Halle couldn’t think much about her friends’ reaction. She was so nervous to meet Simon.
It had been a few weeks since he had sent the first messages. Since then there were a stream of them, asking about her day, reminding her of how beautiful she was and how glad he was to be speaking to her. He even told her he would like to meet her friends and have a proper relationship with her – kids, marriage; the whole works. When she expressed concern that it all seemed too good to be true he had sent back some pictures.
In the image he was stood on a sun kissed balcony. It didn’t look like Coldford City. There were lots of plants in the background. Wherever it had Helen taken it looked beautiful. What she found the most eye catching about the image was the piece of paper he was holding up. On that piece of paper was written I LOVE YOU, HALLE.
Halle had never been so excited. She felt like she could cry.
WHERE ARE YOU? She asked.
WITH THE FAMILY AT OUR HOME ABROAD. I’LL BE BACK IN THE CITY AGAIN SOON, BEAUTIFUL.
That was when the made the date and how Halle found herself in a small dockside restaurant. She was dressed in her best black dress. Janice had even done her makeup for her. She had never felt so nervous.
They were supposed to meet at six. The time went on half past the hour. There was still no time. She didn’t want to seem impatient, but she was concerned.
WHERE ARE YOU? She asked.
At 6:45 she finally received a response. It wasn’t from Simon. It was from another profile calling themselves RooneyMain.
HI, I’M SIMON’S MANAGER. HE HAS GOTTEN SOME TROUBLE GETTING BACK INTO THE CITY. HE WAS BRINGING SOME PACKAGES FOR YOU AND THEY HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED. THEY WERE GIFTS FOR YOU. HE NEEDS A GRAND TO GET THEM OUT OF CUSTOMS. ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP? HE WILL PAY YOU BACK.
She must have been contemplating her phone with a frown for too long. A woman at the table next to her with what Halle assumed was her partner asked if she was okay.
She shook it off with a polite, ‘I’m fine.’
She was dressed in her best black dress. She spent more time on her makeup than usual. She had even waxed and plucked, just in case things went that well. A girl dressed up, left sat alone, glaring at her phone. It didn’t take a seasoned detective to ascertain what happened.
Before she could respond to the manager, she received a message from Simon.
I’M SO SORRY, BEAUTIFUL. I REALLY WANT TO BE THERE FOR YOU. I’VE BEEN HELD UP SINCE THIS MORNING. I NEED TO PAY THE CUSTOMS FEE AND MY ACCOUNTS HAVE BEEN FROZEN.
THAT’S TERRIBLE she replied. ARE YOU OKAY?
I’LL BE FINE. I’LL SORT IT. I’M JUST SAD I CAN’T SEE YOU.
Halle gave it some thought.
I HAVE SOME SAVINGS. I CAN GIVE YOU THE 1000 IF IT WOULD HELP.
There was some back and forth on whether he could accept that or not. Eventually, it was decided he could. He sent her a digi wallet ID. It was under the name Harriet Malroney. She asked him about this. He told her it was one of the admins for his team.
He told her what an amazing person she was. He said he would pay her back as soon as he gained access to his accounts again.
Halle took a selfie from where she was. He responded with a stream of love eyed emojis.
MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL he wrote, expressing his regret they weren’t sharing their first meal together.
Then the strangest thing happened. He tried to initiate a video call. He must have wanted to apologise face to face. When she answered the call the screen was blank. The noise around her from the restaurant made it difficult to hear anything. The call cut.
TRIED TO CALL. SORRY I COULDN’T SEE YOU.
Halle left the restaurant, dreading explaining to her friends that she never met Simon and she had sent him money.
The full story will be available soon. In the meantime, an internet troll has taken over the city. The race is on to uncover their true identity before more reputations are ruined.
