‘Piss off!’ I yelled. His eyes widened but his head disappeared, and the door closed softly behind him. I continued venting my anger on the room until I was spent, then I threw myself down on the bed, hating myself because a thought had started to push its way into my head and I knew it was true: Grace wasn’t even here and she was getting between us. Here Rohan was, home from New York for three nights just to see me, and all we’d done was fight. We’d had a miserable date night, and we’d fought today. It was as if Grace had become a thing between us, solid and unyielding, a barrier that was preventing Rohan and I from enjoying our weekend together. I knew where this would lead: if I wasn’t careful, we would never be free of Grace. She was entwining herself into our lives like the roots of a tree that grow under, around and into the very foundation of the house, working their way inside via the pipes, blocking the water supply and cracking the walls.

If things were to be okay with Rohan, I needed to be stronger with her. I needed to push her out of my head and focus on my husband and on our weekend together, before it was completely ruined.

I slunk up to the attic and stared at my paintings lined up on the floor. They were shocking and horrific and incredible, all at the same time. I could feel in my heart that they were exceptional; that they would sell. Probably the whole set would go to one collector. Maybe there’d even be an auction. And, while I still had three or four more to do, I knew that if I didn’t want to risk losing another man I loved because of Grace, I needed to do something about her. Rohan, as usual, was right. Grace was walking all over me.

Again.

Why was I even defending her?

I had to handle her better this time. I had to make sure that, when she went, she would never come back. If there was one thing I’d learned about my friendship with Grace, it was that it would never change. It was a rollercoaster ride: it went up, it went down, it went left and it went right, but it always ended up in the same place. The power was too skewed; the friendship poisonous. I’d reached out and given her a second chance and what was happening? The exact same as before.

I opened my laptop and searched ‘how to deal with a toxic friendship’.

Guard your boundaries. Realize it’s okay to go your separate ways. Don’t wait for an apology – ha! Let yourself move on. Plan an exit strategy.