Mistaken Karma

It was there, the subtle flicker of a shadow barely caught Leah’s eye, but it made her seize up all the same. No, it was not the first time she had noticed the figure. 

Following her for the last hour on her jont through the park, creeping around her peripheral vision with the lilacs and lilies. She wasn’t one for assumptions, tried to convince herself it was a mere coincidence, but the facts did not lie. Someone was following her.

She wondered with a mild horror what the person was there for, what they wanted from her. Nothing good, she reasoned.

Leah pulled out her new phone, her hands jittery and shaking as she called Ingrid. The white noise of ringing sounded through the phone until it came to a deafening silence. Of course, Ingrid was still grounded, no phone. She couldn’t call her parents, or Ingrids...

The death threats were bluffs, weren’t they?

That’s what Leah thought when she read them, the same instagram follower she hadn’t cared to report. @kxrma_queeen, wasn’t it? Just another commenter who wanted attention, that was all it was. She was overthinking it, she reasoned. The shadow is nothing, it will go away.

The thought did not stop the thumping of her heart, the shakiness of her hands. Her gut told her something was very wrong, yet she chose to ignore it. That was her mistake.

-----

“Ingrid!” Leah hissed, scolding, yet laughing simultaneously. “You can’t be serious. What are you going to tell your parents?”

Ingrid layed on the bed, her feet swinging wildly with excitement. Her blonde, red dip-dyed hair fell gently over her shoulders. “About that…”

“No!” Leah’s hands flew up to her face in exaggerated shock. “You can’t keep it from them! What if they find out?!”

“They won’t find out dude, chill. Liam and I are going to keep it low key.”

“Low Key,” Leah used air quotes for exaggeration, sending Ingrid into a spurt of laughter. “I’ve seen you two together, you can’t take your eyes off him!”

“You underestimate our acting skills,” She winked at Leah. “and my parent’s detective skills.”

“Inge, your parents are police, their detective skills have to be great!”

“What's the worst that could happen if they find out, though?” Ingrid challenged. “If I tell them I get grounded and banned from seeing him. If I don’t, then I have a chance to avoid punishment.”

“Yes, but if your parents find out you lied to them,” Leah whistled. “They may murder you themselves.”

Ingrid shrugged, and they both fell silent. They were at Leah’s house in her room, because she was the one with the new LED lights and the bigger bed to hang out on. Ingrid was the only person who was not jealous of her cushy lifestyle, Leah knew. Building up her fame  was something she worked hard to achieve, not something just handed to her because she was pretty.

For that exact reason, Ingrid was the only person she fully trusted. Other than her family of course, they supported her 100%. But Ingrid was Leah’s friend for the sake of being her friend, not because she wanted to be in front of her camera.

“It’s ten.” Ingrid finally said. “I should be back before curfew.” She gave a tight smile, and Leah realized she had not wanted criticism when she told her about Liam. Support was what she was really after, and the lack of it stung.

“Hey, give Liam a kiss for me.” Leah gave a mock kiss and Ingrid stuck her tongue out in response.

“You better not be kissing my man!” She finally said, jokingly of course.

That was before the incident.

-----

Leah was close to her house, but the shadow had not disappeared. If anything, it had drawn closer. It’s hands were reaching out towards her, ready to snatch her into its grasp.

No. I’m just overreacting.

She turned around quickly, nobody was behind her. Solitude should have made her more comfortable, relaxed her out of her rigid state. Each muscle of her was tense, ready to dash yet immobilising at the same time. Her lungs were so tight she could barely breathe, yet she acted as if everything was fine.

You know something is wrong, do something!

“I know you’re here, so come out!” Her voice trembled, her palms sweated profusely. When she got no reply, she could not convince herself it was because she was alone. 

Because he was right behind her, wasn’t he?

-----

@kxrma.queeen was a follower who had been pestering Leah since the very beginning of her fame. 

Leah is just a stuck-up impersonator of someone who is famous. Someone tell this girl she isn’t beyonce!

She was upset after reading the comment, the first one posted. Of course she checked out @kxrma.queeen’s posts and hate commented on all of them. Ingrid and her spent forever in her room deciding on the perfect roasts.

Your heads stuck so far up your butt you can’t notice a star when you see one. 

Aww, little girl thinks she is so powerful throwing stones at things that shine.

A little townie girl, less than fifty followers. The girl’s couldn’t help themselves but smash her ego into the ground.

@kxrma.queeen went private after their little comment spree, but did not stop spreading her own hateful comments on Leah’s posts.

I might just bleach my eyes if I see another post with you in a swimsuit.

Do it. They responded, thinking they were so clever. And so began an online fued.

As time went on, the comments became more heated. As Leah gained fame, more followers came to her defense against @kxrma.queeen, but they couldn’t stop the onslaught that would become the private messages between them.

I would certainly not mind if you disappeared off the face of the earth, buttface.

You are going to die for this, Leah.

Oooh another empty threat! Not much you can do all the way in Oklahoma dear. 

That was the end of what were their private messages.

-----

May 20th, 2018 was when The Incident occured.

Ingrid’s parents were furious when they found out what she was hiding. Especially her mother, the shouting match between them was unbeatable. Fueled by anger, Leah thought Ingrid was a completely different person. The typically quiet girl was screaming, throwing things, her anger uncontrollable.

It resulted in two months of grounding, and Leah was not allowed to visit Ingrid.

The worst part was, Ingrid thought she told her parents about Liam, even though she had sworn to secrecy. She could not even go over to convince her otherwise.

Leah’s parents gave her a short lecture on ‘doing the right thing’, grounding her as well. Of course, she couldn’t help herself to a little walk through the park…

-----

A rough hand grabbed Leah by her shoulders, it happened too fast for her to even scream. The person was behind her, but all she could see was all-consuming black from a thick blindfold.

She struggled, but was no match for her captor. Quickly hauled somewhere unknown, she was cuffed by her wrists tightly, the metal digging into her skin. 

Is this the end? She wondered, her heart pumping harder than it ever had before. Killed by an instagram follower over an online fued?

-----

The police released a report accusing @kxrma.queeen for the kidnapping of Leah Banks, however she pleaded not guilty in court. Even when presented with the evidence of her DNA on the scene, she still denied she had anything to do with the event at all.

“I swear judge, I never meant anything by it - it was just a petty online argument!” She testified. “I must have been set up!” Nobody believed her of course.

Ingrid Nikolsen was permitted to attend the hearing, she sat silently and said nothing. She knew @kxrma.queeen wasn’t guilty, just the perfect person to frame. So publicly against Leah’s reign, it was almost too easy to sway the public into faulting her.

After Leah was taken, Ingrid’s parents relaxed on her grounding, softened by the loss. It was only fair, Ingrid believed. Leah had got Ingrid into the mess, she also got her out.

-----

When Leah opened her eyes, she was in a cold, dark room. Her head throbbed, and all she could see was a note laying on the stone floor.

Karma.

The chilling note was not what shocked Leah to her core. Tucked slightly underneath the note was a single strand of blond, dip-dyed red hair.