I (22F) have a very close female friend, and our friendship has become complicated over the past several months.
We spend a lot of time together, have sleepovers, go places together, and are involved in each other’s lives. She has a young son whom I’ve helped care for, and I’ve also supported her emotionally and financially on multiple occasions. She’s done things for me too, including giving me rides and being supportive, so the friendship isn’t completely one-sided.
However, I’ve recently realized that I sometimes feel more like a partner than a friend because of how much I do for her.
There’s also some romantic history.
When I first met her , we clicked immediately! Felt like we knew eachother for years . I realized a few weeks later , I had feelings for her . She asked me one day over the summer if I had feelings for her and I said yes but I’d also love to just be her friend . She was talking to a guy at the time so she kinda turned me down but it was okay with me .
Then last month , she admitted she had feelings for me . I did reciprocate the feelings and told her I still liked her as well . She admitted she was pushing me away because she was nervous about liking women . She brought up potentially exploring something romantic. She eventually decided she wasn’t comfortable pursuing anything beyond friendship. She was also involved with a man at the time.
I’ve accepted that, and I still kind of have feelings for her to this day and I think she might also . However she frequently reminds me, “I’m your friend, not your girlfriend,” even when I’m discussing hypothetical relationships that have nothing to do with her.
I’ve never asked her to be my girlfriend, so I don’t understand why she feels the need to keep reminding me.
Another issue is how she handles conflict.
She has a pattern of telling me she’s blocked or cut off friends after disagreements, only to become friends with them again shortly afterward.
For example, she blocked a close friend in August because that friend couldn’t accompany her to the hospital due to something involving her boyfriend. Now they’re close again.
We’ve also had a previous disagreement. She was rude to me in a group chat about a Miami trip, so I left the chat instead of arguing. We didn’t speak for about a week before she reached out, apologized, disclosed that she’d been diagnosed with depression, and told me she still wanted to be friends.
Now here’s what happened Saturday.
We were spending time together, and she was driving. While pulling out of a parking spot, she sideswiped another car.
She became extremely frustrated and spent the ride home loudly ranting, saying things like, “This is why I don’t like driving people around” and “I should’ve stayed home.”
I wasn’t criticizing her or arguing with her. I simply became overwhelmed by the yelling and went quiet.
When she dropped me off, she said, “Have a good night.” I hesitated for about 30 seconds before getting out and saying, “See yah.”
That was literally it. No argument, insults, or confrontation
It’s now Wednesday, and we haven’t spoken since Saturday.
I’ve noticed she’s unfollowed both my Instagram accounts and stopped sharing her location with me.
She hasn’t explained why, and I haven’t reached out.
I’m genuinely confused because I don’t understand what I did wrong. If she thought I had an attitude, why couldn’t she simply ask whether something was bothering me?
She also attended a funeral on Monday and has had other stressful things happening in her life, so I understand she may be overwhelmed. But I don’t know whether those circumstances have anything to do with her distancing herself.
Here’s what bothers me most.
I’ve been extremely supportive of her, including helping with her son, finances, and emotional needs. Sometimes I feel like I’m taking on partner-level responsibilities while she repeatedly reminds me that we’re not girlfriends.
I don’t want a romantic relationship with her. I just want a stable friendship where I can be myself without worrying that one uncomfortable interaction will result in being cut off.
Because she’s done similar things with other friends and eventually reconciled, I wouldn’t be surprised if she reaches out again.
But I’ve realized that even when things are good between us, a part of me is waiting for the next time she pulls away.
If she does reach out, I plan to establish boundaries and explain that I won’t continue a friendship where disagreements repeatedly lead to unexplained cutoffs.
My questions are:
Does she have romantic feelings for me deep down but is pushing them away ?
Why does she expect so much from me ?
Was I wrong for becoming quiet while she was ranting?
Could my silence have reasonably hurt her feelings?
Am I overlooking something I should apologize for?
Do you think she’ll reach out again ?
I’m genuinely open to criticism. I just don’t understand why being quiet during a stressful car ride appears to have resulted in four days of silence and being unfollowed everywhere.