30. “Real” Best Friends
When I was about 25, my (now former) best friend since 4th grade told me that during middle school, when I was painfully awkward and for sure the weird kid, she and my other former best friend would deny being my friend to everyone else. They would tell people that they only let me think we are friends because they feel sorry for me. Learning that broke my heart. I thought that we were so close, we hung out every weekend during school and even lived together after high school. Those were my only friends during those tough childhood years, and finding out that they weren’t really my friends was so sh*tty. I was picked on a lot and always took solace in having two real best friends, even if they were my only friends. And then they stayed my friends into adulthood, except now I’m not sure about that either. Couldn’t trust her after that.