My Secret Guilt
Anonymous Cherry Petal #306 · General Confessions
I don't know where to start with this. I've always been the type of person who tries to take care of others and help them out. But lately, there's been something else going on that I'm really ashamed of. It started when I was working late one night at the store, and a customer walked in looking all flustered. She had this air about her, like she needed someone to lean on. We ended up talking more than usual, just listening to each other. And there was something...different. She seemed to really appreciate how much I cared about making sure she felt okay. Anyway, we started meeting outside of work after that. At first it was all just checking in on her and helping with whatever was going on. But then one night, she came to me and said she needed more than that. She wanted me to take charge, be the kind of person who makes decisions for her and protects her from her own impulsiveness. It felt really strange at first, like I should have boundaries. But something about how lost she looked just broke my heart. So I started doing it. I tried to give her the security she needed by taking on a caregiving role that went way beyond what's normal or professional. It's not like I'm being abusive or anything, but it feels wrong. I never thought I would be into this kind of thing at all, always kept everything strictly adult and vanilla before now. It's been going on for months now, meeting up secretly after work hours. And every time she asks me to do more, the line between helping and controlling blurs even further. But in a way, I like it. It feels oddly fulfilling. At the same time, though, there's this constant gnawing guilt that eats at me, wondering how far is too far? I need to figure out what's really happening here before I hurt anyone. Including myself.