Just before I moved, like three days before, my brother text me telling me to check my messages. It turns out my old school friend Gemma messaged him to let me know my old best friend for years, AJ, has been arrested and sentenced for CP. if I remember correctly he got 6 years. ....so serious stuff. I’ve looked at the article she screenshot but every time I look at the message, I just go blank.
I’ve been in a whirlwind with moving but now things are starting to slow down, it’s crushing me. My mom said the article Gemma linked said he was actively doing this shit whilst we were best friends are actively hanging out. Trusting seems impossible now. I keep trying to think back, wondering if there were any signs. The only possible thing is very likely to just have been a phishing popup (fake fbi warning iirc). I can’t recall anything that sticks out in hindsight. He was very picky and adamant about having a very specific type of guy in mind for dating who HAD to be within 1 year of our age. He was actively deceiving everyone, a mutual friend and I tried encouraging him but he’d come up with petty excuses to turn decent guys down. I feel sick. This guy was my rock in hard times. Every good memory I have with him feels tainted knowing that’s what he was up to in his spare time.
I haven’t reached out to his parents. -My mom ran into them in passing, she said they seemed to be afraid he’d come up in conversation so my mom thankfully didn’t broach the topic. They seem to be doing ok, they are looking to move far away. I hope he doesn’t darken their doorstep if/when he gets out and they can live their lives for them. They are good people and they have dealt with so much, they deserve some peace.
