Betrayed by Childhood Friend

A few days later, Zamir Chavez sent me a voice message, wondering why I hadn't reached out to him for days. He spoke so casually, as if he had forgotten the day he insisted, in front of everyone, that I should keep my distance. We used to chat endlessly, and I would share every detail of my life with him. But recently, I stopped contacting him and didn't respond to the messages he sent. He even called me several times. Each time his name lit up on my screen, I reminded myself not to slip back into old habits.

Our chat history was filled with his messages:

"Why haven't you messaged me in days? Still upset? Got quite the attitude, huh!"

"I finished my thesis. Want to start an internship together? Get a jumpstart on your career."

"Kya James, what's up with you? Too scared to reply?"

"Is your phone broken? Not replying to messages, not answering calls?"

"Where are you?!"

...

"Okay, okay, ignoring me on purpose, huh? Let's see how long you can keep this up!"

In the end, I found it all too irritating and blocked him across all platforms, along with Rodrigo and the others, except Adler Watson. Finally, there was some peace.

Adler sent me a message:

"Kya, did you block Zamir and the guys? They're all complaining about it..."

He sent me a video where Zamir and Rodrigo were drinking with the gang.

"Has Kya not responded to you yet?"

"This time she's really ticked off and even blocked all of us."

"Is it necessary? We didn't do anything to her. Is she losing it?!"

"Don't indulge her, she'll get too full of herself."

With the usual dismissive ridicule.

"Zamir, what if Kya never talks to you again?"

"She wouldn't dare!" Zamir snapped, irritably stubbing out his cigarette. "She's just playing hard to get, waiting for me to give in."

He laughed scornfully, "Probably got jealous seeing me with Keilani. I told her not to cling to me, and she must have taken it seriously."

Someone teased, "Zamir, you've got it made. A devoted childhood friend on one side and a sweet girlfriend on the other. Quite the balancing act."

Zamir rubbed his temples, "Yeah, trying to keep both sides happy."

"Zamir, don't worry, she's always been your little admirer. Once you're working together, she'll come running back."

"That's true. I'll let her stew for a few days, and when I feel like it, I'll smooth things over with her. No big deal."