Teen Girl Terrorized By Online Stalker Finally Goes to Police Only to Learn It's Her Best Friend - Now She Feels Guilty

While the twisted tale posted to subreddit "AmItheA--hole" is impossible to verify, the details of the narrative captured the empathy and interest of fellow Redditors.

After weeks of being terrorized with threatening messages, the girl ended up questioning if she made the right decision by going to police after learning the people behind the harassment were her own friends she was seeking help from.

The post began by explaining, "during the summer of 2022, my (18f) long term best friend “jessica” and her now-boyfriend “donovan” (18m) were getting super close. this didn’t bother me much, even though i had dated donovan, as that was years prior and me and donovan [had] seemingly squashed any bad blood, and stayed mutual friends."

By "july 2022, i get a text on instagram from an unknown account" she continued, going on to describe how the apparent harassment began.

"[T]he message seemed to have underlying tones that someone was stalking me," she wrote. "i checked the account and it appeared to be another male i had gone to school with, 'travis' although me and him were never close. i can’t remember the exact wording, but it was enough to get me paranoid and post a screenshot on my private story, asking if anyone knew why he would be messaging me so creepily. no one replied, but both jessica and donovan saw the story."

She then went on to describe how the alleged abuse progressed, "the text messages persist for another two weeks and get progressively more intrusive/scary. they start to state my home address and details that only close friends/family would know. i recall a text message that read 'i will be watching you through your window tonight,' going on describing the exact location of my bedroom window from outside my house."

"[A]t this point, i had posted multiple screenshots pleading with anyone who knows anything to come forward," the teen went on to write. "i was incredibly paranoid & ended up going to my mom sobbing because the texts were getting so persistent and severe. we made the collective decision to go to the police with evidence. i posted one last time asking for any details that anyone might have, so i could bring it with me to the station."

It was then she learned the truth, "this is when i immediately got a text from jessica. she asked me to 'please not go' & went on to explain that the person behind the account was not travis, but it was herself and donovan. they were supposedly 'playing a prank on me.'"

"[F]or me, pranks are something that last less than a day, and definitely don’t terrify me," the teen said. "i told jessica that i was afraid to leave my house for WEEKS, and it was worse because she was watching my stories and failed to tell me. my dad was deadset on going to the police anyways. donovan called me begging not to turn them in, while laughing. i was not amused and was honestly terrified that my 'best friends' could do this, and not only think it was funny but could find amusement in it."

"[L]ong story short, i went to the police with my parents the next day," she wrote. "i said i did not want to press charges, but that i wanted them to essentially 'scare the shit out of them' with the possibility that they could’ve been charged with multiple accounts of online harassment, stalking, cyber bullying and impersonating online."

"[S]ince then, i have not heard a word from them. both have unfollowed/blocked me," the teen continued. "i have never really 'mourned' these friendship losses because, well, i don’t think what they did was funny or excusable in any way."

However, she ended on a note of self-doubt regarding her decision: "but jessica made it clear that i was a terrible person and shouldn’t have reported them to the police when i knew it was them and that it was just a 'prank.' so, AITA here?"

The girl received overwhelming support from the Reddit community, with the verdict not only being that she was NTA (not the a--hole) but that she was better off no longer having those people as friends.

"NTA, that's not a prank, that's f--ked up." one comment read. "The only terrible people here are those 2, if they didn't want to get reported to the police it's very simple, don't stalk people. serious 'it's just a prank bro' vibes, don't let them get away with it."

While another commenter wrote, "Definitely NTA. You dodged a bullet - or even two? These aren‘t friends. Would love to know why you and Donovan broke up."

To which the girl responded, writing: "we were both young, so i give him the benefit of the doubt in that aspect. but i broke things off with him because things just didn’t feel right. he was trying to progress the relationship much faster than i thought was necessary or comfortable for me. i didn’t even feel comfortable going to the beach w him early on in the relationship and i lied my way out of it when he asked because i didn’t want to just reject his offer. his friend found out i lied and that’s why i broke things off."

If you or someone you know is being bullied, here are some ways to get help: If a crime has been committed or there is immediate risk of harm call 9-1-1; To talk to an expert call 1-800-273-8255; For Spanish speakers: Call 1-888-628-9454. For deaf/hard of hearing: Call 1-800-799-4889. Free and confidential support resources are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also visit:  https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/get-help-now