“Mistake” by Isabel Q

     I didn’t know you at first. I knew your name, and that was about it. I had only heard about you, but thought nothing of it. You were the sweetest person I had ever met up until that point. Your kindness, sense of humor, and how you were always there when I needed someone to talk to, meant everything to me. It didn’t take long for me to trust you, to tell you all about my past, to share my future aspirations. You soon became one of the most important people in my life, that is until you started dating her. She changed you as a person, through all her manipulation and controlling, you had developed into someone new. You fought and fought in that relationship, I gave you advice to try to fix things, but the cycle continued. You would be in a great place, then you would fight, she would threaten to break up with you, you would apologize, break up, and then get back together. The story would repeat itself, over and over for what seemed like years but was only a couple of months, until one day she made you choose between us. You chose me, and she was angry because the cycle didn’t go the way it usually did, the way she was expecting it to. She confronted me after school, called me names, insulted me, and tried to make me feel guilty for something I didn’t do. She made a big scene,positing it all over her Instagram and Snap chat story, complaining and talking about me. She even called your mom to tell her that you broke up with her when you told her you were finally done with her for good. I cheered you up after, or at least tried my best to. I didn't care what she posted about me or what names she called me, I wanted to make sure you were okay and asked you if there was anything I could do to make you feel better. You asked me to go to your concert the next day and so I did. At the concert I waited to watch you perform, and that’s when she walked in. She walked in with a smile across her face as she walked over to your mom, said hi and sat down with her. Words cannot express how shocked and confused I was but I figured she came just to start more problems. It wasn’t until after you performed when I went to talk to you that you ignored me, and walked over to her, giving her a hug, sitting right next to her as if she hadn’t screamed in your face the day before. I went home. I couldn't stand being there, confused as to what happened, but not wanting to deal with it at the moment. You didn’t text me all weekend, but you gave her my number and she texted me, “Josh and I are back together, he doesn’t care about you and never has.” At that point I didn’t want anything to do with this whole situation, much less talk to her so I ignored it. She told people that what she posted on her story about me was a prank that the three of us had agreed on. She said this to cover up so that she wouldn’t look bad for saying all those things then going back to you two days later. To this day, I don’t know what happened and why you two got back together, maybe she was manipulating or blackmailing you, maybe it was a prank that the two of you had planned but either way, I no longer want anything to do with you. For the longest time I believe that she changed you and made you a new person but I was wrong. Although she was controlling, manipulative and abusive, she didn’t force you to do what you did to me, you made that decision on your own. You were the worst mistake I have ever made, because of you I had trust issues. Because of you I found it hard to open up and want to make new friends. Because of you I was afraid to get too close to anyone, out of fear that they would do what you did to me. But, because of you, I

met someone who showed me that not all people are as horrible as you, and this someone has worked to restore all the damage and pain that you caused me.