What’s the laziest apology you’ve ever received?

The Weight of Betrayal and a Fake Apology

My best friend posted my private photos online and created a fake sugar daddy profile to destroy me in high school. I nearly died because of her. Six years later, she wanted to be friends again. And when I said no, she broke into my apartment. Sarah was the reason I thought love existed.

We had been inseparable since third grade. She knew everything about me, including all my passwords because we maintained each other’s Snapchat streaks. That level of trust was normal for us.

We were basically sisters, but everything changed in junior year. That’s when I dated this guy called Beck. Things got serious and I felt safe sending him stuff from my eyes only on Snapchat.

For months, everything was fine until Jake Morrison pulled me aside after chemistry class. He showed me his phone and asked if this Instagram account was really mine. My stomach dropped when I saw the photos.

Someone had created a fake profile using my pictures and followed hundreds of old men. The bio said I was looking for a sugar daddy with my actual school listed. There were only two people it could have been: Sarah or Beck.

I wanted it to be Beck, so I asked Sarah first. I expected her to deny it and get offended that I even accused her. But instead, she broke down crying.

Turns out she had shown the photos to her boyfriend Tyler just to brag about how much I trusted her. Tyler had screenshotted them and shared them with his friends.

When Sarah found out, she panicked and created the fake account. She wanted to make it look like I was just some attention seeker so people wouldn’t take it seriously. Like what?

Her parents got involved fast and my mom decided to drop it. You see, my mom was their housekeeper and Sarah’s mom, Sandra, said she needed this to go away quietly. My mom needed that job desperately since my dad had left the year before.

So, we followed their wishes. But the bullying at school was relentless. I got called every name you could ever think of.

The only people who wanted to be around me anymore were the random men messaging me online. They raved about how innocent and pure I looked. Some even sent essays on what they’d do to me if given the chance.

I thought Sarah would still be in my corner, but I was wrong. She not only started ignoring me, but also joined in with the bullying to save face with her friend group. She’d walk past me in the halls laughing with the same people sharing my photos.

So, I did what any rational teenager would do in that situation. I waited until 3:00 a.m. one night and downed all the pills I could find. I thought it was a guarantee. I just wanted everything to stop.

Luckily, I ended up in hospital where the nurses resuscitated me. While I was there, Sarah posted this long thing about mental health awareness and how we need to be kinder to each other. She even tagged me in the caption.

Tyler commented with heart emojis. My family tried getting lawyers involved, but Sandra had better ones. We ended up moving to a different district for my senior year.

I deleted all social media and spent years in therapy. Good riddance. I honestly thought I was never going to see her again.

A few months ago, I got the message on LinkedIn. It was Sarah. She wrote this long message about how she’s grown so much as a person that she was getting to Jake Morrison of all people.

I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling in my chest. As I scrolled her account, I realized why. She was still best friends with every single person who tortured me.

Her recent posts were all about her new teaching job and how excited she is to shape young minds. I talked to my therapist about it, and we both figured that it might be good closure.

Fast forward to a week later, and I was walking to meet my childhood best friend/bully at my local Starbucks. Funny how life works.

The first thing I noticed was the huge Louis Vuitton bag on her shoulder. The entire time, she kept shifting the conversation back to her charity work with troubled teens.

I had already decided that I didn’t want her to be part of my life again, so I wasn’t even going to bring up the past. Just before I could run away, she whipped out a white box from her purse. It was a Tiffany bracelet as an apology gift.

“We were just kids who made mistakes.”

“I hope this can represent the birth of our new friendship.”

She then broke out into a speech about how the whole friend group has grown so much, and they often reminisce about high school. I told her about the two other attempted suicides she never knew about. I explained that I’m still in therapy twice a week, 6 years later, because of what she did.

“It’s not my fault that you’re living in the past,” she blurted.

“And I noticed your eyes staring at me.”

“I know you’re jealous of my wealth.”

“That’s nothing new.”

“But you agreed to meet me, so I know you forgive me, even if you pretend not to.”

I swear I thought she was pranking me, but that’s when she crossed her arms and began to sulk. I stood up and told her:

“Forgiveness doesn’t mean giving her access to hurt me again.”

I said I hoped her students never trust her the way I trusted her. Then I left, and she didn’t know it at the time, but our meetup was only phase one of my revenge plan to turn her life upside down.