line out the door for the women's room as usual cuz it was a very popular place there were only three stalls and we were (me, my mom, and my little sister) were next in line for using the bathrooms. No big deal normal day blah blah blah but the next person that walked in was a rather tall slender looking woman with a very prominent Adam's apple and she was wearing a dress and carrying a purse. I didn't think anything of it because wasn't my business she's just here to use the bathroom. We get in we do our business we get out wash our hands blah blah blah. Then my mom turns to me as soon as we're out of earshot of the bathroom and says I think the person that walked in after us was a man.
I didn't think anything of it because it's not my business what's between a person's legs if they're presenting as a female that's their business if they're just using the bathroom that's their business. She looked at me like it was the worst thing in the world and said something that made me cringe so damn hard. She turned around and she looked me in the face and said what if he had done something and and yeah basically insinuating that what if he had decided to turn around and rape somebody and I'm sitting here going excuse me? The only reason that that woman, I'm saying woman because that's what she was presenting as that's what I'm going to call her and she entered the woman's bathroom, was to use the bathroom. What diabolical thought entered your head that would make you think that a male to female transitioned person would want anything to do with doing that? That was the first thought that went through my head I didn't say that out loud because I didn't want the woman to overhear me accidentally if she happened to be coming out of the bathroom it would have been rude.
It's amazing to me that my mother claims to be this open-minded person when she talks about all I'm not racist oh I'm not against gender so I'm not against sexuality blah blah blah blah and then big deal you worked with a trans person.. but you turn around and you treat this woman like she was going to what jump into the stall with your young daughter and do something to her? The only reason she was in there was to use the bathroom let people use the bathroom. I just I can't fathom or understand the whole conversation I don't even remember the whole conversation because I just it was so long ago and it still bothers me to this day because like she talks about it too she talking about how like oh I'm not going to call somebody by another pronoun...you know and I'm sitting here going... but you did the same thing when you worked with someone who changed their gender and their pronouns what... what is your problem that you can't just respect people as people?
I honestly can't fathom any reason why you wouldn't just respect someone for being who they are, I just I just I don't understand. It's honestly very very confusing and very very upsetting because I am one of the most tolerant people of like anyone I don't judge based on anything I judge you based on your actions if you treat me like shit I'm going to treat you like shit if you treat me nice I'm going to treat you nice I don't care what your religion your sexuality your your political views because politics suck your who you're with in bed that's not my business. The only thing that is my business is how you treat me if you treat me nice I'll treat you nice you treat me like shit I'm going to treat you like shit. And the Very fact that the woman who raised me is acting like being trans is something all brand new and shit and like what you think this is new? Cuz last I checked I mean didn't being trans go Way Way Back? I just this woman raised me to be tolerant of everyone and she turns around and she's acting intolerant of people who are trans it boggles my mind and I almost really really hate the fact that she raised me to be so tolerant and yet she's being so intolerant of the select group of people just because she can't change someone's pronouns? I don't understand why she is acting this way and I'm a straight girl I like guys I don't like girls I don't like anything else I get along with just about everybody I just it doesn't make any sense and I want to understand her but at the same time I also wish you would just deal and not judge people so much because that's not the point. Their gender identity doesn't affect their sexuality or their desire to have sex at all in fact it doesn't matter to them it shouldn't matter to you either. I just I seriously wonder what's goes through her head when she says these things because it's really concerning she just she says she's very tolerant of people and such and so forth but like then she turns around and she's hating on trans people and why? I don't understand why my mother who raised me to be such a tolerant person can act like this it's disturbing it upsets me. I just want her to understand that not everyone is the same I want her to understand that being who they are isn't affecting her at all and she needs to just let them live their lives and not worry about it. Cuz like the way trans people are doesn't affect her at all they're just a different gender ooh whoop-dee-doo a guy wanted to be a girl because that's how she feels on the inside and she wants to present that on the outside and that's how she acts. It's like not everyone's out to act like a rapist mom just I know you don't understand everything that's going on in the world but that doesn't mean you get to be a jerk off about it.
Like am I wrong for wanting to change my mother's mind or for finding her behavior unacceptable? Because the way that she talked to me about this woman that walked in after we did made me really concerned I just it really really bugs me that she did that. I just want to understand but at the same time I want her to understand more that it's none of her business what's between someone's legs because the only reason they're in the bathroom is to use the bathroom especially considering how fucking cramped it was like it's a tiny bathroom with three stalls and two sinks no one's in there that's going to do anything bad okay not everyone's out to get you or your daughters Jesus Christ.
And like I said I'm a straight girl I'm an ally to everybody that I meet because I don't care. Your gender your religion your sexuality your everything about you is who you are and that's cool doesn't matter not to me. What matters is how you treat people and if you treat me nice I'll treat you nice you treat me like shit I'll treat you like shit that's how it works. It's very complicated and I want her to learn and grow and be a better person for it but she doesn't want to listen when I talk about it. And even if I was to talk about it I don't think she would listen, because she is set in her ways and I don't get it.

I want to thank Meatcanyon and Wendigoon for starting Creepcast. I've played around with writing horror, and here is my first short story. I will post it for free in a few other places to see what people think. Please enjoy!
A Hike to Remember
By R.L. Oclen
Chapter 1
A woman sits with hastily pulled-up fire-red hair in the waiting room of the state patrol station. The procedurally sterile off-white walls and decade-old magazines do little for comfort. With her head hanging low, her shoulders pushing forward, and her boots rapidly tapping on the floor, something has to give.
"Please just let her be okay." The woman growls as a pair of officers come in from the field. The officers' demeanors quickly change when they see the familiar face.
"Tabitha, did Officer Nichols call you?" one of the state patrol officers asked sympathetically.
"Yes, he asked me to come in and pick up a few things," Tabitha said, shooting back a muted look.
" I'll let them know you're here." The officer said, nodding to Tabitha as they passed the security door. Tabitha leaned back against the hard plastic chair, staring blankly into the fluorescent light. She had done this dance in the macabre repeatedly over the past month. The last image of her younger sister, Lisa, still burned in her mind. Tabitha had always been protective over her younger sister after their parents died. A pang of guilt shoots through her chest as she thinks about her and Lisa's argument.
"Tabitha Hymm, Officer Nichols is ready for you."
"Okay," she stood up, shaking off her guilt, and followed the officer back. The familiar surroundings of the state patrol station blurred as Tabitha stared forward. She followed the officer as they came to a rustic wooden office door, which was embossed with "Officer Nichols."
The escorting officer turns the old brass door knob. "Sir, I have Tabitha Hymm here." A grizzled West Virginia Highway State Patrol veteran sits behind the desk and nods. The escorting officer steps aside, pushing the door open as Tabitha pushes past him and slumps in the awaiting chair like so many times before. An uncomfortable relationship had formed between the two, born out of necessity and duty.
"Cup of coffee?"
"No thanks. Let's just cut to the chase. You don't have anything new?"
The worn laugh lines and Officer Nichols's face flattens. His eyebrows contour sympathetically as he shakes his head.
"Tabitha, I don't have anything else new for you. I wanted to give you the clothes returned from the lab." Her face darkened at the same response she had heard many times.
"As we discussed two weeks ago, there is nothing new and no signs of struggle or foul play," Officer Nichols said while placing a box marked evidence on the table and sliding it forward. Tabitha began to weep at the realization of Lisa's clothes in front of her. In a coordinated queue, Officer Nichols brought out a box of tissues. Reluctantly, Tabitha took a few moments to unblur her vision.
"How does someone stop their car in the middle of the Remington West Virginia State Park, lock it, and then walk into the woods?" Officer Nichols clasped his hands together and sighed at her worn question.
"Tabitha, I wish I had an answer for why your sister stopped her car in the woods and simply walked off. We're still going through her cell phone, but no signs exist that anyone forced her. On that Tuesday morning, she pulled over to the side of the road, secured her car, and walked away." Officer Nichols said empathetically.
Tabitha became stoic at the same explanation she had heard many times before. " So what next?"
"You should go back to Ohio, and I'll contact you as soon as I have more information." She winced at Officer Nichols's words. Reality began to pull at her that bills and work wouldn't wait much longer.
"If I leave, she's gone for good."
" You staying won't bring her back." Officer Nichols said sympathetically.
" So is that it? She's just gone?"
" Tabitha, I'll be honest with you. In cases like this… when people do things like this. Recovery is harder in the spring due to the weather and the animals. You know her mental condition better than I do. I can't explain why she did what she did. But until I find a solution, a suicide note, some intention, or body. She's not here. Tabitha, I'm-"
" Don't you fucking say sorry!" Tabitha stood up, screaming at Officer Nichols, throwing the plastic chair backward against the wall. " I should just look for myself."
"No!" Officer Nichols said momentarily, gripping the desk as his face hardened, then relaxed. Tabitha was caught off guard by Officer Nichols, who was normally composed. "Tabitha, I know this is unbearable. I've sat on this side of the desk and had these conversations. Trust me; I need you to be safe if I need your help later."
Tabitha nods, knowing Officer Nichols is right. She reaches down, picks up the evidence box of her sister's belongings, and leaves.
" Tabitha, if you're heading home, don't stop your car; just keep driving." Tabitha stops to look at Officer Nichols, feeling an eeriness to his words.
" Goodbye, Officer Nichols," Tabitha said as she closed the rustic wooden door behind her. She counted the tiles as she exited the West Virginia State Patrol Station. Placing her sister's belongings carefully in the back seat of her Jeep, Tabitha then sat momentarily behind the steering wheel, staring at the emblem. The familiar numbness washed over Tabitha as she pushed the start button. She pulled onto the highway, driving to the motel that had been home for the last month or so. Muted pop music accented the drive back as her mind raced with questions. Once inside the two-and-a-half-star motel room, Tabitha sat her sister's belongings on the corner table, crumbled onto the bed, and cried.
***
Tabitha wiped the steam from the slightly spotted mirror above the bathroom sink. The hot water from the shower felt good and loosened some of the stress from her body. Looking back at her, Tabitha's face was framed by damp curls around her shoulders. Her face marked the stress of the past month. Frowning, she examined the bags under her eyes; sleep had to come tonight. Walking into the living area, She changed into her favorite gym shorts and oversized sleep shirt. The alarm on her phone flashed "7:00 am," so she could drive home five hours after breakfast.
Tabitha hated feeling comfortable in this once strange room, but falling asleep was getting easier now. Her eyes closed slowly as the ceiling fan droned evenly. At first, nothing came in her dreams, but she let her guard down and slipped further into sleep.
As she dreamed of floating overhead like a bird of prey, Tabitha soared over the vast Remington National Park. The high noon sun bore down on the crisp woods, perfectly contrasting sky and forest. The heat of the sun felt good on her feathers. Distant cries rang out through the dream-like forest, catching her attention. Tabitha tilted her wings toward the screams, feeling a sense of familiar curiosity.
She now recognized the sobs and cries for help as she flew closer, her sharp eyes locked on her sister leaning against a large oak tree. She glided overhead without care, examining the situation below. Lisa clung to the tree, her eyes darting back and forth, scanning upwards. Lisa's face reflected desperation, looking for help in any direction. Tabitha lazily circles Lisa several times before perching on a sturdy branch higher in one of the oak trees. She watched Lisa intently with hunger. She bellowed deeply, hearing the unnatural sound she made, catching Lisa's eyes. Lisa's expression changed; she became calm, almost uncaring, as she stared back at Tabitha's form. Hunger grew exponentially in Tabitha as she spread her large wings. Her large eyes gaze down at Lisa before diving straight for her sister.
Tabitha jolts awake to the alarm on her phone flashing "7:23 AM." She breathes in sharply, shaking off the last horrible thoughts from the reoccurring nightmare. The strange details become more vivid each time. The lingering memories of folk stories her mother told sat in the back of her mind. In those stories, the dead would reach out in dreams as a matter of warning. Leaning back on the headboard, she searched for the advice her psychologist gave her. During their last session, Dr. Ryland explained dreams are a form of self-actualization of guilt. He told Tabitha that it was natural to feel responsible when losing a loved one in this manner.
Tabitha grumbled, lightly running her hands through her red hair; she pushed everything to the back of her mind. "Get it together!" She grumbled to herself. She pushed herself off the bed and got ready to leave. It was going to be a long trip home, and the only thing she could do now was leave things in the authorities' hands. Packing up was pretty easy since she only cycled through the outfits she brought. The local laundromat must have made a small fortune off her. Tabitha took one last look at the box of Lisa's belongings before throwing them in her duffle bag. She was thankful she didn't have to spend another night in this room.
***
Tabitha sat behind the wheel, waiting for the 90's model minivan to finish their order so she could grab a breakfast burrito on the way out. Considering the situation, the Deer Stop Family Restaurant did have a good breakfast. Finally, pulling up to the 70-style drive-in board, Tabitha rolled off the order she had been accustomed to. " I'll take a large iced tea with the double breakfast burrito meal and hash browns, please."
" Would you like some happy hot sauce with that?"
" That's fine, and a few ketchup packets as well."
" Your total is $8.79. Please pull around."
She pulled around to her window, flashed her debit card, got the receipt, and waited for her food. Luckily, the young woman serving her wasn't very talkative in the morning. The last thing she wanted was a conversation about the weather or meaningless small talk.
" Here's your large iced tea and breakfast meal. Ketchup and happy hot sauce are inside."
" Thanks," Tabitha said while mustering her best fake smile. The woman only smiled and nodded as the service window automatically closed. She pulled into the parking lot and dug into breakfast. Turning the radio to the weather, Tabitha sat back and enjoyed her meal. The local DJ read through the headlines, making nonpartisan comments about politics and grumbling about improving the economy. Tabitha powered through the updates of the "out-of-state woman" who'd gone missing. It was nice that the local radio station gave Lisa's name, description, and a missing person's number for sightings or leads. Tabitha even interviewed with the local news and radio stations, hoping it would bring Lisa home. But she soon found all it brought was a sorrowful look from the locals as she interacted with them in her day-to-day life.
Finishing the last of her hash browns, Lisa wadded up everything in the paper bag and threw it in the back seat. The 9 AM weather report said it was nothing but clear skies and sun the rest of the week. Tabitha flipped the radio over to the greatest hit station, pulled out of the parking lot, and began her trip home. She memorized the roads, every bend and turn in the early weeks as she frantically looked for Lisa. There's something hypnotic about the trees: the way they flow together. The trees' green tops and the oak trees' wide trunks were a relaxing view. Tabitha enjoyed the lazy s-curves of the road, bending and winding around the hills and the trees. The occasional farmhouse or field dotted the sides of the road as she made her way to the main highway.
The blur of a semi-truck snapped Tabitha's attention as she pulled up to the mouth of the highway. She had four and a half hours ahead of her, which would be a long ride. Tabitha pulled onto the highway and picked up speed, noting sparse traffic. She relaxed into her seat, letting her gaze gloss over the blur of green foliage. Without warning, Tabitha caught a large shadow from the corner of her left eye. When she registered the black feathery form, Tabitha tensed up and slammed on the brakes as it swooped across the vehicle's hood. Quickly, she pulled the car safely off the road. She couldn't determine exactly what it was, but it was bigger than any bird she'd seen. It was a bird, right? Tabitha turned off her Jeep and grabbed the keys and cell phone. Standing before the Jeep, she looked over the grill to see if she made contact with the entity.
Bewildered, she scanned the tree line, spotting something in the distance. Sitting in the clearing of the large oak forest was an enormous black owl. It stared intently at Tabitha with bright, shiny yellow eyes. She pushed the lock button on her keys, causing the jeep to beep securely. She turned, looking across the open field, an enormous black owl perched in the upper branches of an old oak tree. Each step she took away from the road piqued her curiosity. Soon, Tabitha stood in the middle of the open field, staring intently into the eyes of the enormous owl.
The horn of a passing semi-truck blared, pulling Tabitha's attention away from the mysterious large creature. She looked back and saw that she had walked farther away from the Jeep than she had thought. She glanced back to the forest line only to see the enormous owl was deeper into the woods than before. She narrowed her vision to find the two large, bright yellow eyes staring back. Had it moved? The day's stress, care, and worry suddenly poured out of Tabitha. It was replaced by only curiosity and overbearing tranquility. She warmly smiled for the first time in months as her feet pulled her further into the woods.
Chapter 2
The tug of gravity pulls Tabitha to her senses as her body reacts, falling forward. Her arms thrust forward, bracing for impact. Water rushes around her face as she struggles to get her bearings. Quickly, Tabitha pushed herself up in the ankle-high stream she fell in. The haze slowly clears from her mind as she stares at the muddy water. The dull ache throbs up her legs. Tabitha can smell the sweat from her clothes. Her face contorted in panic as she quickly stood up in the water, looking for her cell. Thankfully, the device was still in her pocket, dry and unscathed.
"One o'clock. How can that be?" Tabitha says, slowly looking up from the screen to see the vast, dense West Virginia forest encompassing her view. She shakes her head back and forth with disbelief. A smile gently spreads across her face, with the last bit of tranquility leaving her body. How did I get out here? Her breathing becomes faster as her pulse begins to quicken. I'm in the forest. I'm all alone—just like Lisa!
"NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS FUCKING CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!" Tabitha screams into the void of trees. Her eyes well up with tears as she crumbles to her knees, gripping her phone tightly to her chest. Her sobs ring out through the thick oak trees. Her breath slows a little as she regains her composure. She begins to search her mind for anything. What is the last thing I can remember? The image of the black shadow crossing her vision while driving flashes into her mind.
"Okay, I got out of the Jeep, the…then what?" Tabitha says, trying to refresh her memories. She thinks her memory is not just gone; it's a black void in her mind. Complete blackness fills her mind right after remembering locking the Jeep and then turning to see the…
"Fuck I saw something. What was it!" Tabitha says, frustrated with her mind. She knew there must be a logical reason she was out here. Officer Nichols warned her not to go looking for her sister. She wasn't stupid; she just said that as a last-ditch effort to get him to do anything. Now I'm here.
"Run!" Tabitha heard Lisa's voice in her ear. Before she could turn around, she heard a loud bellowing coming from overhead. Fear shot down her back, reminding her of the nightmares she had over the past month. She shot forward full bore as something crashed to the ground behind her. Glancing back as she ran, a black mass of feathers convulsed between the broken branches of the trees. Its slick black feathers rippled across its surface as its bones crackled and flesh tore. Its body contorted and twisted from the shape of an owl to something bigger.
"Run, Tabby! Don't let it catch you!" Tabitha pushed forward, hearing Lisa's scream beside her face. Her breath burned in her chest, and she moved past the old oak trees bent over the creek bed. Her feet slammed rapidly, splashing along the side of the creek. Another loud bellow comes from behind as the trees bend and break to the force behind her. A small opening in the rocky creek bed catches her sight from the left. She dives into the crevasses, not caring where the fathoms lead. Tabitha tumbles in the pitch black, taking scrapes and sharp jabs from the rocks as she tumbles further into the void.
She finally tumbles to a stop on the sandy, wet floor of the cave. Her body aches from the sudden burst of exhaustion. The cool water running around her body from the creek is soothing despite her bumps and bruises. Pushing herself up, she scoots out of the water. Feeling her way forward, she finds a dry spot to collect herself. Quickly pushing her hand into her pocket, she finds her phone undamaged.
The sound of footsteps pushing against the creek fills the void around Tabitha as the light steps move closer to each other up the underground creekbed. She slowly removes her cell from her pocket and then shines the camera light toward the sound. A pair of scratched and bruised pale bare legs hold up a frail form in front of her in the creek. She wears the darkness as a shroud with nothing else to clothe her. Tabitha froze, not wanting to shine the light further in the pale form before her.
"Tabby, turn your light off. You need to save your battery." Tabitha turned off the light and then rushed forward, embracing Lisa—the how or why didn't matter, only the now. The pale form hugged her tightly. Tabitha felt her cold, bare skin. The darkness couldn't hide the feeling of the marks across her back and torso.
"Lisa, I'm-"
"Hush! I don't have much time. This wasn't your fault! I'm with Mom and Dad now. You have to survive, Tabby! Listen. Wait until the sun shines through the cracks, making a trail out. Follow it down the creek until you come to the opening. You'll see a large hill you hike up for a cell signal. And remember…If you can't see it… It can't hurt you. I love you-"
Tabitha stumbled forward before catching herself. The void in front of her arms was only filled by cool air. She looked up and noticed a faint glimmer of light pushing through the ceiling. She sat down, relaxing against the limestone wall of the cave, waiting for the trail of light to form.
***
After a few hours, the light shining through the cracks of the cave ceiling was bright enough to lead Tabitha to the other side. She stepped onto the creek bed, thankful for the sun hanging lower in the sky. Scanning the sky, Tabitha saw only a few clouds. The foothills of Appalachia backdropped the forest as she scanned for the hill. Her eyes found the trail leading up the steady slope of an impressive hill. The top of the hill was bare. Part of the hill must have sheared off in a landslide, leaving the top void of trees and a jagged cliff face. Tabitha started her hike up the back of the hill. She was careful to stay under the heavy canopy of the old trees, hopefully avoiding the creature's eyes.
She did her best to quiet her mind while hiking up the trail. Come on, almost to the top, then I can call 911, she replayed repeatedly in her mind. Her adrenaline made up for the lack of food since morning. She drank some water from a clean spot in the creek. She was placing her bet on rescue rather than worrying about the water.
Leaning against one of the trees, Tabitha took out her cell and measured the signal.
"Damn it, nothing!" She swore under her breath. She listened nervously and cautiously peered her head out from the tree line. Standing at the tree line, the cell phone still had a low signal. She pushed her anxiety down with a swallow and slowly stepped forward onto the bare rock. Tabitha was now out in the open. She walked with the cell phone pointed upwards, measuring the signal. Within three feet of the cliff face, her signal bar punched up to full. Tabitha began to punch in the numbers just as a pair of large yellow eyes appeared. She felt her legs become weak, and her vision blurred as the creature snared her in its gaze.
Tabitha ducked, missing the giant owl's claws as it swooped for her. She squinted her eyes shut, momentarily breaking the hold of the infernal beast as it crashed to the ground, tumbling down the path of old trees. On her hands and knees, she tucked the dialed phone back into her pocket. She heard the creature's loud bellowing, followed by the snapping of bone and flesh ripping. It was changing its shape to finish her off.
Tabitha tried to get up, but the flash of its eyes did something to her. Her legs were numb, her stomach was in knots, and she could barely put a few thoughts together.
"If you can't see it, it can't hurt you." Tabitha heard clearly in her left ear. She quickly pushed herself into a sitting position and fumbled for the key chain in her right pocket. Pulling the long chain of keys, luck charms, and keepsakes, her father's Swiss army knife dangled at the end. She slowly opened the half-inch blade. Her body wholeheartedly rejected her plan and tried to fight her. Every internal warning system sounded as her body fought against her as she brought the blade against the corner of her left eye.
She didn't know if she could do it until the creature bellowed in her direction. With one quick motion, the half-inch blade sliced across her left eye. The world dimmed and then went black on her left side. Behind her, the beast's thundering gallop was getting closer. Tabitha plunged herself into total darkness with the last bit of her strength. Her hand gripped tightly around the bloody knife as she folded forward onto the ground. She could feel herself weeping blood. She squinted, doing her best to stem the tide of blood loss.
A large feathered paw drove into Tabitha's right side, flipping her onto her back. She lay still as the hulking creature stood over her. It remained motionless, and Tabitha was confused about why it didn't move or bite her. Then she started to giggle, just a little at first. Then, laughing madly into the creature's face as it growled back at her. She could not see it; she couldn't see anything. Her mind couldn't be eaten!
The creature roared into Tabitha's face while plunging one of its sharp claws into her shoulder. Tabitha screamed in pain, slashing the knife downward. The blade hit something soft, and she ripped the blade down, rending whatever she had hit on the abomination. A bright yellow, foul-smelling liquid gushed in a torrent over Tabitha's face. She turned to cough, having swallowed a portion of it. The creature reared back, squealing in pain. Its hind leg came down hard on Tabitha's leg, snapping her tibia. She jerked her leg up, causing the creature to tumble forward and fall over the edge of the cliff side.
Tabitha heard the creature crash below at the base of the hill. A large dead tree speared the creature through its chest. Tabitha could hear the labored whines of the creature as its cries became weak and slowed. A wave of sickness hit her as she rolled over and vomited. The foul smell drenched her. She did her best to focus, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the phone. By memory, she typed in the unlock pin. She held her breath and placed her thumb where the call button should be.
She could hear the call being made then, "911. What is your emergency?"
"Please help me! A bear has attacked me, and I can't see. I think I am on a hill."
"Ok, ma'am, stay with me! Do you know where you are located?"
"No, I'm lost. Please send help."
"It's okay. Stay with me on the phone, and I'll use the cell signal to try to find you."
"I'm on top of one of the hills. I think I am lying on a bare roc-" Tabitha slipped unconscious with the cell still tightly in her hand. Her body began to tremble and convulse.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! Stay with me. I have help on the way."
Chapter 3
A young man in military fatigues frantically compiles images and reconnaissance data from his drone feed. Confirming his hunch, he commands the winged surveillance drone to make a hard left and send a live video feed. His eyes widened as he saw a large owl-shaped shadow crash onto the top of a hill. He watches in awe as the sleek black owl twists and shifts into something much larger, like a grizzly. As the drone turns, he sees a woman at the cliff's edge trying to steady yourself on her hands and knees.
He bolts up from the command module, jotting down the drone's coordinates on one of the printouts. The drab government-issued office motif for the watch station blurs in the corner of his eye as he rushes down the hallway to the watch commander's office.
"Sir, recon has eyes on AMOS! And it's feeding!" the man said, swinging the heavy wooden door open. He took the hastily compiled file and pushed it forward to the commanding officer.
An older, tanned man quickly stands, reaching for the files. His brow furls, seeing his charge is awake. "Keep eyes on it! Go Adams!" The young man nods, turning on his heel and bolting for the drone command module. As his office door slams shut from the subordinate officer, he grabs his headset and frantically dials the closest military outpost to the coordinates.
"Hello, Sergeant Klein; this is Agent Smith of Black Watch outpost 7948! Shadow is active, code Alpha, Mike, Oscar, Sierra. The coordinates and data package have been sent. A civilian is on the ground; deploy strike-and-rescue ASAP.
"We'll be up in five, Agent Smith! The line cuts as Agent Smith closes out the call on his headset and rushes to the door. The normally quiet watch station buzzes alive, with personnel flooding the central command station. The background echoes resource allocation calls, frantic typing, and the hum of cold computers warming up.
"Adams, get our eyes back on Amos!"
"Coming back around in 30 seconds." Thirty sets of eyes stare at the three giant screens, anxiously waiting for the drone feed to clear the bank of trees. The camera clears the tre top to see the giant feathered grizzly rear back slinging its massive head away from its prey. Its large yellow right eye spews bright yellow liquid all over the red-haired woman and the cliff face. The giant feathered grizzly missteps, crushing the woman's leg and causing the creature to tumble over the cliff face.
"Fuck!" Agent Smith yells in horror as he watches AMOS fall four stories, impaling a sharp, 3-meter-tall log lodged in the boulders. The command center freezes wide-eyed at the flailing dying creature on screen. Agent Smith pulls his cell out quickly and dials.
"Klein, Scrub the current request! AMOS is down! Switch to rescue and harvest now!
"What, someone took out AMOS?"
"YES! It's at the bottom of the cliff, bleeding out essence! The woman is covered in it as well. Clean as much of it off her as possible before you take her to the ER.
"Understood!"
Agent Smith, in a rage, slings his phone straight forward, connecting with Private Adams's skull. Adams flinches at the sudden impact of the hard plastic and covers his head. Agent Smith grabs the table in front of him and flips it over, sending the computer equipment crashing to the government-issued tiled floor.
"A two-year cycle gone! All that essence is gone! Now I have to wait another 24 months for AMOS to resurrect!" Agent Smith screams, causing the rest of the staff to recoil away in fear.
"Jones!" Agent Smith says sternly, turning to a petite woman on his left. She stares at him, pleading.
"Yes Sir?'
"Get Officer Nichols on my office line. That fuck up has some explaining. He should have told us AMOS was awake."
"Right away!" Jones quickly sits back down and begins dialing Nichols, thankful she doesn't have to deal with Agent Smith further. The command center quickly shifts gears as Agent Smith returns to his office.
***
Two Weeks later…
"Tabitha… Tabitha… This is Doctor Wilhelm. Wake up." The kind older gentleman said as they gently nudged Tabitha in her hospital bed.
"Where am I?" Tabitha asked, waking from what felt like years of sleep. She sat up, the world still pitch black, but an odd sense of the world around her seemed to hum just behind her eyes.
"You're in the hospital, dear; you scared us. Do you remember anything?" He said as he sat down on the side of her bed.
Tabitha thought for a moment the last parts after she slashed her eyes were a blur. She remembers people yelling and the sound of two or three helicopters over her. " No, it's really all just a blur."
"Well, it's probably for the best. You had some very serious injuries. The first night, we honestly didn't think you would make it. Then…" The doctor trailed off with a concerned expression, not knowing how to explain things further.
Tabitha felt his pulse quicken somehow. She didn't understand it but fully felt or sensed the doctor beside her. She sensed the two other nurses standing at the end of the bed. Her body didn't hurt. She felt great. She felt hungry.
"Doctor, you said had. What happened to my injuries?" She said calmly, trying not to startle the old doctor further.
"Well, Tabitha, it's the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. You had violent seizures from the minute you hit the entrance of the ER. We couldn't even set your leg. The medications we gave you had a minimal effect, and you thrashed so much that we had to restrain you. Then, the early morning check-in found you in a deep sleep. All but your eyes were completely healed. So we switched gears to support care and treated your eyes the best we could." He said, watching her reaction.
Tabitha leaned back in her bed, taking in the wild account. "Do you know how I healed so quickly?"
"What happened to you is beyond all scientific reason. A miracle is the only way the staff and I can explain it. I know you have been through a lot, but I want to check your eyes."
"Thank you for all your help, Doctor Wilhelm." She said, sitting up in bed.
"You are most welcome, dear. Now I am going to unwrap your eye-dressing. Hold still, please." he said as he reached up and pulled on the bandage tape. Tabitha felt a quick tug and felt the bandages loosen from around her head. The doctor slowly unwrapped the bandages. The doctor's brow wrinkled as he examined the two large black scabs covering Tabitha's eyes.
"Tell me if this hurts at all, ok?"
"Yes, doctor." She relaxes as the doctor's gloved fingers pass over the scab. He pushes and gently tugs at the side of one, and it starts to lift. He pulls on the scab more, and Tabitha begins to sense the light as it hits her eyelid.
"Oh, I can sense the light, Doctor Wilhelm!" She said, smiling.
"Wonderful! Nurse Allen, please hand me some saline solution. I think a little water will loosen these right up. Hold still; this may feel cold," he said as he reached for the solution. She felt the cool liquid flush over the left eye, then the right. The scabs fell away with a gentle tug from the doctor. She could see the light shine through her eyelids. She grinned widely, happy to have some form of sight left.
"Please open your eyes for me," he said as he sat back on the bed. Tabitha slowly opened her eyes. The flood of light was almost too much, causing her to squint. After a few moments, she adjusted to the fluorescent lights. Three figures began to take shape in front of her. First, the distinguished older features of Doctor Wilhelm came into view quickly, followed by the brunette and blonde younger nurses standing at the end of the bed. Suddenly, her vision snapped into place, crisp and clear.
"I can see perfectly! This is amazing! Thank you, Doctor Wilhem!" she said, turning to look directly into his eyes, but he stared back at her unmovingly.
"Doctor Wilhelm?" she said as her expression became more worried. Doctor Wilhelm just sat staring, intensely focused on her eyes. His expression was overbearingly calm. She glanced at the nurses, rigidly staring back at her with trapped, calm expressions. Doctor Wilhelm began to twitch slightly. It traveled from the base of his spine out to his limbs, finally convulsing.
"Doctor Wilhelm, are you okay?" Tabitha yelled as the doctor began to have a seizure and fell on top of her bed.
"Help Him!" She screamed at the two nurses only to see both of them crumble to the tiled floor. One of them bashed her head off the bed frame. Tabitha recoils back from Doctor Wilhelm in terror as he starts foaming at the mouth. She climbs over the bed rail and hits the tiled concrete floor with a thud. Her adrenaline surges as she bolts for the door, looking for help.
At the entrance of her hospital room, she sees another nurse leaving the adjacent room. "Please, my doctor and staff need help!" As the male nurse turns to see Tabitha, he suddenly goes stiff before collapsing into a violent seizure, spilling his cart over with him.
"What's happening!" Tabitha screams, thinking something is in the air, or everyone has come down with something. A pair of security guards round the corner, hearing the screams and commotion.
"Ma'am, are yo-" The guard freezes mid-stride as he makes eye contact with Tabitha. Both men start to convulse and topple over, thrashing violently on the hard tile.
"No, no, no, no!" Tabitha yells as she darts into the women's bathroom, a few doors up the hall. She runs in, terrified of the situation. She approaches one of the sinks, bracing herself against the cool porcelain. Her stomach turns, and she dry heaves in the sink. She steadies herself while turning on the cold water. Leaning in, she takes a drink. As she looks up, a glint of two yellow eyes catches her. Tabitha stumbles backward on reflex. Then, she sees her reflection in the mirror. Two completely bright yellow eyes stare back at Tabitha. She screams at herself in the mirror, not feeling hungry anymore.
The end.
I will

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Ok this is a reuplod the original got took down Ok for backs story I am 5,6M and the other kid 4,6M . Not trying to fat shame but the other kid we will call him attack he is a little over weight.
This story starts off am playing basketball with some other people a friendly game attacker is on the other team.i am saying simple trash talk to attack. the ball goes out of bounds so I go get it. just as I turn around after geting it attacker suck punches me in the face I am dazed. Just as I realize what happen attacker punches again he missed so to defend my self I put him in a simple head lock And when he's in the head lock HE BIT ME yes HE BIT ME but do to adrenaline i didn't realize i let him go after saying some words i let him go. About 3 minutes later I realize what happend and yelled at attacker the principal saw and just like that attacker starts crying and plays victim .
At the principals office. I get called in after attacker the principal is defending attacker saying my trash talk was why he PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE AND BIT ME. We got in the same amount of trouble
6 weeks later. Attacker yells go f%k your selfs you pieces of s%t mother f&keys at me and my sister you don't eff with my younger sister witch is what attacker is going to find out.
1 day later. At school attacker keeps on elbowing me I ask him to stop i tell him to stop this happens 40 times I don't tell anyone because they will take his side. After school is over he elbows wpme in the boot room
The fight. So I push him and after that he punches me he gets 2 good hits. But I am pretty good at fighting i punch him 3 times in the sternum once had in the solar plexus with my right hand then left hook him in the ja Aw then a mean right hook. He trys to bite me head put fails but does rip my jacket i punch him a few more times then run. One of the teacher confronts me and dosnt let me leave utill I tell her that schools over you have no authority no I am leaving the very next day I am in the principals office I try to explain but he defends attacker I need to sit at the office for half the day he gets no Punishment even thought he started the fight. But I am glad because at the office I finished a whole day of work ing 3 hours and I was ahead
Last Thursday. Attacker makes fun of me so I return the favor. The he insults my disabled friend makes fun of his life threatening medical problems calls him a slur. The once the bell rings we go inside I call attacker I a&s hole for what whe said then attacker tries to fright me he tries to punch I block once the teacher come she tells him to get out he curses my the teacher the whole class and slams the door. I even heard he tried to punch a teacher he got no Punishment for all of it . So tell me am I the jerk and what can I do to get justice. Any and all updates will be posted chech tomorrow for updates. If you want to help the schools name is ecole vicker school the principal is mr voat That is my story

im a straight male in a relationship with a woman Im wanting to become a bottom/experience the other side of male on male (i have nasty thoughts all the time) im curious how you guys s grew the courage to actually let someone enter your hole, i have 2 gay friends i know of, one is in a relationship with another male and they would want to double team me (i grew up with him but we lost touch for 10yrs) the other one is good friends with my GF sister which worries me but assures me no one would know, im still having a hard time meeting up & always flaking on them once we do arrange a date meet
please note when i was younger er i did suck some friends off/jerk off, its been 15yrs though

I’m on mobile so please excuse any formatting errors. Thanks! I (18F), a senior in high school, was leave school last Friday when my car broke down. It’s not really relevant, but I’ll note it’s technically my parent’s car- they just let me drive it for school commutes. We’ve been having issues with the battery recently, so I figured I only needed a jumpstart, and called my dad (49M) who didn’t pick up right way. Instead I called some friends to help jumpstart it (the battery was indeed dead and I just found out there’s been a recall on the model I drive for this issue.)
We’ve got a dealership only a mile from my high school, so once my dad saw my voicemail and my friends got the car started my dad and I drove to the dealership to get the car looked at. They helped us quickly and sent us with a number to the waiting room where I, my dad, and six or so others were crammed to wait for our cars.
Everything was going well so far: I’d aced a quiz in my German class, made plans for the weekend, my dad was reading emails and showing me bad Facebook memes, and I was actually having a decent day. The issue stems from a comment my dad made out of the blue.
The dealership’s waiting room had a tv across from the table we were sitting at, and I was glancing up at it occasionally while picking out some music to listen to while we waited. An ad for bras started playing, the kind that smooth out that space just under your armpits where skin usually bunches.
I wasn’t really paying attention to it until my dad looked up and, not quietly at all, said “Hey look, a bra to get rid of all those fatty wrinkles,” while pinching the skin in question. I was genuinely shocked and didn’t say anything for a good ten seconds, just staring at him after jerking my side away. After I processed what he said I responded, “That was weird,” because that is a really weird thing to say to your teenage daughter. Then I told him that maybe they’d show an ad for hair loss products next, because he needed those more (he’s gone white and is actively balding.)
After a few minutes of him acting like what he said was absolutely normal and of me trying not to get emotional, I went to the bathroom and just stood there alone for a good ten minutes. I was and still am upset by what he said to me. I feel like he was trying to humiliate me for some reason, because not only did he grab me and insult my weight and body, but he did it loudly in a small room full of people.
I know for a fact some people turned and looked, and part of the reason I went to the bathroom afterwards (besides trying not to cry) is because I have a diagnosed social anxiety disorder. It gets really bad when I’m in large groups of unfamiliar people, and unbearable when the attention is on me. My hands got really sweaty and my chest started to hurt, and I had to stand alone in a grimy uncleaned bathroom until I calmed down so I wouldn’t freak out in front of the whole room. It was an awful experience all around and it definitely reopened some thoughts about myself and my appearance that I haven’t actively had since freshman year. My dad also knows I have this disorder, but from what I’ve gathered he believes it’s a crutch that I use because the ‘new generation is weak and wants to be victims and doesn’t take accountability.’ I thinks it’s reasonable to note that my mom, his wife, is diagnosed and medicated for the same anxiety disorder that I am. The only reason I bring this up is because I think it’s relevant to explain why I think this was such a shitty thing to do.
Another reason why I’m upset: I’ve always been insecure about my weight, specifically because of him and some comments he’s made in the past. He once told me at the age of ten that I was ‘getting a bit of a belly’ and ‘needed to eat better’ as if I was the one deciding what food came into the house and onto my plate. I know those comments alone don’t sound bad, but regardless of how he meant it I ended up crying in my room because all I heard was my dad telling me I need to lose weight. This is the most vivid time I remember him commenting, but he’s done this a lot throughout my childhood. He knows I’m insecure about my weight, but regardless I feel like it’s unspoken that you shouldn’t make comments about someone’s body like that, especially your own daughter.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a few pounds heavier than I should be for my height, but I’m no where near obese or even fat. I’ve got softer features because of it, and I know I could lose a bit if I exercised a bit more, but case in point in a healthy and very average weight. He, on the other hand, has a beer gut and weights well over 280 pounds.
That was all the premise, and this is where I might be the asshole. When I got home I locked myself in my room and my dad went off to go shopping and pick up my sisters from their afterschool activities. I’d made plans to sleep over with a friend, and while waiting for her to arrive and pick me up my mom came home and we ended up chatting for a while about nothing. I was still pretty put off by my dad’s comment and once our conversation had ended I piped back up and asked “Can I ruin the mood?”
I told her the story I told here, that we were waiting and say the ad, that he pinched my side and made the comment, and my mom’s eyes physically bulged when I told her what happened. In short, she was pissed. She’s always been in my corner and she was appalled that he’d made this comment, and was even more upset and a bit angry when I told her there were other people present, too. She told me that it was an absolutely inappropriate thing for him to say and do, and that she has no idea why he would say that to me, and reassured me that I wasn’t fat in the slightest. I really appreciated it, and she actually pointed out another thing made the whole situation more odd.
She said it was extremely out of character for him, and also didn’t make sense because I don’t show off my figure whatsoever. I was wearing baggy jeans and a t-shirt a few sizes too big at the time, and a large jacket over top of it that I had just tied around my waist before he made the comment. I hate dressing provocatively or showing off my body, and even wear swim trunks and a tank top when swimming. All this to say there wasn’t a single hint of a wrinkle or any skin showing on my torso- he had to go out of his way to grab a chunk of my skin and mock me.
My mom hugged me and said she’d talk to him for me, and when my friend arrived I left and got dinner. We ended up sleeping over at my place (against my will but whatever) and once she left the next morning my dad came up to me and we talked. I had made breakfast for my friend and I and hadn’t felt like eating much even though I was hungry, and my dad accused me of trying to make him feel bad for making ‘a joke.’ I told him it wasn’t a joke because it was just mean, and he didn’t apologize for hurting my feeling, and told me I’d made a scene with Mom for no reason and she was pissed at him. He said I was starting problems and being immature and taking things too seriously. I just put in my earbuds and cleaned up the kitchen.
One huge reason his ‘joke’ hurt me specifically is because he’s very vocal and adamant that for any joke to be funny it has to be rooted in truth. I can’t emphasize this enough; any time he makes a joke, whether it’s genuinely funny or just off color and sort of derogatory, he makes the same comment about humor being rooted in truth. These are genuinely the only types of jokes he ever makes. You can see why this would upset me then, because he’s made it very clear that he believes his ‘jokes’ are all true on some level. Either he made the first exception to this rule of his life, or he was calling me fat to my face (and the entire waiting room full of people) and is trying to play it off like I’m overreacting when I have every reason to think he wasn’t.
On the other hand, maybe I’m reading way too far into this and he’s right. Maybe I was an asshole to bring my mom into this and upset her, and get him into trouble. Maybe I am being too sensitive and what he said wasn’t as bad as I feel like it was. Please let me know what you think.
TLDR: My dad made a loud comment implying I was fat in a small crowded room, then got mad that I told my mom and got him in trouble. He claims it was a joke I misinterpreted but I think he was trying to humiliate me.

Am I the jerk for insulting someone in this way,to fill you in this happend on a am i the jerk live where tension has been building and some of us were making joke about "nose suger" i think it was but suddenly someone butted on and started taking it seriously and the few odd insults were thrown between us and the entire live chat was against me, at the time I had been making insults about moderaters and I threw in a insult about anima wifu pillows and this person said I had lost my v card to a pillow so i came back with that lost to his sister, I admit that after I had said it I realised it was two far but by then it was too late, what do you think was I the jerk?