Some People's Friends

I used to have a friend. Or so I believed. I thought that he and I were good, close, caring friends. Friends like friends are supposed to be. But, I was wrong. Not only did this person seek to manipulate me, and LIE to me about even the most unimportant things, but, to this day, well over a year after the end of our friendship, he persists in lying about me to anyone who will listen.

It is very sad. This man has good qualities. He deserves as much as anyone else to be happy.

But, he is one of those people who are so afraid of life that he refuses to live, so afraid of love that he refuses to love even himself, and, most of all, so afraid of the truth that he refuses it in its entirety. I caught him in so many lies, and not only lies, but saying such hurtful things about the people he supposedly cares about. He would say horrible, criminal things about his mother, his father, his sisters, his brother, his first ex-wife, his second ex-wife, his son-in-law, his supposed friends, young girls, his friend's children, his high school girlfriend, her friends, etc., etc., etc. Even after lying and spouting evil about these people, he would pretend to care about them, spend time with them, all claiming to be afraid that they would somehow retaliate against him if he didn't do what they wanted. He would not complain about food cooked incorrectly in a restaurant, claiming the cooks would spit in his food. He would not be alone with children, claiming their parents would accuse him of pedophilia. He went told me that his distortion of reality went so far that he wouldn't even be alone with his own daughter when she was a child, for fear of her mother accusing him of pedophilia. He would go out with a woman, and then lie about how much she wanted him, how much she was pursuing him, etc. I caught him in lie after lie after lie. He was passive aggressive to the point that he would take quiet action to outwardly hurt people, and then pay them off to get "back in their good graces."

The most hurtful of all, to me, was the constant lying and manipulating.

When my mother died, he was the first person I told. Instead of offering any sort of comfort, even an "I'm sorry," he wanted me to comfort him! What in the hell kind of a friend is that?!

I never dated this man. I never went anywhere with him, except to lunch, one day. I never wanted to date him. I was never physically attracted to him. Nonetheless, he persists in telling people that I wanted him, and he justifies his supposed unwillingness to be with me by lying about me and trying to convince people that I am insane. Now, I may have my issues, we all do. Hell, I may even be "insane," by his standards, anyway. But who cares?! Not only did I never, ever, want to be with this man, not only was he cruel to me and to my daughter, cruel to anyone who ever had the displeasure of knowing him, not only did he lie to me, and not only does he continue to lie about me to this day, but... it has been well over a year since I have even spoken to him and he persists in lying to people about me, instant messaging me, asking me questions about my life...

The man is the most toxic person I have ever, ever known. I want nothing to do with him, ever. I don't want to see him. I don't want to talk to him. I don't want him anywhere near my children. And I wish to high Heaven that he would leave me alone, not speak of me, and get on with his life. For good.