this message may be offensive
TW// Mentions of suicide
Rant/vent
Month ago I stopped someone from ending their life. I became their rock, the person they could turn to when they needed to talk. I kept him safe, coaxed him back from the edge whenever the wind threatened to give him that last push over. He looked up to me as a mother figure, he made me feel like I had a purpose, that I needed someone. I enjoyed that feeling more than anything else. What he didn't know was that his reliance on me was the thing keeping me alive. He kept me breathing just as much as I did for him. He was such a sweet boy, like a child or younger brother even though he was only a few years younger than me and I loved him as such. He looked up to me, my then girlfriend and our mutual friend, he trusted us to guide him and be his safe space, people he could turn to when it felt like there was no one else to run to.
Then I broke up with my girlfriend, I left the server we were both in to take a break and I lost contact with him for months.
Today, he spoke to me for the first time and I hardly recognise the person who messaged me. As nice as he still is, he's grown independent. And I'm proud of him for that, I'm happy he can hold his own. But I feel as if I failed my purpose. He went from being scared of almost everything to not giving a fuck anymore and I'm not sure I like that. He saw me as a mother figure despite only being a few years younger than me and I feel like I've failed that role, losing contact with him for months and letting him go down that path. He's fourteen at most and is currently high of crack, has a history of drinking and smoking. He stopped when he met me but I guess after contact dropped he returned to those habits. And now I feel like shit. Like, yes I'm proud he's grown more independence but I wish he hadn't gone down that path... I barely recognise him now.