the friend card

ph: Nevena Popovic

My love story is ridiculous, and after a year and a half, it finally ended. No, my boyfriend didn't break up with me. No, my almost lover didn't dump me. No, my sex-buddy didn't leave me. But the only boy I've truly ever loved, my best friend, hurt me. Let me down. Broke my heart for the first time ever.

It all started at a Christmas party with friends. He was my other best friend's ex, but they weren't together when we had met and I therefore didn't pay attention to his existence... until that night. We sat on that couch and talked for hours about what he wanted out of life and what he planned to do with his career; we talked about what I was getting into at school and what I hoped my future held. I didn't think much about him for about a week until we find ourselves together again at a chick-fil-a sandwiched with another couple. We stood in the parking-lot for another hour after and talked. I knew then that he was different and that my heart had been waiting for him.
After that night we became practically inseparable. He'd pick me up after work and we'd go eat dinner, go to movies, and everything else in the universe that was coupley... except for becoming a couple. I finally sucked it up and told him how I felt to have him tell me he just wanted to be friends. Okay, I could handle that. Too bad we went about two months not speaking to and avoiding each other like the plague. But we finally found ourselves back to each other and became closer than ever, and more complicated than ever. It wasn't until last November that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had fallen head-over-heels in love with him. It was the most incredible and suffocating feeling I'd ever felt in my entire life. I wasn't used to caring so strongly for any guy and it terrified me, but I let it go and just kept acting normal.

Fast-forward six months. After a million conversations with both my friends and FAMILY telling me that he was in love with me I got fed up. Why the hell does he get to act the way he does and make me feel the way I do, and then when the "big question" comes up he can throw the friend card down and get away with it?! It's ridiculous. The boy has taken me to meet his family, my family has taken him on vacation with us, he threw me a surprise birthday party, calls and texts me all the time... Like, seriously? Seriously?!

I took a last stab at telling how I felt last month. He didn't say much about it except that he didn't want it to affect our friendship, and yet continued to lead me on and treat me just like his girlfriend and made complete strangers question our "friend" status. It all got to be too much. And I knew that something was up this week when he didn't call. Didn't text. Didn't facebook. Nothing. He'd spent all week with our other two close friends. Girls; girls that knew all my deepest secrets and feelings about him. They told him how I REALLY felt. That I was in love with him. They TOLD HIM. Some friends, huh? He told me this afternoon that he didn't want to do anything alone anymore. No more dinners together. No more movies. No more coupley things that didn't involve other people. Other people being our two friends. How coincidental. He no longer wants to hang out with our married friends because that sends a "wrong idea" to me.

Needless to say I've never cried so hard in all my life. Not only have I lost my closest friends and confidants, I have also lost my first true love because as immature as it sounds, I'm done. I'm done with feelings so hurt and confused and let down. Done; I'm done.

Thank you for listening to my story.
-t.g.