10. Life’s Worth
My “best friend” and I worked together for 3 years at a restaurant. I was the night manager and was really cool with all of the employees, but especially her. We hung out outside of work all the time, she went with me to the beach and carnivals with my kids, who adored her.
She started dating this guy at work who was slowly becoming a drug addict. I could see it (my crackhead aunt made it easy to spot) but no one else could. After he f*cked up for the 10th time in a week and started nodding out at the sink, he was fired by my boss on a Saturday.
The following Monday night, at closing time, he came in the backdoor wearing a ski mask. I was walking towards the front door to lock it when I was grabbed from behind and felt something cold against my neck. It took me a second to realize it was a knife. He said “get me the money” but I couldn’t move. I was literally paralyzed with fear. My brain was screaming at me to move towards the register but my feet just wouldn’t move. He screamed “give me the money” again but I was frozen.
He then drugs me to the register, made me open it, grabbed a fistful of 20s and ran out the back.
My best friend at the time this whole thing went down? Conveniently, in the bathroom. I was still in shock trying to explain to the police on the phone what had just happened. When I hung up the phone, she asked what had happened and I told her I had just been robbed at f*cking knifepoint. Her exact response was “I hope no one thinks I had anything to do with this”
Ummmm what? So long story short, they find the guy (I told them I recognized his voice) and he rats her out on the set-up (the “set up” was her texting him an all-clear when only she and I were in the building) He didn’t have to though, she quit the next day. And stopped replying to my texts.
When I found out I was heartbroken. This is someone who was around my kids regularly. I was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and PTSD after being robbed and still have flashbacks randomly. If someone comes up behind me and startles me I panic.
The amount of money my life was worth to them? $440
The punishment they received? He got 2 years in jail, and 50 years suspended. 1 year of probation.
She got 1-year of probation.
I had to quit the job I had for over a decade because I couldn’t stand being in there anymore.