I'm sure you already know what I'm thinking; probably that if I saw you then I would strangle you with my bare hands. But that's not what this letter is about. As much as I can't stand you and as much as the sound of your name brings a vile taste to my mouth, this letter is to thank you.

Thank you for breaking my best friend's heart. I'm not saying this because I'm happy about what you did. I'm angry. Probably angrier than she is. I'm saying thank you because now she knows she can do so much better than you. Thank you because now she has the capability to walk away from what she thought she loved and come out stronger and better than either of us ever thought possible.

I'm 1,800 miles away from her right now, and all I want to do is knock on her window at 1 a.m. with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and hold her as she cries, because I know she's going to. You see, it's a tradition of ours. We've both been hurt before, and there's never been a time where we couldn't be there for each other.

She's more than a best friend to me, she's my sister. She's the extra daughter my parents so willingly adopted as their own child, and her parents did the same for me. She's the girl that snorts nearly every time she laughs. The one who thinks "making plans" means pulling into my driveway at odd hours of the night and telling me to get in her car. The one who has an extra toothbrush in her bathroom specifically for me because she knows I'll always, always, forget mine. She's been there for me since day one and I'll be there for her until her last.

You're missing out on an amazing girl by breaking her heart. But I'm thankful to you for that. You finally did one thing right. God has so many special plans for her that you couldn't even begin to imagine.

I'm grateful that those plans don't include you because I know somewhere down the line she'll meet a man who will treat her better than you ever could. She'll meet a man who sees her for her heart instead of her body. She'll meet a man who loves her even with all her flaws. A man who would rather kill himself a thousand times over than to ever see the pain in her eyes that you were so quick to be the cause of. A man who deserves her in a way that you never could.

So, thank you for hurting her. You gave her the strength to walk away, and I couldn't be more proud of her.