The Toxic Friend

There was a woman that didn't deserve my cousin's friendship. My brother and I had noticed constantly that something was odd with that bitch. My cousin, Amy, didn't seem to realize how bad this friendship was. 

Amy was unaware of how Jessica would occasionally bad mouth her other close friends, she would try to involve herself in anyone's business or drama, and she liked to gossip about my lack of a sex life. She only started to target me when she didn't like how I tried to interfere with her and Amy's friendship. My brother, Eric, would get the complete opposite. She would hit on him all the time, even though he wasn't even interested in her. 

Eric was currently eyeing one of Amy's good friends, and Jessica didn't like that. She attempted to ruin that friendship between her and Amy, and Eric came to that friend's defense, that ended up really irritating her. It was kind of awesome to see the look on her face fumble for once, so that was a win for us. 

Eric and I had secretly followed Amy's friend group to the restaurant. They were planning to have dinner before heading over to a bar for the night. We had been following them for a long time, worried for Amy. We were spying on them through the windshield of Eric's vehicle. He was tapping the wheel, anger flowing from him. I never wanted Eric to get involved in this mess, but he deeply cared for Amy like I did. 

She went through so much in her past, and always wanted to see the good in people. Poor thing didn't even know that she was being taken advantage of. 

"We can't keep doing this forever, you know," Eric said. 

"What else can we do, Eric? We tried everything. Amy refuses to listen."

Eric's hand tightened on the wheel. 

"Why do people like Jessica exist? They always go after the good ones. Every time Amy attempts to question anything, Jessica breaks down in tears. She's so manipulative. She tried it on me once. And Amy was there. She threw herself at me, forcing me to comfort her. It was awful."

"Yeah. Amy told me. She said that it was really sweet of you," I said with a small laugh. 

Eric mimicked a vomit sound. He was getting so good at those. 

"Fuck no. It was like holding onto a doll. With no soul."

"Yeah. I think she is one. Her eyes are so black. It's kind of creepy."

"I thought I was the only one who noticed. Yeah. It's creepy."

"It's supposed to be a sign of evil, you know."

"Some people have black eyes. And they don't do shit like that."

"True. But Jessica is different. I know you can feel it."

"Yeah, I do."

We were silent for a moment, lost in thought. Jessica threw her head back in front of the waiter, openly flirting with him. It was strange watching this. It was like we were watching one of those black and white silent movies, and at any second, I was waiting for a black screen with subtitles to emerge. This almost made me laugh, but the context behind this stopped me from doing so. 

I wouldn't doubt she was trying to get into his pants for a possible discount. Jessica didn't work, and she loved to leech off of Amy. She probably thought she was doing Amy a favor. And poor Amy would think so too. 

"We can't keep doing this forever, Liv."

"This is the last time, I promise."

"That's what you said last time."

"This time is different. Please. One more time. For Amy."

"Fine. For Amy."

The group was getting ready to leave, and I glared at Jessica as she threw her arm around Amy, like they were old pals. 

"They're heading to the bar now."

"Yeah."

"Remember the plan?"

"Of course."

Eric groaned. 

"I'm gonna hate this."

"Relax. She's going to be all drugged up, so it won't be as awkward."

"Yeah. Sure."

"I'm glad you remembered to bring the shovel this time."

"I learned my lesson last time," Eric muttered under his breathe. 

I bit back a smile. "Good. We don't need another fuck up."

"Fuck you."

Eric started the car, once the group got into their car, getting ready to head off to the bar. I could faintly hear our bag of supplies in the backseat moving in rhythm as Eric drove. We had done this so many times. Hopefully this would be the last time, but it's been so unpredictable lately with the people we run into. Eric and I are quite protective of our loved ones. We are willing to do anything for our friends and family. 

If we sense or see anything odd about a person that decides to enter into the lives of the people we care about, we take action. 

By making sure they will never harm our loved ones again. Or anyone else again for that matter. Why give that person to another that will deal with the same mess? It sounds tedious, and we would rather that the cycle of these assholes didn't continue. 

Sure, our family and friends will feel sad at first, but it's for the best. 

And the best is all we want for the people we love. 

Amy will understand. It will take time, but she will. 

When Jessica is no more, she will be happy again. 

Eric and I will make sure of that. 

---

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn