To the girl that I once referred to as my "best friend," this is for you.

I was always there for you. I was there for you through it all. I listened to every pointless story and gave advice after you presented me with any minor crisis you were going through. I was a loyal friend through and through. I would have gone to the ends of the Earth for you. I would defend you to any person who ever spoke poorly about you. And now, looking back years later, I regret all of that.

I regret all of the time that I spent getting worked up in your drama and listening to your problems that were never really problems after all. I regret being at your beckon call and sitting in silence as your free personal therapist while you went on for hours about pointless drama. I regret letting you treat me like your b***h while I never received any benefits or positive outcomes from our "friendship."

It took me years to realize but you were never a real friend to me at all. You only used me when it was convenient for you. You only reached out to me when you needed me to do you a favor or when you had something to complain about and needed available ears to vent to. You never cared about me or my feelings or my problems or my life for that matter. That all became very evident when I hardly heard from you, let alone saw you when we went our separate directions for school. I always said I knew I was only close with a lot of people in high school because I had to be. It just worked out that we grew up together and had classes together and played sports together. But I never suspected for you to turn on me the way that you did.

I am closer today with the people I thought were my "fake friends" in high school than I am with you, and I thought you were a real one. Oh, how I was mistaken. You were never a real friend and you never really cared about me.

My friendship with you was exhausting and toxic. I have a keen eye for spotting when boys are treating me poorly and getting out of there, but it took me a little while to shake you. But now that I have, I am so happy and I feel as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

So please, for the love of Pete, please stop reaching out to me every six months when you feel like convincing yourself you are a good person. Stop acting like we are still friends and sending me these half-hearted texts about how you miss me. You don't miss me. If you missed me and actually cared about our relationship you would have tried harder starting two years ago. Stop acting like an annoying ex-boyfriend by popping in whenever you feel it's convenient and just accept we are no longer friends. We have not been for a long time now. I used to think there was someone out there who knows everything about me but is now a stranger, but actually, you don't know anything about me or who I am now.

I am thankful for the memories we share from our time together when we were close, but you are not the type of person I see myself being close with in my future.

Sincerely,

A girl that has always been a true friend