Right before Thanksgiving break, I stumbled onto a post on our college’s subreddit: [Title: AITA for wanting my childhood friend to give me his concert tickets?] The post was about a trip to Savannah. The OP wanted to go with her best friend, but the last two tickets were bought by her childhood guy friend and his girlfriend. I scrolled through the comments, and they were piling up fast. [Top Comment]: > “Dude, it’s his childhood bestie, he should totally let her have them. Bros before… you know.” [OP’s Reply]: > “Ugh, I know, right? But I’m worried his girlfriend will flip out. She’s… let’s just say she’s super possessive.” [Another Comment]: > “Sounds like the perfect test of loyalty! If he picks his GF over you, then you know where you stand. Drop him.” The OP shot back immediately: [OP’s Reply]: > “No way, he’d never do that. We’ve known each other for almost twenty years, we were basically inseparable growing up. He’ll always have my back!” … I frowned, scrolling down. The OP’s tone felt weirdly familiar. Just then, a text message popped up on my screen. It was from my boyfriend, Ryan. [Ryan]: “Hey babe, change of plans for Thanksgiving. Forget Savannah… what do you think about a road trip to Texas?” 1 The day before break, my roommate and I had just gotten back from a vintage shop downtown. I’d found the perfect sundress for walking through the historic streets of Savannah and couldn’t wait to show Ryan. I was fresh out of the shower, about to FaceTime him, when I saw that Reddit post. Since Ryan and I had already—after weeks of waiting on a notification list—snagged tickets for a popular Savannah ghost tour, my curiosity was piqued. I kept reading. [Comment]: > “Wait, are you seriously asking him to cancel his trip with his girlfriend for you?” [Another Comment]: > “I mean, maybe they can talk it out. What if she didn’t even want to go to Savannah that bad?” [Reply]: > “It’s the day before a major holiday break. Who in their right mind cancels a sold-out trip at the last minute? No one.” Ryan and I had practically prayed for those tickets to come through. I couldn’t agree more, so I upvoted the comment. As I did, I noticed the OP had upvoted the comment right below it. [Comment]: > “It’s an unspoken rule. The childhood friend card trumps everything. Just ask him for the tickets, straight up.” [Reply]: > “Seriously! My guy friend and I are the same way. I suddenly wanted to go to Miami for Spring Break last year, but flights were sold out. I called him, laid on the charm, and he canceled the tickets he’d bought for his entire frat group. Me and my sorority sisters snatched them right up. They treat me like a queen now lol.” The sheer audacity of that comment was flooring. It was quickly becoming the most controversial one on the thread. [Reply to the Reply]: > “That’s next-level evil. And you’re proud of it?” [Reply to the Reply]: > “Hope your ‘guy friend’ didn’t get his ass kicked by his frat brothers.” I was getting secondhand rage just reading it, upvoting every single comment calling her out. But then I saw the OP had replied just a few minutes ago: [OP’s Reply]: > “Well, the main issue is his girlfriend getting mad. She’s… ugh… so petty. I accidentally took a sip from his water bottle in front of her once and she threw a fit, threatened to break up with him. It was a whole drama scene. So annoying.” She followed it up with a cat-sipping-tea meme. [Reply to OP]: > “Girl, that just means you have all the power. What’s she gonna do when she finds out you were his first kiss? She’ll probably explode.” [OP’s Reply]: > “OMG for real! We were each other’s first everything back in middle school. He’d never pick her over me.” [Reply to OP]: > “Then go get your tickets, girl! What are you waiting for?~” I felt sick to my stomach by the end of the thread. I remembered my boyfriend’s childhood friend, Hailey, had that same entitled way of talking to him. I was about to screenshot the whole disaster and send it to Ryan for a laugh when his text came through first. [Ryan]: “Hey babe, change of plans for Thanksgiving. Forget Savannah… what do you think about a road trip to Texas?” 2 My heart dropped. The Reddit post flashed in my mind. I deleted the screenshots I was about to send. Then I remembered Ryan swearing up and down that I was his first real love, his first everything that mattered. I’d even jokingly confirmed it with his friends. The doubt subsided, just a little. [Me]: “Why? You know how excited I was for Savannah. I even bought a new dress for it.” I sent him the picture my roommate had taken of me at the shop earlier. I have a curvy figure, and the sundress fit me perfectly. Ryan had always been vocal about how much he loved my body. The three dots appeared, then disappeared. He was hesitating. For a long moment, there was nothing. Finally, a new text came in. [Ryan]: “You know I’m from Texas, babe. I want to show you where I grew up. Besides… my parents really want to meet you.” I frowned at my phone. Ryan and I had met online, in a group chat for incoming freshmen. I was into his abs and his deep voice; he was into my face and my figure. We both thought it would just be a casual hookup. But then we ended up in the same English class, and during freshman orientation week, he was so sweet and protective. He stood up for me when a drill sergeant-wannabe orientation leader was giving me a hard time, and he was always showing up with cold water and a portable fan. I fell for him, hard. The only downside? Hailey. His clingy childhood best friend. But even with her buzzing around, we’d only been dating a few months. We were nineteen. It was way too soon to meet the parents. [Me]: “Meeting your parents is a big step. Why don’t you just tell them I’ll visit some other time? We’re going to Savannah.” In the few months we’d been together, Ryan had been pretty agreeable to whatever I wanted, so I didn’t even consider he’d say no. I put my phone down and started packing. When I picked it up again, my blood ran cold. [Ryan]: “About that… babe, I already canceled the tickets. I bought us two bus tickets to Texas instead. If you don’t want to go, I guess we’ll just have to stay on campus.” 3 The Savannah tour tickets had gone on sale at 8:30 AM. I was in a chem lab at the time and couldn't use my phone, so I’d left it all to Ryan. When he couldn't get them, he put us on the waitlist. I never imagined he’d cancel them on his own. A knot of anger tightened in my stomach. Something felt very, very wrong. I went back to the Reddit thread. The original post had been edited half an hour ago. [EDIT]: “Update: Talked to him and we got the tickets! To everyone in the comments hating, you’re probably just jealous you don’t have a guy best friend who adores you~” I scrolled down and saw the angry comments I’d upvoted had all been deleted by the OP. My eyes landed on her comment about drinking from his water bottle. Suddenly, a memory from a month ago clicked into place. I’d seen Hailey drink from Ryan’s water bottle. It was during a campus-wide scavenger hunt, and Ryan’s excuse was that Hailey and her friend had run out of water and were desperate. I was thirsty and miserable too, so I let it slide with a fake pout. I never thought it wasn’t a one-time thing. It was just one of many times, and the only one I happened to witness. Thank God I’m not the type to share drinks. The thought of his childhood friend’s mouth on the same bottle that I might have drunk from was disgusting. Every piece fit. I’m not the kind of person who lets things go. I act. Immediately, I screenshotted everything and fired them off to Ryan. [Me]: “Is this Hailey’s post? So not only did you give her our tickets, but you two were each other’s ‘first everything’? What happened to swearing on your mother’s life that I was your first love? Did you forget that part?” 4 The silence from his end was deafening. Just as I was about to storm over to his dorm, my roommate grabbed my arm. “Chloe, have you seen Hailey’s Instagram? That photo she just posted… it looks exactly like the one I took of you today.” She paused. “And, uh… Ryan liked it.” Hailey was our class president, so almost everyone in our year followed her. I’d never liked her vibe, so we didn’t even follow each other. I snatched my roommate’s phone. It was a classic nine-photo grid. The caption was a lyric from some indie song: “The sky waits for the rain, and I wait for you.” The grid had a screenshot of the Savannah tour confirmation, some aesthetic photos of Savannah’s cobblestone streets, and right in the center, a familiar picture of a girl in a sundress. It was my picture. The one I had just sent to Ryan. Except my face was blurred out, leaving only my body on full display. Practically our entire class had liked it. The comments were mostly from guys. [Comment]:- “Damn Hailey, didn’t know you were hiding all that.” [Comment]:- “Filters doing God’s work lol. Jk jk, you’re a total smoke show! Btw, can we get an extension on that poli-sci paper? I’m dying over here.” [Comment]:- “Whoa, when did you stop wearing your usual edgy stuff? This look is so different for you.” That last comment made my stomach clench. I scrolled down her feed. And there it was. A whole collection of familiar outfits. Because I’m a bit reserved in person but still wanted to feel confident, I’d bought a bunch of trendy, "hot girl" outfits. I rarely wore them out, but I always took pictures for Ryan. Only for Ryan. And he had turned around and given every single one of them to Hailey to post as her own. I saw his username liking every post, commenting “Gorgeous ?” under each one. A white-hot rage shot through me. My roommate saw the look on my face. “Chloe… please don’t tell me she’s using your photos to catfish someone or something.” Her voice was laced with worry. “And Ryan… why would he help her do that?” “I’m going to his dorm right now,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. I grabbed my jacket. Then, on an impulse, I shot a text to my own childhood best friend, Jax. His dad had just donated a new library to the university, and he had a whole crew of biker wannabes who followed him everywhere. [Me]: “Get off your damn bike and get back to campus. I’ve got two people who need a reality check.” Hey, who said only guys could have a ride-or-die childhood friend? 5 Ryan came down from his dorm pretty quickly. He’d just showered; a white towel was slung around his neck, and his dark hair was still wet. “Babe, listen, I wasn’t trying to lie to you,” he started, holding his phone up like a shield. “I just know how girls can be about exes and firsts, and I didn’t want you to get upset. I was with Hailey in the study lounge when the ticket notification came through. She grabbed my phone and canceled them. It was her. If you’re mad, I’ll make her switch them back, okay?” I didn’t believe a word he was saying. But it was getting dark, and his dorm was in a more isolated part of campus. I’m just a girl; Ryan was pure muscle. He might act easygoing, but I’d seen his temper. During orientation week, he’d gotten into a fight with three upperclassmen who were hazing freshmen and laid all of them out, not caring about the consequences. Until Jax got here, I needed to play it cool. I kept my voice even. “If Hailey can just grab your phone and do whatever she wants, then I guess nothing of mine is safe with you. That debit card I lent you? I want it back. Now.” I held out my hand. I’m an only child, and my parents spoil me rotten. They’d transferred my entire four-year college fund—fifty thousand dollars—onto a debit card for me. Ryan came from a low-income, single-parent family. Two weeks ago, his mom was diagnosed with cancer and needed emergency surgery. They couldn’t raise the money, so he came to me. Not knowing the exact cost and not wanting to delay her treatment, I just gave him the card. But after the surgery, he never mentioned giving it back. I figured there were still bills for medicine and hospital stays, so I didn’t push it. Now that we were breaking up, I wanted it back. At the mention of the card, Ryan’s face changed. “Do you need it right now?” His hesitation confirmed my worst fear. My voice shot up, the anger finally breaking through. I swung my purse and hit him squarely on the head. “Don’t tell me you gave the card to Hailey! Ryan, are you her freaking dog?!” His strength was way more than mine. He easily grabbed my wrists, his brow furrowed. “You hadn’t asked for it back in weeks,” he said, his tone turning accusatory. “Hailey mentioned she wanted to buy a few things, so I let her borrow it. Don’t worry, she’s really frugal. She survives on like, two hundred bucks a month from her parents. She wouldn’t waste your money.” That last part sounded like he was calling me spoiled and petty. I almost laughed. “Ryan, that card was a loan. To you. What right do you have to give my money to someone else? And Hailey lives on two hundred a month? Is that why she’s constantly posting designer makeup hauls on her Instagram story?” I pulled up the screenshots my roommate had sent our group chat, where we’d been complaining about Hailey’s obvious lies, and shoved the phone in his face. I used to wonder how Hailey, who supposedly grew up as poor as Ryan, could afford such a lavish lifestyle. Now I knew. She was funding it with my money.
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