A Toxic Love Story

There’s a reason they say never mess with anything you don’t know. Wanting to find love, Vanessa tampered with something she knew nothing about; something that almost ruined her. Vanessa and Samuel have been best friends since middle school, with Vanessa developing romantic feelings as they got older. Samuel had always been oblivious, even years into their 20s, setting his sights on every other woman but her. Over the years, Vanessa’s infuriation grew as he overlooked her. One night, she finally decided to reveal her feelings after a night of drinks and movies at his house.

“Sam?”

“Hm?” Samuel hums as he drinks his beer.

“If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?” she asks nervously. Samuel shifts uncomfortably in his seat, sensing the tension.

“Of course not. What’s up?” he says as he turns to look at her, filling her stomach with butterflies.

“Okay...” Vanessa takes a deep breath, preparing herself. “I-I’m in love with you. I have been for a very long time now.” She blabbers. They sit in silence as Samuel processes her words.

“Nessa…” he sighed, thinking of the right thing to say. “I mean, what do you want me say?” She looks up at him, puzzled.

“I don’t know… Have you ever felt anything for me?” she asks. Samuel drinks his beer nervously.

“Of course, I love you. But you’re my best friend, and that’s how I see you.”

“We’ve known each other for more than a decade, and you’ve felt nothing for me? We literally know everything about each other!” she drunkenly exclaimed, eyes glossing as tears clouded her vision. She tried to blink them away, failing.

“I’m sorry, Vanessa.” He said, putting an arm around her. Vanessa pushed him away as she got up and ran out the door. Samuel sighed, wondering how such a good night ended so badly.

Vanessa, humiliated and angry sped home. Once in the privacy of her bedroom, the floodgates opened as tears streamed rapidly down her face. She questioned all their years of friendship, she even questioned herself, but the only answers she got were more tears. Her face, hot, grew redder as she desperately wiped the tears off her cheeks, regretting her drunken confession. She laid for hours, thinking about their conversation over and over, wondering what she was going to do. Then, she got an idea.

Vanessa has never been into magic or anything like it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She ran to her desk and opened her laptop, searching up, ‘love potions.’ She scrolled through the websites, trying to find a reliable one. Finally, one catches her eye. She clicks on it, revealing the ingredients and steps needed to make the one thing that would make Samuel finally notice her. What she didn’t see, was that for the potion to work effectively it should only be used on a person who already has romantic feelings towards them or the effects may reverse onto the maker.

She hurriedly gathered the ingredients needed to make the potion. She bought roses, herbs, spices, and a magical crystal that would activate the potion. Once back home, she reads the steps on the website, creating it. Now, all she had to do was get Samuel to drink it. In a frenzy, Vanessa ran to her phone, revealing several texts from Samuel asking if she was okay. She texted back, asking him to come over for coffee tomorrow to talk. She’d slip the potion into his coffee and watch him fall in love with her. Her heart swelled at the thought.

The next day, Vanessa wakes up, hungover, but excited. Samuel is coming over soon, so she puts on her best outfit and makes the coffee, making sure to put his into a distinguishable cup. As she mixes his coffee, she hears knocking. Vanessa sprints to the door, opening it to reveal the man she’d loved for years.

“Hey, Nessa.” He awkwardly says. She invites him in, sitting on the couch as she gives him his coffee, smiling to herself as she watches him drink it. Samuel wrinkled his nose in disgust. “What is this? It tastes weird.”

“Just a new coffee I wanted to try. It’s herbal.” She alleged. “It’s good for you, just drink it.” Samuel gulped down the coffee, barely tasting it, gripping his chest as flutters of feelings gathered around him.

“It must have a lot of caffeine; my heart just skipped a beat. Anyways, you wanted to talk about last night?”

“Yeah, I did. I just wanted to say, I was really drunk, I hope what I said doesn’t change anything between us because you’re my best friend and I love you regardless.” She babbled.

“Of course, this doesn’t change anything. To be honest, I did suspect you liked me. But you’re my best friend. It’s not complicated being with you, and I don’t want to mess that up. And when you’re ready, I’ll be your wingman.” Samuel stood up and hugged her, happy that they made up, suddenly having the desire to kiss her. He shook the thought out of his mind, wondering where it came from.

As the day passed, Samuel found that he could not stop thinking about Vanessa. What made it even stranger was the fact that no matter how hard he tried to push these thoughts away, they came back with a vengeance, demanding his attention. He thought about old memories of her, he thought about how beautiful she was, and how much he desired her. Feelings he never thought he’d had for her erupted inside him. He decided to go see her after work.

As he saw her open the door, his heart jumped out of his chest.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I think I’m starting to have feelings for you?” he blurted out. Vanessa almost jumped for joy, but caught herself, trying to remain calm.

“Feelings? We just talked this morning; you remember you said we were just friends.”

“I know! I can’t stop thinking about you, I don’t know!” he got an overwhelming desire to touch her. “Can I kiss you?” Vanessa, beaming inside but still trying to remain calm, pulled him close. He leaned into her, feeling her soft lips, wondering if he was going insane. Vanessa wrapped her arms around him, not wanting the moment to end.

“So, what does this mean, Sam?” she asked, flustered.

“It means…do you want to go to dinner tonight?”

As the months went by, it seemed that the love potion worked successfully. Vanessa and Samuel eventually started dating, but even though everything seemed perfect, there was still a thought in the back of Samuel’s mind, wondering how he got here. It nagged at him, driving him crazy. One day, the thoughts got the best of him, and he decided to ask her. Vanessa was in the kitchen making dinner when Samuel came and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lovingly.

“Can I say something that might sound crazy?” he asked.

“Of course.” She replied, stirring the broccoli steaming in the pot. Samuel hesitated, letting go of her as he wondered how to put his thoughts into words.

“You know I love you and I love our relationship, but sometimes I wonder how we got together.” He mustered.

“What do you mean? We got together because we love each other.”

“That’s the thing. My feelings for you came so…abruptly. Remember when you first told me you loved me? I told you I only thought of you as a friend, and then it seems like the very next day we started dating.” Vanessa put down her cooking utensils and turned to face him, anxiety rising.

“Because you came to my house and kissed me. Are you accusing me of something?” she asked defensively.

“No? I was just pointing out something. Should I be accusing you?” he scoffed.

“Samuel, I haven’t done anything but love you, okay?” she caressed his face lovingly. “Why worry about the past when we’re so happy now?”

“Because how do romantic feelings develop in less than a day?!”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids, Samuel! You probably had feelings you didn’t realize you had!” Vanessa yelled, begging for this conversation to be over.

“I feel like I’m going insane! I feel so conflicted it’s like my mind’s fighting itself! I feel like I don’t love you but every time that thought comes it feels like I get pulled by some force to be with you!” Samuel’s eyes well up with tears. “It feels like- like I’m forced to be with you.” He sobbed. Vanessa watched as hot tears poured down his face, desperately grabbing and pulling him into her. She didn’t know what to do or say, only caressing his face as he calmed himself down.

After a silent dinner, Vanessa lay awake in bed, listening to Samuel’s soft snores. Her mind raced, fixating on the argument they had. What was she going to do? She couldn’t lose him again. She looked over at him, admiring him, thinking of ways to prevent this from happening again. She slowly got up from the bed, careful not to wake him and went to her laptop, finding herself in the same spot she was in months before, desperate not to lose the only man she’s ever loved. She finds another potion, sneaking out of the house to gather supplies. Once home, she quietly goes up the steps to make it, only to find Samuel awake and sitting in bed.

“Vanessa where were you?” her heart dropped out of her chest as she saw him.

“I-uh-I just had to go to the store.” She stuttered. He looked at the alarm clock next to him on the nightstand.

“Do you know what time it is? What do you need from the store at 3:00am?” he chided.

“Just some things for the house.” Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she lied to him.

“Things for the house? At 3:00am, Vanessa?” he stared at her angrily, holding his hand out. “Give me the bag.” She nervously handed it to him, watching him go through it, pulling out seemingly harmless herbs and spices.

“See? Just stuff for dinner tomorrow.” Her voice was shaking, and she breathed a small sigh of relief, hoping he’d believe the lie.

“Dinner?” he looked at her skeptically. “You know, I woke up when you got out of bed, and you kept your laptop wide open when you left. What’s funny is all that’s in this bag are the exact ingredients used to make a love potion.” Samuel accused. Vanessa’s eyes widened as he found out the truth. “A love potion, Vanessa? Seriously?”

“I- I can explain.” She stammered.

“You know, when I first looked in your laptop, I was in disbelief, you’ve never done anything like this before…and then, I started to think.” He glared at her, hate forming inside him at his realization. “I thought about when you confessed to me, and then, I thought about how I fell in love with you the very next day. So, I’m only going to ask once, did you use that potion on me, Vanessa? I already know the answer, I just need to hear you say it.” He demanded.

“Samuel, you know I love you-“

“Just answer the question!” he bellowed. Vanessa exhaled through her nose, gathering herself.

“Yes.” She admitted. Tears threatened as she looked toward Samuel, wondering what he was going to say. He quietly got up and walked to the closet, bringing out a black suitcase. “Sam, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Vanessa, I am trying my hardest to remain calm. But I can’t do this anymore.” He quietly replied as he gathered clothes from the closet. The tears she desperately held back finally released.

“Samuel, please don’t do this to me.” She pleaded, grabbing him and looking into his eyes. He pulled away from her, still processing everything. “Sam, please!” she cried as she pulled clothes from his suitcase and threw them back into the closet. This was her worst nightmare, the one thing she never saw coming. She’d been in the backseat of his life for too long, she wasn’t going back.

“Vanessa, stop!” he screamed at her. She flinched at his words, causing a grief in her heart that she physically felt. She grabbed at her chest as she realized he was actually leaving her. Samuel’s anger flared as he realized their whole relationship was based on a lie. But there’s one part of him deep down that’s jumping for joy, grasping the fact that he wasn’t crazy. He grabbed more clothes to throw in the suitcase, dodging Vanessa’s cries and pleas to stay. He wouldn’t stay in this house a minute longer.

“Samuel can we please talk about this? It doesn’t have to be this way! I love you!” she begged, getting on her knees, and grabbing his legs. Tears blurred her vision; she knew she probably looked like a fool, but she didn’t care. It was all in the name of love.

“How is this love? You manipulating me into a relationship with you is far from love! It’s something I need to get away from, Vanessa. This is over, you will never see me again.” He yelled. She gasped, suddenly letting go of him. She kneeled there, still and dismayed, processing what he just said. Something finally snapped in her. Samuel looked at her, almost scared as she quietly stood up and walked out of the room. Watching her leave, he hurriedly put more clothes into his suitcase before zipping it up. As he walked down the stairs, looking around for Vanessa, he found her, perched at the front door, knife in hand.

“Sam, you are not going anywhere.” She barked, holding the knife towards him. He raised his arms.

“Vanessa, you don’t have to do this.” He calmly said, trying to mask his fear.

“What choice do you give me?!” she stepped closer to him, thrashing the knife. He backed up, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. White moonlight streaked across her face, illuminating her cold, insensate eyes. She walked towards him, holding the knife towards him defensively.

“So, what are you going to do? Kill me?” he yelled, terror-struck. She nodded her head and smiled as she ran towards him now, completely emotionless. He turned his back, running away from her, finding a room, and hiding in a closet.

“Don’t run from me, Sam.” She roared. She had completely lost her mind. When so desperate to get Samuel to fall in love with her, she failed to read the disclaimer: If the receiver of the potion does not already have romantic feelings, the magic will be reversed and given to the maker of the potion, rendering that person insane, consumed by their unrequited love. Vanessa was consumed by her anger and only one thing would stop it. She slowly walked around the house, stalking her prey. “You can’t hide from me forever.” She whispered, gripping the knife in her hand.

In the closet, Samuel covered his mouth with his hand, trying to muffle panicked tears. His other hand held onto the doorknob, listening closely to her footsteps on the hardwood floor, creeping ever closer. As her steps got louder, he mustered up all the courage he could, trying to time his attack right. As she stood right outside of the closet door, scanning the room for him, he roughly pushed the door open, knocking her onto the ground. As he stepped out of the closet, he noticed the knife slip out of her hand. Before she could stand up, she ran towards it, pushing her back down and grabbing it. She stood up and grasped his shoulders, pulling him back and knocking him off his balance. Straddling him, she tried to snatch the knife out of his hand. He pulled back hard, pulling her with the knife, gripping the handle harder. Her grasp finally loosened, giving him the opportunity to throw her off him. She hit the wall, hard, getting the wind knocked out of her. Still holding onto the knife, he looked at her, almost sympathetic.

“I loved you, Vanessa! Not just these past months, but I have always loved you!” he screamed at her as tears formed in his eyes. “You were my best friend…regardless of who I was dating, you were my favorite person. Why couldn’t that be enough for you?” he cried. He stared at her, crying to herself. He thought she looked pathetic, begging for sympathy now, but some part of him pitied her, and he hated it.

She looked up at him now, knowing that this would be the last time she saw him. She watched as tears spilled down his face. He wasn’t just losing a girlfriend, he was losing his best friend, the person who knew all his secrets; the person who he thought he could always rely on. She watched through blurry eyes as he turned his back on her, picking up his suitcase and walking out that door. There she lay, all alone in a puddle of her tears.