What the actual heck…?

I stare down at my phone again, squinting and blinking to try and make sense of what I was seeing.

The most upsetting text I’ve ever received lit up my darkened room at 2:07am. Twenty eight minutes later, I’m still trying to figure out what’s happening.

I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. I _should_ be asleep at 2:07am. I _should_ have turned my phone on Do Not Disturb so if I got a scary message in the dead of night it wouldn’t wake me up. I _should_ simply ignore the message that came through from an unknown number about a situation I’m clueless about.

But you obviously don’t understand what it’s like to be in my mind. I _was_ asleep when the message came in. I fell asleep somewhere around midnight, after deep breathing exercises and attempting progressive muscle relaxation techniques for over an hour. However, because my sister moved to Florida today (still not sure why anyone would want to live in that level of humidity on purpose), I was anxious enough to leave my sound on just in case she needed me. The panic finally subsided once I realized it wasn’t Artemis needing my help. But that’s where the happy news ends (if you can call being jolted back into consciousness after a fitful two hours of dream heavy sleep happy news). Some punk took it upon themselves to send the most horrid message imaginable to a complete stranger! And my mind simply cannot ignore that.

So here I sit, surrounded by my fluffiest pillows, a comforter that’s reminiscent of clouds, and the laziest cat you’ll ever meet, wondering what I did wrong. That’s right. All of my favorite things that usually bring me so much comfort, and they aren’t even taking the edge off of the guilt I feel from this one text from one person _who I don’t even know_!

Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve always been perceived as the “goody-two-shoes” type girl. The one who doesn’t cuss and doesn’t color outside the lines. I tend to think very logically and make strategic decisions. I’m boring. And in line with fate, my parents named my sister and me Athena and Artemis. That’s right. Nerds, both of them. And the names pretty much fit. Whether that’s self fulfilling prophecy or simply coincidence is hard to say. I’m older, wiser, and more serious than Artemis. She, by contrast, is fun, wild, and adventurous. We are both fairly independent, but since our parents died, we tend to lean more on each other than we used to. Plus I tend to hover more than most older sisters might. But alas, we are awesome and very different, just as our namesakes. And if she were the one getting the text, I know for a fact what she would do. She would text them back using her words as weapons and then block them so they couldn’t steal anymore of her energy. But I can’t do that.

I can’t just let these things slide off my back. I have to engage. I know I shouldn’t, but come on! I didn’t do this thing that I’m being accused of. I should be able to say my piece and not walk through the world thinking this stranger hates me. And they must hate me. Because you don’t send such an awful message to someone you don’t hate. You just don’t.

I realize I’ve been stewing for another 13 minutes. This is getting ridiculous. I look down at my phone again, hoping I hallucinated and there’s actually no text like it’s all been a dream. No such luck. There it is in plain letters. And to my horror, I realize there’s a little message alerting the sender that I read it at 2:07am, seconds after it was sent. How embarrassing. Artemis is always reminding me that I should turn that off.

But now this has me worrying. What if by not responding, I’m sending the sender into an even worse mood. Anyone who sends a text like that can’t be feeling good. Maybe they just need a friend, I could be their friend, right? Yeah, why not. Here goes.

**Good morning (or night depending)! I hope this message finds you well! I do think it might have been sent to the wrong person, though, just a heads up. I hear it’s supposed to be a beautiful day today (or tomorrow depending)! Best wishes!**

_sent 2:53am_

There. That should do it.

Except now they will think they can talk like that and might send it to someone else. Oh, shoot. I type out another text quickly before they can respond.

**Also, please be advised, people don’t generally appreciate being told that you wish they were someone else, just in case you plan to send that to the originally intended recipient. That’s all. Good day (or night depending)!**

_sent 2:54am_

I feel like I’ve done my good deed for the day, maybe saved someone else from being woken up to a message that brought back the worst breakup of their life. Also via text, by the way. And I decided I was too awake to go back to sleep, so I did what any sane person would do and decided to reread all the texts my ex (the one that dumped me via text by telling me he wished I was more like my sister). In my sleepy mind, I thought it might be cathartic.

Just as I was about to click on Justin’s message thread, a new message sound pinged loudly enough to make me jump. Oh my gosh. It’s from Stranger. And it’s long. I can’t even read the whole message without opening it. Gah! Why didn’t I turn off my read receipts when I had the chance?!