The Real Black Sheep Of The Family
My older cousin is responsible for his girlfriend taking her life. The details of this haunt me to this day. The elders of the family try to keep it quiet, but the young adults know. They had been together for 15 years and he knew she had mental issues. Instead of being mindful of the issues and handling her with care, he mentally and emotionally mistreated her.
He cheated on her, but more than that he put himself in position to be caught to show her she was replaceable. He got her a job with his ex-fiancée, which caused major tension in the relationship and at work. He judged her clothes and her weight and when he felt like she wasn’t up to his standards, after working 60+ hours a week as a nurse, he’d tell her he was leaving for the weekend and not to reach out to him.
He would then post his fun weekends with random girls on social media for her to see. She would try to leave but he always roped her back in with manipulation and “acts of love”. Then she reached her breaking point. She wanted a family. A few years ago, he promised her marriage and a family of their own. When she told him she was ready for it, he did an about-face.
He told her he never wanted to do that because he didn’t want a child slowing him down and they were technically married by common-law anyway, so a real marriage was pointless at that point. She had a nervous breakdown. She started posting all their secrets on Facebook, would randomly call people in the middle of the night to sing random songs and hang up, and rearrange rooms in her and his apartments in odd ways.
Like TV in bathroom, sofa in the kitchen, kitchen table in the spare room. Eventually, she was convinced to go stay with her uncle for a while so he could take care of her. That’s when disaster struck. One night, she told her uncle she was tired and was going to bed. She went in her room, took half a bottle of sleeping pills, and never woke up.
When my siblings and I found out she had passed, we asked my cousin about how he was and what had happened. He replied with “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in a month. I guess her mind got the best of her. I’ll miss her, but I’m alright”. It was such an odd response from someone who had spent a good chunk of his life with her.
My siblings and I felt like it was weird and decided to ask questions. Now, I’m just like screw that guy. I don’t see him, I don’t talk to him, and I avoid any family functions I know he’ll be at. My sister found out he was seeing someone else and decided to add her on Facebook. She talks to her often to make sure she’s okay and that my cousin isn’t messing with her emotions.