After being together for a few weeks, I told her, "I'm glad I didn't have to steal you. It's not a good way to start a relationship"

...

Haiku answers the phone. I tell her I was talking online with Jason and that he logged off in a hurry and I wanted to make sure everything was ok. Apparently, she diffused the situation quickly by just telling him she didn't want to talk about it. (I know, I made you wait for just that)

But what I saw in the chat log made me finally realize how much crazy this guy is. I also know what he did is technically illegal. I send this log off to a bunch of people to get their take on it. I either email or call a good chunk of my RL friends. One of them had studied a lot of psychology; some of them are ones that actually know this dude from back then. I get their takes on this, and if I should think this is serious and if they think that it has potential to get worse.

One friend reminded me he had a temper - anther remembered that Jason had been hitting on him (yes, him) for years before he got the hint he wasn't interested. Another said, in his opinion, the situation has already escalated. Everyone more or less agreed that this was not rational behavior.

I don't hear from Haiku for the rest of the weekend. I text her on sunday and tell her my cat likes the dried squid. Monday is a holiday; no work which also means no school. After much pondering, I decide the best thing to do is to email the chat log to her.

When I sent it though, I added this to the top of the log:

--start

This is the chat log between me & Jason Saturday morning.
I already told you he scared me with what he said, but I felt like you should read it so you know why.


The way he talks about you - that's not the way that someone who loves you would talk. He seems like he has no concern for your feelings; only his own. He's not respecting you - it's like he sees you like a child or a pet; not an equal human being.
He's afraid. Afraid of letting go, afraid if he does HIS world will come crashing down.


I know you're tired of talking about this; dealing with this... I understand that.

And I was starting to think I should step out and let you two deal with it, but with his actions and the way he responded to me, and treated you.... I feel like it'd be irresponsible if I didn't do something.

I've talked to a lot of people about this since this happened. Some of them know Jason, and they agree that I am right to be concerned. So I don't feel like I'm overreacting about this.

---log attached---

--end

Tuesday I'm back at work, but she doesn't have classes on Tuesdays (ever wonder why we kept meeting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?). Wednesday comes around, and she doesn't come by right away, so I start to leave my office call her on my way out to lunch. She's in the same building, but downstairs. I find her and ask her if she's seen the email. She says she hadn't. I tell her what it is and a bit of what I say in it. She says she'll check her mail. She had to meet a friend, so she quickly left, but she said she'll get in touch with me. She calls me later and asks to meet me later at my place or a bar or something. I say either is fine, and she tells me she'll call me back around 8 and we'll meet then.

She calls, and asks me to meet at a bar nearby. This was the same bar we went to the Wednesday after we first got together. Then, we sat, drank, and held hands at a table in an almost empty bar.
This time, the bar is a bit busy - It took being there for about an hour to realize, but the local basketball team was playing a game that night.
She was at the bar, with a 1/4 of her beer left. I walk up, I get a drink and she finishes hers and gets another; then we find a table to talk at. We found a table in the seldom-used upstairs area.

She tells me Jason drove her there and is with one of their neighbors at a bar next door; she said he knew we were meeting but wouldn't come by. We talk about the email, she tells me she was going to try to get a cab to my place, and not just walk; and she seems pretty definite about her desires to leave him. We talk about a course of action, and I insist she get out asap, but she wants him to understand, so she wants to talk to him more. I say that she may need to leave to convince him it's over. It seems she's got that Japanese politeness holding her back, and she sees just leaving as too rude. I admit, after 6 years with someone, it does make some sense. She mentions we should maybe see less of each other - she had mentioned it before at the jazz bar in between kisses. My reply then had been "that's going to be hard". This time i reluctantly agreed. But I suggested we maybe still do lunches together. I remember her face lighting up at the idea. It wasn't until almost the end of the night that we finally held hands. We left the bar, and as I parted, I gave her another hug, and a kiss on the forehead. I had sensed she wanted it on the lips.

On Friday, she came by my office again at lunch time. She says she feels sick - lightheaded. It was a cold wet day, so I suggest getting soup or something. We go to a restaurant and talk some more. She tells me, Wednesday night, after I left, she went to the other bar where Jason and the neighbor were.
She was ready to leave, but they had just bought a pitcher of beer. After it was to be drunk, they would go. But then another pitcher got bought by some friends who joined them, so then that one had to be drained. Then some people they were talking to bought a round of shots for everyone. I imagine they were all pretty drunk. Haiku said she went to the bathroom at some point, and when she came back, Jason was kissing a girl that was part of the group of people they were socializing with.
I shook my head and said, "you need to move out of there".
Haiku laughed about it; she said she didn't care. The relationship had long been over in her mind. She said the girl had a really dumb excuse, too - saying she was trying to show him how to do a trick or something with her/his tounge.
We finished lunch - it was probably the quietist time we had spent together. But I noticed she kept on staring into my eyes as she ate.


Saturday, Jason was online again. I couldn't help myself.

---start

ottoshoes : you're such hypocrite
Jason : so what do you mean by that?
ottoshoes : haiku told me what happened wed
Jason : what's that?
ottoshoes : about you making out with some other girl
Jason : haha... I was real drunk and kissed her real quick... so what
Jason : that's not cheating for us... she's done it several times this year
Jason : I'm concerned with things of more substance than that
Jason : what I don't appreciate is you going behind my back and sending that chat to her... plus saying you're talking to 'people who know Jason' and that I'm dangerous
Jason : I trusted you... again,
Jason : and you do that to me?
Jason : I don't hold things back from Haiku
Jason : I tell her everything I think and do...
Jason : you don't need to go behind my back and tell her what I told you... she already knows

--end


Haiku called me almost right after starting the conversation. She told me not to talk to him, that it wasn’t going to help anything. I agreed and stopped.

Sunday, I get an email from Jason in my gmail inbox. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for next part before you can read it - and my response.
Sorry, no big major cliffhanger this time, just cold anticipation.