When it comes to friendship, we usually don’t question the people by our side — the ones we share so many meaningful moments with. However, some people aren’t as trustworthy as they seem, and realizing that can be heartbreaking and make us rethink who truly stands with us. These stories of toxic friendships, shocking betrayals, and unexpected lessons will make you laugh, cringe, and even prompt you to reevaluate your own circle of friends.

This friend — I’ll call her Mary — had kids the same age as mine. We got together for playdates pretty often, and our kids would sleep over at each other’s houses on weekends. I liked Mary; we would visit and talk while our kids played. One weekend, her kids were staying at my house. The older one called her mom to ask when she was coming to pick her up. I was in the room, and for some reason the kid put the phone on speaker. Mary told her what time she’d arrive and then added, “You’d better be waiting outside. If I have to go in and spend the next hour talking to rivertam, I’m going to be really pissed.” We didn’t spend much time together after that