“You’re such a fool Jason, grow up.” Pulling her hair into a tight bun, my girlfriend pushed my hands away from her breasts. Her tone was dry as usual, it was why I loved her.
“If I’m such a fool, what does that make you?” I winked playfully, nudging her shoulder.
“A fool fucker.” She responded without missing a beat, causing us to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Jumping from the bed, I walked towards our living room scratching myself. Grabbing for the remote I turned on the television, flipping to the local news.
Local actress Mariah Sanders has snagged the role of a lifetime, having been cast as the leading lady in Martin Scorsese’s newly announced film…”
A grinning headshot of my girlfriend peered back at me from the TV. I stood there speechless, wondering what the hell was going on. My girlfriend was many things, but an actress was not one of them. We’d been dating on and off for almost four years, and I knew her anxiety would never allow her to perform in front of the camera. She was a delicate flower, and I did my best to protect her.
“Umm, Mariah — I need you to come here for a second.” We stood together in the living room, rewinding the news story over and over again. A quick Google search confirmed it wasn’t an isolated thing, it was everywhere. Her face was plastered on TMZ, People and every other gossip rag you can imagine.
“This has to be a mistake, I don’t know how, but this has to be a mistake.” Mariah was trembling, clearly overwhelmed with the moment. Her phone had been ringing off the hook, but she hadn’t even glanced at it. “This is so fucking weird, I don’t understand what’s happening. Soon everyone is going to find out I’m a fraud, oh god —” Choking back tears, she ran into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. I stood there, scrolling through endless articles and mentions on social media.
As the day wore on, things got even stranger. A Wikipedia page appeared, and soon it was filled with dozens of previous TV and movie appearances. Hundred of photos from commercials, adverts, and photoshoots began to pop up not soon after. It happened at a dizzying pace, her catalog growing with every minute that passed.
I could hear Mariah’s sobs from the bedroom, I could only imagine what she was going through. It was like her life was getting rewritten by an unseen auteur and she was powerless to stop it. Her history was being stripped of her and we had no way of explaining it.
“Jason, you need to see this.” Her voice quivered, barely loud enough for me to hear. Huddling around her phone screen, I watched as the news ticker flashed with a breaking headline.
Deranged Chicago Man Kidnaps Actress Mariah Sanders
Now there were two famous people in our household. Reading through a CNN article, I discovered that I was being accused of kidnapping my own girlfriend from her non-existent downtown apartment. A neighbor that was interviewed described a brazen and violent daylight kidnapping, and ended by saying Mariah was the sweetest person she knew — it was terrifying.
“Please tell me this is the world’s most elaborate prank, so I can hate you for a week then get over it.” Eyes filled with fear, Mariah looked at me with her beautiful pouty lips. I wanted nothing more than to lie to her, to tell her everything was going to be okay, but all I managed to do was give a sullen shake of my head.
“So this is all, real?” Before I could respond, the door flew from its hinges, wood splintering everywhere. A team of SWAT officers poured in, covered in kevlar. Grabbing Mariah by the shoulder, I pulled her into the bedroom and shut the door behind us.
Somberly, I looked squarely at my love and said, “You need to yell that I have a gun and I’m going to shoot you if they come in here. Until we can figure out what’s happening, I need to escape, and to do that, I need time.”
Begrudgingly, Mariah told the police what I asked her. As I expected, they couldn’t risk storming the room — so they’d stall until a negotiator arrived.
“Babe this is all so confusing. But hey, you’re famous now, so that’s something,” we both chuckled in-between cries, “I will find you and we will figure this out — I promise. Love you, forever and always.”
With that, I slipped through the window and disappeared into the night. Starting over was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but five years later, I’ve managed to eke out an existence.
During that time, the only thing that kept me going was Mariah — I watched her career explode from afar. She became a bigger and bigger starlet, climbing to the highest echelons of Hollywood. It was painful, but I was so proud of her accomplishments despite everything that had transpired.
That was until an interview she gave three days ago. Dressed in a graceful white dress, she sat on a couch and spewed lies to a late-night host.
Your bravery and quick thinking in the face of such danger is truly incredible — you’re amazing Mariah, simply amazing. America wants to know, how did you do it?
Well Jimmy, I simply fed into his delusions. I did what I know best, I acted. He believed I was his girlfriend, and I knew if I played the part well enough, I could eventually help direct his actions. When he jumped out of that window I broke down, I couldn’t believe it was finally over.
The words grated against my heart, leaving a permanent scar. Deep sadness was replaced by an immense rage. She’d never spoken about that night before, and I believed that was to protect me. But she was so clearly deluded by her newfound fame, she’d do anything to curry favor with the masses.
As I sit here, in a barely running 94’ Chevy, I watch her living her new life. New man, new dog, new house. Well, history has a habit of repeating itself — no matter how hard you try and erase it.