My Childhood Best Friend Took Advantage of Me and Crossed the Line — Now I’m Furious

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. And just like in any family, misunderstandings between friends can lead to arguments. But when the people we love the most choose to betray the trust, it's hard to restore it.

She shared her story on Reddit.

"Fast forward to a week before the party. Anna starts hinting that she’s “a little stressed” about costs and how “tight things are right now.” I get it, having a baby is expensive, but she kept bringing it up in every conversation. I offered to help with decorations or pick up some snacks, but she waved it off, saying she had everything under control.

The day of the party comes, and it’s chaos, balloons everywhere, a bouncy house, and tons of people I didn’t even know. I show up early to help set up, and Anna’s running around like a headless chicken. Then, as we’re putting out the decorations, she casually says, “Oh, by the way, I put the catering on your card.”

I hadn’t even seen a catering bill, let alone agreed to pay for one. “Uh, what do you mean, you put it on my card?” I asked, trying to stay calm. She looked at me like I was being dramatic and goes, “Yeah, you know, I’ve been struggling. I figured you wouldn’t mind covering it, and I’ll pay you back later.” Excuse me?!"

"I just couldn’t believe the audacity. After everything, I blocked her. I couldn’t deal with the guilt-tripping, especially over something so ridiculous.

Now, some mutual friends have reached out, saying I was too harsh and that I should’ve just helped her out because “she’s struggling.” But I feel like she crossed a line. You don’t just throw someone’s money into your plans without asking them, right?

To everyone, asking why she has access to my card, is still a question to me. Maybe she went through my things when I visited her to help babysit her son a day before his birthday. How she did it? I don't know, but I already filed a dispute with my bank about the charge. I will be checking my card to see if there are any other things she purchased using my card. I really can't imagine that she could do this to me."

What people had to say about this situation.

• “If one is ‘struggling’ one doesn’t spend $500 on a one-year-old’s birthday party. Your former friend is ridiculous.” PetrogradSwe / Reddit
• “She stole from you. Stole. From. You. There’s no good reason for this behavior.
  Dispute the charges with your credit card company. Tell them your friend used your card by mistake.
  She is NOT struggling. Struggling is working and still not being able to save or cover living expenses. The party was for her, not a 1 yr old baby. ” Ok-Try-857 / Reddit
• “You offered to help with snacks or decorations, but apparently, she thought you meant, ‘Sure, take my credit card and go wild!’ When you confronted her, she acted like it was no big deal, just casually expected you to cover half a grand for food you didn’t order. I’d block someone too if they pulled a stunt like that.” Important-Garage-195 / Reddit
• “Struggling people don’t throw influence-style parties for their kids. Struggling people also don’t commit credit card fraud.” NerdySwampWitch40 / Reddit
• “Everyone (except the top 1%) is struggling. She needs to rethink her vision of things and be realistic. I hate when people throw these lavish parties for babies. It’s painfully obvious it’s not for the kid.” Tiger_Striped_Queen / Reddit

These people thought they knew their friends, but everything changed when they uncovered their darkest secrets.