The Art of Betrayal

I always saw a best friend as someone you trusted, someone who was always there for you and loved you for who you are. A best friend was supposed to be someone who was loyal to you and could tell you the truth, even when you did not want to hear it. A best friend was supposed to be like the sister you never had and the one that would never turn their back on you. I guess who ever made up that definition was wrong.1

I only lived to see my 17th birthday, and a couple months after that. My best friend Laura was the one who planned out the whole surprise party. It was perfect and easily the best party I had ever had. I did not ask for any of it, and I didn’t want presents, but she insisted that I get one anyway. It was the bracelet that we had seen in a store not too long ago. You know the ones that say things like “best friends forever”? There was a set of two, and each of us got one. I remember looking at it on my final night, the night that would change my outlook on “best friends” forever.2

*****3

It was a cool summer night, around the middle of August. The summer was almost over and it had to have been the best by far. Laura and I had done a long list of things together over the summer, but by the end of it, we were both getting pretty tired. I wouldn’t say so much that we were tired both physically and mentally, but more tired of each other. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed each other’s company and all, but everyone needs a break from other people after a while.4

It was around this time that I started to notice some things about Laura. When we were not together, she seemed to be going out to a lot more parties and hanging out with a bunch of new people that I had never heard of before. I had nothing wrong with any of that, and I was never jealous or her, but the crowd that she started to see more and more was definitely not your “Sunday school” kids. 5

The group, or her “gang” as she preferred to call them, never went to parties to just “party”, so to speak. In fact, they were usually at raves instead of parties, and normally were found binge drinking or using some sort of drug that they could find. The more that Laura was with them, the less I saw of her, and the less she wanted to be with me.6

Her “gang” though were not the popular kids in school. They were the ones that usually were skipping class, and usually ended up in detention or we frequently receiving suspensions. That is why it was normal for me, being, (or hoping to still be), her best friend, to look out for her. Once school started though, I saw even less of her. She never came around my house anymore, and I slowly wished that she was the old friend I had known since kindergarten. 7

Eventually, I tried talking to her on more than one occasion, although it always ended up in us fighting and her telling me what a stupid, “goody-two-shoes” brat I was and that she wanted me out of her life. The funny thing is though, is that even through all of that, she never took off the bracelet. I guess even though she was a part of that new group, somewhere deep inside she missed our old friendship. Maybe I was wrong, but I believed that and told myself that, even when we were fighting. It was my motivation to keep on trying to fix it all. 8

One day though, it all changed drastically. I had tried talking to Laura for at least the 10th time, but this time was unlike the rest. A couple of her new friends came by and found out that I was trying to talk to her about everything that she was doing. She had already been in trouble with the law a few times, and all I wanted to do was to help her. Her friends saw this and knew I was trying to take her back. It felt like a tug-of-war match which I was alone in, and definitely far from winning. Her friends threatened me, right then and there, that if I were to talk to her about this again, they would come after me. I knew what they had done in the past, so I didn’t protest to them. I got up and walked away, and left my friendship with Laura behind. Unfortunately for me, although I was through with her and hew new friends, they were not through with me.9

Laura had only been hanging out and doing things with them, but was never really “part of the gang”. They figured she would need some sort of initiation to be actually part of them. That is when they decided that I was a pest and that in their eyes, as well as the world’s view on pests, that a pest would need to be exterminated, for good. 10

By this time it was already December and we had had at least 2 feet of snow that had fallen the night before. I remember doing my homework that night and the phone ringing while I was stuck on a calculus question. I was deeply surprised when I heard Laura’s voice on the other end, asking me if we could talk, and possibly go out that night to straighten things out. It was a school night, but the fact that Laura wanted to fix the mess that had happened made me go out anyways. My parents were not home, and I told my sister that I would be home later. Laura came and picked me up in her car and we drove down the street in almost complete silence, except for the small talk that we made here and there. When we started going down a road that was dark and without streetlights, I questioned Laura where we were heading to, and she replied that it was a surprise. I figured there was no harm in that, although my gut seemed to tell me otherwise. I wondered later why I did not listen to it. I guess it was the fact that making up with Laura for our fights was more important at the time then my gut feeling. I wish it had been the other way around.11

We finally came off that road into more of a clearing. There were still no lights, but from the full moon that night I could see that we had emerged into a small park or meadow of some sort. I had known that it had been there, and let alone, knew where I was at the time. We got out and leaned against her car and stood in silence. A couple minutes later, a large van pulled up. It was one of those large white ones, you know, the ones that movers or contractors use, except that it had no writing on either side. I figured it must have been some sort of surprise for me, and although I was right, it was not the sort of surprise I had had in mind. 12

The van opened and out jumped at least 5 of the members of the “gang” that Laura was in. I got really nervous and asked Laura if it was maybe time to go, but the reply I received from one of the girls behind me told me that the party was just getting started. I was not allowed to leave until “the party was over”. I managed to get a glimpse of one of girls in the car window that showed her pulling out some rope from behind her back. It was at that instance that I decided to make a run for it, although the girls were faster than I was and caught me with ease. “Going so soon?” is what they asked me, “the party is far from over,” and that is when they grabbed me and gagged me, before tying me up and throwing me into the back of their van. As they closed the doors, I saw Laura smirking at me, the evil smile that was plastered on all of their faces that night.13

We drove around in what I believe was circles, while I was beaten by the members who were in the back of the van with me. I was called different names and told that I should have never have tried to interfere with their “friends”. The tears streamed down my blindfolded face and my screams were muffled from the bandanna that was taped to my mouth. I felt the coldness of the metal bats as they beat against my helpless body, and felt the sharp pain in my ribs as they were slowly broken. 14

By the time the van had stopped moving, I could not move my body at all. The only thing I was able to do was pray in my head to God that he would save me from all the pain I was enduring. I think he must not have gotten my prayer right away, for the fact that only a second later was I hit in the back with what felt like a club, only with some sort of barbed wire wound around it. I could feel the wire cut me, as the warm blood ran down my back. I could only muffle cries by this point, and all of them found it quite amusing, since they laughed at me all the more. 15

This little game was continued on for a bit longer, until I heard one of the girls say to Laura that “it was time.” I could feel the blindfold coming off from around my head very roughly as well as the gag too. I could see Laura standing over me, but could not build up any energy to say anything to her. One of my lungs must have been punctured because of the ribs, since I could hardly extract any air into them anymore. Finally, managing to turn my head slightly, just enough to look up at her, I heard her tell me that I should have never have gotten involved in all of this. She said that people change, and although the fact that we used to be friends, we were never meant to stay that way forever. Her friends started to agree with what she said, and finally told her to get on with it so they could get out of there. I finally noticed the gun in her right hand as it was raised and pointed at my forehead. The last thing she said to me was that she had never wanted it to come down to this, but I was the one who brought it on myself. With that, she pulled the trigger, but not before I noticed the bracelet, still on her wrist, barely visible under the sweatbands and numerous other bracelets on her wrist.16

*****17

I was left to die in the god-forsaken clearing, until my body was found a few days later by local police that were sent out searching for me, after I did not come home that night. Since the autopsy and crime scene revealed many clues and fingerprints, it was easy to track down my murderers. They were all charged and sentenced for the murder, although Laura was the only one who received the life sentence, since the court believed that the rest of them were just her accomplices. 18

It’s interesting though, that the fact that when my funeral was held, Laura was actually permitted, along with police escorts though, to attend it. During the burial, she actually stepped forward, chains and all, and to the angry and mournful looks from all who were there, placed the bracelet on top of the casket. Some of my friends who were there cried out angrily at her, “what do you think you are doing!? Look what you have done, what makes you think that you can just go and place that on there after everything you did to her and her family!?” 19

Laura turned to them calmly and replied, “because of the fact that she still remained loyal to me, and still wanted to help me even when I treated her the way I did. I feel that I should give my half back to her, because it was I who broke the bond and do not deserve to wear it anymore. May she rest in peace, because I know that I never will.” With that, she turned and was escorted by the three police officers to the waiting van to take her back to the prison where she would spend the rest of her life. Unfortunately for her, she died a couple years later because of malnutrition. It was said that she never ate very much, or hardly at all, and was normally found crying out my name every night in her dreams. I guess she learned that good friends are hard to come by, and even harder to keep sometimes.20