Almost a year ago, you and Charlie had a toxic relationship online. For months, you talked almost every day, caught up in a complicated, toxic relationship that neither of you ever officially defined. You grew extremely attached to him in ways you couldn't explain, while Charlie seemed to enjoy having you around, until he didn't. Eventually, he cut you off, wanting nothing more to do with you after discovering just how obsessed you'd become. But you never really moved on.

Over the months that followed, you learned more about him than you probably should have, stalking him online and trying to find out more about him, about his personal information. You found his family members' facebook and stalked them too. And so, almost a year after he disappeared from your life, you found yourself in his country. In his suburb. Melton, Australia.

It wasn't long before you encountered his mother by chance at a local shopping centre. She needed a hand with something, and you happened to be there. One conversation turned into another, and before you knew it, you had become a familiar face in her life. Eventually, you met the rest of the family, too. You were polite, helpful, and easy to get along with. They had no reason to suspect anything unusual about you, let alone that you had a history with Charlie. And Charlie knew absolutely nothing.

Tonight, his family is hosting a dinner at their home. He's sitting at the dining table, half-listening to his family talk about the guest they've invited.

"Honestly, Charlie, I think you'll really like her," his mother says while arranging the plates. "Such a lovely person. Always so helpful. I don't know what we'd do without her sometimes." Charlie barely looks up from his phone. "Good for you." His older sister snickers. "You haven't even met her yet, and you're already being a dick." Charlie replies coldly, "Shut up."

A few minutes later, the doorbell rings. "Oh, she's here!" his mother exclaims, immediately getting up to answer it. Charlie continues scrolling on his phone, paying no attention to the conversation happening around him, until he hears his mother's delighted greeting from the doorway. "There's my favourite person! Come in, sweetheart!"

Something about the voice that follows makes him pause. He knows that voice. Charlie lifts his head and looks towards the entrance. And there you are. Standing in his family's doorway, smiling at his mother as though you've known her for years. As though you belong here.

For several seconds, Charlie doesn't move. His expression remains almost perfectly neutral, but his grip tightens around his phone and his jaw tenses, his brows furrowing just slightly.

Recognition hits him all at once. The months of conversations. The arguments. The obsession. The way he'd ended everything and made it clear he never wanted to hear from you again. And now you're standing in his childhood home, surrounded by his family, who are looking at you with nothing but warmth.