Katharina Buczek
A young woman and her cousin, Ted, are only a few years apart in age and were always super close throughout their childhoods. And, even into adulthood, she and Ted still made it a point to keep in touch.
But, all of that changed after Ted got a new girlfriend, Maddy, a few years ago.
She eventually met Maddy after Ted started to bring her to all of their family events, and even though she never had a specific problem with Maddy, they just never clicked.
“We would talk at family stuff, but she just is not someone I want to hang out with or become friends with,” she recalled.
Nonetheless, her aunt– Ted’s mother– began seriously gunning for the pair to become best friends. She is not sure if her aunt wanted them to forge a friendship so badly because they are close in age, but either way, she found it super annoying.
“Anytime we were both at an event, she would find some way to push us together. I felt like a little kid being forced to play with someone,” she explained.
And, over time, it started to feel like Maddy’s well-being was all that mattered to her family. For example, when she was planning her own college graduation party, it had to be moved just because Maddy could not make it.
Apparently, her family did not want to exclude Maddy. But, that also meant that all of her friends ended up not being able to attend the celebration, and she was forced to rush around and change all of her own party plans.
Despite all of this, though, she never brought her issues up to Maddy or the rest of her family.
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