“It was honestly so hurtful and embarrassing.”

"When the wedding day arrived, I was a bit worried because he hadn't called or responded to my message all week, but I figured I’d just see him there. The wedding came and went, and he never showed up. 

I assumed it might be an illness, traffic, or an emergency, so before leaving for my honeymoon, I left him a message saying I missed him, not to worry, and that we’d catch up when I got back. When I returned, he still hadn't reached out. I left one more voicemail, sent one more email, and even sent an MSN message, but he never responded. We literally never spoke again."

"Even though we stayed friends on Facebook, things just weren't the same. 

A few years later, I was shocked to see his mugshot on the local news. He'd been with the wrong crowd and started robbing businesses. It was a blow to my heart, like seeing a brother end up in jail. I last heard he's been in and out of rehab. I still wonder if I could've 'saved' him by sticking around through high school. I was such a lonely, depressed teen, so it's something I'll always regret."  

"I obviously can’t know for sure, but it makes a lot more sense to me now than it did back then. 

A few years after that, we bumped into each other again as young adults during spring break. We exchanged a knowing look, but didn’t actually interact. She still seemed embarrassed for some reason, and at that point I just kept my distance. I wasn’t going to put either of us through another awkward interaction."  

"I also suspect she's the one who spread rumors about me, or at least was in the room when girls decided to call me a slut for hanging out with mostly boys (I was 13.)"