Tyrell group of industries

There were three of us.

Tyrell and Ford came in a set and I was a groupie with a bunch of interim friends. The people around us changed but the three of us remained. Ford and I often fought because on certain levels we were precisely the same person while Tyrell was the calmer one who would always have to deal with the damages. Or was he just so disinterested that’s why we never had a scuffle, perhaps he never cared enough to put his energy into a fight. I’d soon find out.

The semester had progressed and I had realised the need for a girl bestfriend so I started branching out. Tyrell and Ford had done what any man does, started taking what they had for granted and when I would speak out for better treatment they would act like it wasn’t that big of a deal although it felt like a big deal to me. I was the one holding us together, I was the one speaking up for them in case they couldn’t, this was a responsibility which came from being the only extrovert out of the three.

Deep down I knew I couldn’t be doing this the next semester as well yet I couldn’t bring myself to imagine the next semester without them. So, I started keeping my complaints in. I started making excuses for them, I turned a blind eye.

When Ford would stand by and watch as his girlfriend (whom I had introduced him to) would disrespect me, I forgave him and then helped him strengthen his relationship with her.

When Tyrell verbally abused my girl best friend in front of me, I ignored it (perhaps he knew something I didn’t, after all they knew each other before me) and did his class reports for him.

When I heard Ford used a derogatory term for me behind my back, I didn’t do anything about it and gave free therapy to him instead.

When Ford and Tyrell kept secrets from me about issues that involved me and lied to me about them, I forgave them and went to the movies with them.

When Tyrell sat me down one day (the only time he was serious about something) and said, “You set Ford and his girlfriend up so you should've expected that there would be rifts in the friendship.” I stared at him baffled and embarrassed. I could not form any intelligent sentence and scrambled to save whatever dignity I had left. He knew I had problems with Ford’s girlfriend because she was causing them, not me. He knew I wouldn’t create problems on my own, heck I set her up with my friend. I had told him and I thought he was listening. He wasn’t.

I couldn’t forgive him, not this time.

We had known each other for months and he had started doubting me and calling me out for a girl he had known for two weeks, a girl that wasn’t even his girlfriend but Ford’s.

Tyrell was so dear to me that I refused to let him go just like that, I tried to reason with him. I told him what was upsetting me and he told me he didn’t mean it like that. I told him he hurt me and he said it was not his intention. He went on to become the victim, not taking accountability for his words and actions and once again I was alone in the friendship.

The summers started and being away from both of them had cleared my head. Ford had his flaws but he still cared enough to listen, admit his faults and apologize, so I still talked to him. Tyrell never texted me again which helped me realise he was never going to admit his faults and would never be the friend I had thought him to be, I never spoke to him again.

And then there were three of us. Me, Ford and his friend Tyrell.