Sam

A Story by Lexi

I used to trust every person that took the time out of their precious lives to talk to me. I used to assume that everyone, at least mostly everyone, liked me. I used to think that I had a lot of friends, and that they loved me just as much as I loved them. I used to think that friendships were some type of invisible tie. A knot that could never loosen. A bond that could never be broken. I’m not the same person I used to be, and that is because of the people I used to believe in.
I met Sam two summers ago at a party where I only knew ten percent of the people on the guest list. I was standing pool-side with my friend when I suddenly heard,

“Oh my god, Sam’s here!” A swarm of girls passed me by to greet this Sam.

“Who’s Sam?” I asked. My friend stared at me in disbelief, as though he was an A-list celebrity that simply everyone knew of.

“Oh, he’s really popular. We all love him.”

Later on, while a few friends and I soaked in a bubbly jacuzzi, Sam decided to climb in. Rowdy boys greeted him with the traditional “bro five,” and all the girls put on their “sexy eyes” instantaneously. I could already see why people loved him, just by his appearance. With a thin but appealing stature, soft brown hair, and sparkling azure eyes, he seemed flawless. I said but a few words to him. A simple introduction, nothing more than that. That night, I decided to write on his Facebook wall. We talked for a few hours, but nothing came out of it. That was until the next week, when I walked into my first week of music camp. Knowing no one, I looked up at the towering seats in the auditorium to find Sam tapping his thigh with a set of worn-in drum sticks. I slowly walked up the high steps and sat next to him.

“Hey Sam, I don’t know if you remember me or not, but I’m Shelby’s friend Lexi. We met at that pool party last Saturday.”

“Of course I remember you. Take a seat, why don’t you?”

This is when our actual friendship started. Considering we would be spending the next five days together, we exchanged numbers; before we knew it, we would find ourselves pouring our hearts out in the pale moonlight that glows exclusively at 3 AM. Camp ended, but this was just the beginning of our companionship. I wound up telling Sam everything about me: my past, my awful present, and my seemingly hopeless future. It was the summer before high school started, after all. I was scared that I wouldn’t make friends, that I’d flunk all of my class and that I’d become an overall failure. Even though he was a year younger than me and didn’t understand these predicaments, Sam listened to all of my troubles and gave me advice that I still live by today. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I felt as though I could tell him anything. Eventually, he knew all there was to know about me.
At the time, I didn’t understand the reality of our relationship; I told him everything, he told me some things. After a few weeks, he stopped telling me things altogether. I didn’t even notice; I thought our relationship was perfect, even though Sam could be cryptic sometimes. By the time September rolled around, we were fighting constantly. We couldn’t seem to agree on anything, not even the most trivial subjects. It was the night before my first day of high school when we fell apart. He told me he couldn’t take it anymore, take me anymore. Why is he saying this? He can’t be for real, he’s my Sam. He’s my best friend. He loves me. He would never leave me. I asked him what I did wrong, but to this day he has never answered that question.
I’ve seen Sam a few times since that night. I used to feel safe and loved in his presence; now, all I feel is empty and cold. Even though he left me in the dark without reason, I missed him. I still miss him, and I am beginning to think that I will always miss him. To make it worse, the same situation has repeated itself three times ever since. People have gained my trust and thrown it away, without warning, three times over... and that hurts. Not everyone is going to like you, and some of your friends won’t stick around. I used to think that no one could hurt me. I know better now.