The greatest loss of my life -losing my best friend and sister Molly Schrader
My best friend for 30 years, my sister, her family who took me in when my home wasnāt safe to be in and left the door unlocked so Iād always have a safe space, whom I always thought would be a part of my life
The only person in the world who I knew I found trust and that loved me. Especially after my own adoptive & abusive family disowned me over and over again and told me that it was a mistake to adopt me and were kissed off that they got a bad pick for what they paid and would return me if they could , I at least knew I had Molly. Even when distance or circumstance came between us
I spent the last few years trying to make amends and get us back to being us. Because we wanted that and talked about how to put the few years before that when I was disowned & homeless and therefore unreachable behind us. But I kept feeling that something was wrong and maybe her words didnāt match her intentions. And she wouldnāt us meet in person even with me in person and her in NYC. ....
And then a year ago this text xonversation happened and I realiized just how alone I was in the world and that I no longer have one person that I can say over me or is my friend or is my family and that I am in fact, throwawayable.
Copy of text convo between me and molly Schrader :
Molly -Hey girl- sorry I havenāt really been in touch š I think Iād be a bad influence on you
Me-Someone can only be a bad influence if theyāre able to influence the other person right?
Pretty sure Iāve always had my fair share of bad influences around but have made very different choices depending where I was at in life. Also have been the one influencing ya. Know Iām getting philosophical on that but the real deal is having my bean, my sister my blood in my life sounds like the best influence I can think of. Iām not me without you. Havenāt been. I donāt have family without you. Havenāt had. I donāt feel that same kind of happy without you, canāt get as deep into a movie without us watching with pickle sandwiches n running commentary, canāt share my soul and trust as I am right now with anyone else, both because theyāll hurt it and because they just donāt get me like you do cuz I know u accept me for who I am, n understand me past my words or doofiness or impulsive behaviors n made me feel safe and ok. Those are the best influences I can imagine and ones that can come only from my best friend that I miss sooooo much it hurts my heartfBut thatās just where Iām at, it takes both of us to want to go back to us. Iād rather you be honest and just tell me if thatās gonna happen. Iāve been wanting to ask but keep getting hot n cold from you so feeling lost
Molly -No itās me- sorry girl just been a rough month infinite me
molly 1month later -Iām sorry about me- my moms Alzheimerās has taken a from my whole family
Hey hun- happy almost b day! I really donāt mean to be rude but can we tone it down to one animated gif per comment š»
Me (Kendra)-What youāre asking does sound rude but maybe I donāt understand why youāre asking that?
Molly-Hi- at work sorry- didnāt mean to be rude itās just a lot of stickers not a big deal
Me-You already asked me to not like your pictures, including my own photography in which Iām not even credited, then not say certain things n referred me to an etiquette article then denied my sister request then told me to not post a picture to your page because it had a price n now itās donāt post multiple stickers that I really thought youād like. Maybe in your trying not to be rude youāre also not saying whatās up or Iām just not getting the message but I hear you now loud n clear
Donāt worry about getting back to me, I know youāve got your job n all I just wish u had the courage to tell me you didnāt want to be friends with me months ago instead of me trying everything I could think of and making a damn fool of myself trying to reconnect and pouring my heart out.
I get stepped on enough daily by the rest of the people in my life, but with them I expect it, I definitely didnāt expect this from you and I canāt handle it coming from you, Iād rather hold onto the illusion that I have one true friend in this world that cares about me, so Iāll do what you havenāt had the spine to do and say letās not talk anymore
Molly-Thatās fair. I admit I havenāt really known how to handle this a d have been bitchy- at work now tho so have to go
Me-(while in tears) Handle this?!?
Thatās what I am to you? Fuck you molly Iām done
Molly-Literally at work Iām sorry I canāt phrase better right now
Me-Not asking you to talk
Only saying what I have to for closure tho I have no FUCKING CLUE what I ever did to you to deserve this !?!!? And I have no clue who you are anymore cuz my old best friend wasnāt this nasty bitch thatās asking me for songs list n making me go deep into my emotions n memories only as a way of shutting me up Iām assuming. Iāve always been ride or die for you but maybe that doesnāt mean anything to you anymore.
You know at least a little of what Iāve gone thru the last few years so Iām kinda shocked right now that you would put me Thru this sick joke of yours on top of everything else Iām dealing with. I just canāt believe you led me on like this and let me make such an ass of myself and pour my goddamn heart out and be so damn vulnerable even asking you over n over if you wanted to be friends again I guess You must really hate me to let me do that n allow me to beg you for friendship n get my hopes up n hear out my amends without caring-you were my sister and you were my only family and you know that Thatās twisted. ām glad Iāve now made my side of the amends tho I guess, wonāt wait on yours either. I know how things go in Mollyās world.
I just feel very alone and pathetic so thank you for that, and thanks for the first bit of honesty Iāve heard from you in a looong time. Sure itās hard to get those words all the way down to where I am from where youāre looking so good for you, maybe youāll be honest with yourself enough one day to realize weāve always stood on even ground ....But even if that day miraculously comes-donāt call me. Iām not doing this again-Itās too painful. Yea that makes me sound dumb and pathetic but at least Iāll admit it and donāt worry I wonāt keep texting or even sending stickers -wouldnāt want to embarrass you or have to handle this again
Moly-You disappeared and I didnāt hear from you for 7 years. The call I expected to get was that you were dead to be honest. I didnāt expect you to come back into my life and so yeah Iāve handled it really shittily I fully admit that
[(Note-none of that is true. As well as UCB of what she says after this)]
Me-You got that call seven years ago you just didnāt answer it.
Iāve been desperately trying to pull together the pieces since and so no I didnāt have a phone or home or family for a long time to help me out. I got sent away for a year-everything I owned thrown into a dumpster and after that year my family disowned me to be homeless in California -that was just the first year-shits been crazier since and I didnāt have a cell phone fora few years cuz I couldnāt afford one and I didnāt have your number but I kept trying to find you online
But youāre avoiding the real issue here which is clearly you donāt want me back in your life and instead of apologizing for what you just did to me or at least owning up to it you blame me for almost dying in an accident and being institutionalized?!? Seriously?!?? Wtf is wrong with you?Iām not going to be the victim of your games anymore
Molly-Wow. Ok. I didnāt do anything to you except be bitchy over the phone. You did heroin at my bridal shower. Iām not playing games- Iām just still angry.
[[[Note-I was high, and I made amends to her for that, I have 6 1/2 years now clean and sober. Another reason I delayed reconnecting so that I wouldnāt have to put her through that, even though sheās an alcoholic and addict, but hasnāt yet accepted wanting to change , she was so drunk at that shower she couldnāt open her presents without passing out every few minutes)]
Me-Guess you wouldāve preferred that call. Sorry to disappoint. Really shitty doesnāt come close to admitting it tho. You just took my last little candle of hope that there was someone that loved me and didnāt see me as a a piece of shit to use as a doormat
Didnāt do anything?! I know drinking makes you lose your memory but I didnāt know it got that bad Do you even realize what youāre saying to me?!? I know youāve always had a gift to only see the wrongs of other people and not your own but wow, Sounds like youāre much better at that now. Maybe thatās why you think youāre so much better than me. Or why itās ok to abandon me, over n over all our lives but when I get harder to reach youāre done. Iām not gonna start listing out the issues that weāve had or the shit that I think you should probably apologize for, whatās the point if you canāt even see how you fucked me over the last couple months? Itās pretty fucking meaningless Molly-Oy vey. Iām sorry and I do t think youāre a piece of shit. But I am still really really angry at you. You abandoned me years ago for drugs. Iām not doing this.
Me-Youāre not sorry though and youāre saying that to placate or maybe thatās just a particularly nasty form of sarcasm youve developed I know youāre still angry with me,That is why I did saythe amends I said you months ago and also said I understand we have a lot of healing to do and I understand if youāre mad at meBut please let me know If you canāt get past But you kept telling me that you could
I donāt know if that was your way of making a joke out of me or getting back at me by getting my hopes upBut thatās really fucked up
I literally just told you why I left. Clearly youāre not hearing anything Iām saying and youāre going to believe whatever the hell story you wanna keep telling yourself to make yourself feel better about being a complete bitch
So stick with that fuck you Iām done goodye
Moly-Well Iām done being cursed out by you so ok
Me-Just know that your alcoholism and pill addiction doesnāt look any different than mine. Youād know that if you ever went to a meeting. Or spent a minutia of time time clean and sober. But maybe you donāt want that reminder anywhere near you Iām done thinking I still have a best friend and sister in my lifeSo sorry I have a few things to say after finding out that this whole thing was a fucking joke to you Do you need an amends for that too? I already went over the entire fucking list with you N clearly for no reasonItās just really hard for me to believe that youād let me get on my fucking hands and knees And you just keep lying to me. Itās hard to hear that Iāve turned into a āhandle thisā type of situationItās really painful I ām Done apologizing Iām done talking you to you you donāt heAr me anyway so donāt worryIām just glad I can see now the type of person youāve become-at least Iām grateful for that and that Iām not allowing another sadistic fucked up person back into my life
Molly-Life fucks us all up. Iām just trying to live mine. And this is unhealthy.
Me-Life fucks us up but friends pull each other together
Obviously youāre more interested in tearing me apart while tearing me down Molly youāre the one thatās unhealthyBut like I said, whatever you need to tell yourself to make yourself feel better Youāre an emotional vampire
Molly-Thatās funny this whole conversation seems to have been very much about tearing me down while Iām literally at work. Also- you literally donāt even know meJust like I clearly donāt know you. Thereās just been too much shit between us in the past. You tried to get Dave to leave me before we got married remember that? And you didnāt stick around for the wedding or the divorce or the 2.5 years after the divorce and then you fucking sent me drawings from rehab if you smoking the cigarettes you wanted me to buy you and you never even fucking apologized like what the LITERAL fuck was I suppose to feel? I was fucking pissed and Iām still fucking pissed that you chose drugs over me every god damn timeLike EVERY FUCKING TIME YOU CHOSE DRUGSThen all the sudden here you are again and liking all my pictures and commenting on everything and people from middle school (actual middle school!) are asking wtf happened to you and how I feel about it and I didnāt know really how I felt about it but overjoyed was clearly not my reaction cause I wasnāt over that shit And I HATE myself for saying this to you cause I do love who you were and who we used to be and I donāt want you to feel shitty but Iām human too and I fuck up too and it feels like you never cared And the stickers and likes and comments made it seem like everything was just like it had been and nothing had changed and THATS why they pissed me off so much. Because it felt like a lie. It felt like trying to paint over a period in our lives like it never happened and everything could be normal and that wasnāt true- not for meIf you wanted to be my sister maybe you shouldāve fucking acted like it!
So go disappear again. You do every time.
Molly- I read all your texts once I was out of work and had a chance to so please do me the courtesy of reading mine since you texted me at work and then got snarky cause I āhave my jobā youāre not the only one who wants closure
But Iām guessing you e blocked me.
[[note-I didnāt block her. But she blocked me]]
Me- (written in attempts to explain the truth of her accusations and try to save our friendship ) Those stickers and likes were not a lie to me.Ā They were my real feelings that you crushed by not telling me how you felt. You were the only one lying between the two of us.Ā You lied to me about wanting to be friends again, which killed me . You left me at the alter when you left for jersey and I was alone and lost without you.Ā I would have been at your wedding if it was possible but after I almost died in that car accident and was in the hospital that you never visited I madeĀ plans to go to a local detox so I could still be there for you but on the day of my release I got strapped into a cot and put in a locked ambulance and driven 4 hours off into Pennsylvania and admitted against my will to that rehab center. I didnāt have any money or a car or an apartment to go back to then I found out my parents went to my old place and trashed everything I owned. Then they said theyād disown me if I left the rehab and that I was possibly gonna be disowned either way cuz they had just found all my old needles so I shouldnāt call them or ask them for anything.Ā I had no possible way to be there for you.Ā I canāt take that back. Even after everything youāve put me thru I still feel horrible I wasnāt there.
I couldnāt tell you about the last few years thru a text -I just donāt know how to do it -I figured when we met up I could explain better, and that youād understand cuz IāveĀ been thru ridiculously similar struggles-I was pregnant too but was forced to get an abortion, I was living with a partner for years in an abusive relationship Then I got disowned again and shipped off again a few more times by my family, but all of that needs better explaining which is an in person kinda talk. And a talk where you trust the person youāre opening up to but you kept pushing me away so why would I open up my heart any more than I already did when I knew something was way off I know youāre not interested in any of that since youāre more interested in believing your made up narrative about who you are and who we were but I feel like I need to defend myself and the friend Iāve been to you cuz what youāve said is just not right. And you never cared to know any of this anyway since you were holding onto a lie about you n Dave that blocked your vision.Ā That thing you said about me trying to convince Dave to leave you-youāre wrong. And youāre really wrong for thinking I would ever do that to you.Ā That alone says everything you think of me & if Iām looking to the (was)closest person in my life as a mirror of who I am then I donāt deserve to be.Ā If you can think that then Iām scared of what others see.Ā I think you know my self esteems shit. I also think you know me better than to believe Iād break up your marriage.Ā But I do remember the conversation youāre probably referring to tho I doubt you do since you were falling down drunk The one in Bedford hills with you two visiting and when you went upstairs Dave told me he was disgusted by you since your weight went upĀ and didnāt want to have sex with you anymore and was scared he couldnāt marry you.Ā I donāt know if you maybe heard only parts of it which is why youāre confused or itās cuz you were blacked out but I defended you and tried to help you by calming his nerves and saying it might be pre wedding jitters and said the two of you could go to the gym together as a way of problem solving. I told him I would talk to you and be the asshole that brings up the gym idea so he didnāt have to cuz I knew it would hurt you and I didnāt want you to hear it from your fiancĆ©e. I didnāt know what else to do.and no I didnāt agree with him, I always thought you looked beautiful, but I knew it was a sensitive subject and safer for me to say it. So I did. And Iām sorry I intervened and tried to help cuz obviously it didnāt help us and it definitely didnāt help you two. So no I never tried to get him to leave you. And no you canāt blame me for your marriage. Or him being a dick. Thatās who he is. And I never told him about your cheating on him either FYI. Maybe those insecurities are what led you to think that.
maybe Iāve always put you first even when it meant letting you step on me to get there. Iām definitely stupid for thinking you get what you give. Iām not stupid enough to think weāll be friends again but I canāt handle you seeing me as someone Iām not. And I think you know weāve seen each other more recently than before I was in my accident. Maybe you donāt want to remember my visits to jersey after but I tried to reconnect with you and you kept pushing me further away and then told me Dave hated me tho I still donāt know why and then that he couldnāt be in the same room as me like at our last visit and didnāt want me in his house. Maybe you prefer telling people Iām the bad influence so you had someone to blame. Iām assuming thatās what made Dave not want me around or to be around me. Or maybe you didnāt want me anymore and used him as an excuse I donāt really know now. I clearly donāt know you as well as I thought I did cuz as selfish as the Molly I know is sheād never believe Iād break up her marriage. And I still have a hard time believing what you just did to me-stringing me along for over a year letting me believe I had my best friend backĀ You let me make my 9th step amends with you-something that took months of courage& sharing about in meetings and with my sponsor -I can barely face them now cuz I feel like a joke and I canāt explain cuz I still donāt really understand why you did what you didĀ I realize you never think about how your actions affect others which is why Iām saying this And I donāt think you get how bad you hurt me still. Iāve never done anything to hurt you so I just donāt understand why you thought it was ok to treat me like that. That was the lie. You kept saying that in your messages but the only lies I can think of came from you. Except one-my doctored up FB pictures -well I added filters cuz I think Iām ugly -thereās your truth there. Pretty sure a lotta people do that. And yes cuz I have two stalkers -hence the different last name. But mainly cuz I donāt like what I look like. But clearly thatās too much for you to handle. All that honesty you said youāve put on FB, itās just self pity n partially based on lies like the one you decided to think about me. So I donāt see how that changes anything. You really broke my heart and you broke me by allowing us to rebuild our friendship when you were lying the whole time I still am having trouble moving forward from that knowing the person who I thought knew me best in the world and the one person ,I thought at least,who had any love for me in fact doesnāt know me and definitely has no love whatsoever for me. All I can think is why would anyone else want to be friends with me or even be near me then? Maybe youāre right & Iām really not deserving of a family or friends. You made my worst fear come true that I am throwaway-able. I do know you enough to know weāre not sisters family friends anymore or ever again. So Iāll disappear since thatās what you told me to do (I donāt want or expect a response from you either-itāll only hurt me more-so just keep thinking that Iām nothing to you )
Molly-Kendra I have a hard life to I'm not going to read this just to have you tell me that I'm a bad person Read a bit of this and wow. Fuck you. Lose my number.
I have deleted every copy of the essay you sent me. The truth is Dave hated you cause you were a manipulative drug addicted that kept clinging after I tried to have a life. And I did visit you in the hospital. Your rewrite of history is astounding. I left you at the alter?? I'm supposed to worry about your parents finding your needles?? You're not well. I'm especially confused by you thinking we live comparative lives. You've never had a job or a decent relationship. I've never ditched a friend for heroin. I am done with your hateful manipulative borderline shit. Peace.
Last text written since July of 2018
Me-I was just trying to respond to your ātoo much shit betweeen usā comment but I guess it doesnāt matter what I say since youāll continue to create new lies to create new shit between us. You know you never visited me at the hospital, and no youāre not supposed to care about that part, you know Iāve had more steady jobs than youāve ever worked and more decent relationships too but if you want to keep creating this evil Kendra that canāt compare to you in your head thereās nothing I can do. Iāve never ditched you for drugs. Youāve ditched me for boyfriends tho. N Youāre the one whoās borderline remember? Iām the bipolar one. Even though all the lies you keep making up about me are really hateful and hurtful the worst part is that itās obviously you and not just Dave who thought I was a clingy bitch. I didnāt know sisters could be clingy. So sorry I got in the way of your trying to have a life. Guess I never got the message. I didnāt realize that getting married meant you didnāt want your friends in your life anymore. Cuz he was such a good judge of character n all. Just please stop responding to my truths with your made up lies only crafted to hurt me. I donāt deserve that from anyone and definitely not from you. All Iāve ever done is be your friend so please stop trying to rewrite our friendship to make yourself feel better about ending it. I get itIām goneIāll delete your number now