Symbiotic Relationship
Not every person is capable of getting along with others. And some even take advantage of those around them. Ever heard of a symbiotic relationship? I promise you that you have, or at least have experienced one. There are a few different kinds, but an example is a clownfish and a sea anemone. However, both of those participants benefit from the situation in that example. I’m sure you have gotten a mosquito bite at some point in your life. If you have ever thought that nothing good came from that bit, you’d be correct. This is a parasitic relationship. Does this remind you of anything else? Maybe a certain person that acts in the same way? Well, some people become parasites, just like a mosquito.
A certain parasite named, “Molly” was the mosquito and “Jack,” the unfortunate person who she had decided to suck bone dry. This woman had no perception of reality and not a care in the world about how her actions made her seem. Jack became really sick of it though and decided it was high time for this relationship to end. If you have a parasitic person in your life, maybe you could take a few tips from our friend Jack to free yourself.
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Lazy Disguised As An Actress
Molly was not who she claimed to be. She was a serially unemployed actress who had a terrible track record for getting herself into money problems. She was married to a good guy who did his best to provide, but he was responsible for their son, his step-daughter, and his three children he sent child support for to his ex-wife. This man traveled for work and was working constantly and he still could not make ends meet. Molly was not a good actress or a good person, so she had to weasel her way into gigs and manipulate people into giving her money when she inevitably failed an acting role or had to leave a different job.
The crazy woman was in and out of Jack’s life ever since his former mentor introduced them. He quickly began to realize how awful Molly was and tried to stay away as much as possible. Sometimes it can be hard to push people away even when they are slightly insane and constantly causing problems. Besides all the damage she had caused in his career, Molly was constantly asking for money. She didn’t just ask Jack, but he was on her list because he had helped her out in the past. However, he decided to “close his wallet” because she would rarely pay him back and he was struggling as well.
Jack was an aspiring actor and film writer. He wasn’t very far in his career path though, so he himself was having a tough time with money. However, he managed himself and his finances well and got by. After everything he had to deal with when Molly was in his life, he called her “a lazy waste of space who’s allergic to the truth.”
If that seems harsh, just wait to see what she has done and what finally broke him. Everybody has their limits, and Jack finally hit his after she took things way too far.
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Never Say Never
Currently, Molly was working as “a waitress in a very well-known national steakhouse chain.” Although that didn’t last long, just like her past jobs. She seemed like a lost cause. She spent most of her money on her addictions. Occasionally, she also spent the money on extravagant things for her children. But then when all the money was spent on those things, there would be nothing left for bills or actually providing for her children.
She would be upset if anyone tried to deny her money when she asked. She would say, “You’ll be sorry! I’m going to be rich and famous someday!”
Everyone could see that just wasn’t the case. She thought she was too good for a steady job, she never spent her money wisely when she did have it, and she never treated people well enough for them to actually help her out for the long term. Molly would whine and complain and even try to appeal to the emotions by saying the money was for the children. However, that was clearly not true and she also always found a way to get out of repaying those who had loaned her some cash.
Jack knew her spiel, he knew what she would try to do, and he knew how to handle it. But did that make it any easier or any less aggravating? No. So when Molly called him one day right before he was supposed to be walking into work, he had a bad feeling he knew she was about to try and guilt-trip him. He could just feel it coming. But he was not in a great financial spot himself and couldn’t help her even if he wanted to. Just because he had helped out in the past, should he have to help her every time?
At this point in her life, Molly was living in a bad neighborhood and was “behind on her mortgage, for the second time” at least that Jack knew about. During the first time, he had loaned her some money and when she somehow got out of it all and “sold her home to a private buyer to get out from under the bank lien,” he was finally able to get some of the money back from her. The other money she got from the sale was quickly used up. Her husband was not happy, and once again she resorted to asking people she knew for money. It took her a couple of months to get to Jack, she must have exhausted all of her other resources. He knew she would come buzzing in his ear soon.
However, Jack assumed he would be able to just be honest with her about how he was also having some financial difficulties and that would be that and she would leave him alone. He hadn’t needed to really get mean with her before, but never say never.
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No More Lies
When she first called, he “let it go to voicemail.” But he couldn’t do that every time because she had no sense of enough is enough. She would keep calling. And she did just that. In Jack’s mind, he had “canceled [his] subscription to her issues a long time ago.” So when he finally answered as he pulled into work, he was prepared to make things as clear as possible.
“I can’t talk. I just got to work,” Jack said, annoyed.
Molly quipped, “Oh, darn. I forgot what time it was.”
Jack hated hearing her voice and she was already really getting on his nerves, so he replied, “No, you didn’t. You didn’t even look.”
Molly snapped, “What’s your problem?”
Jack couldn’t keep his composure, “You! I don’t have time for your drama right now. I have to go to work. Do you remember what that is?”
At first, there was a pause and Jack knew he upset her, but then she still carried on saying that it was a quick request. Jack knew differently though and said, “Not possible. My shift starts in ten minutes. I don’t want to spend that time listening to you whine about all of the drama in your life. It’s always your husband, your lack of employment, your kids, your money problems, etc. The last one I especially don’t want to hear about. It’s nobody else’s fault you’re horrible with money.”
She was unphased and continued with, “You busted me. It’s about money. I need some help.”
Jack was getting more and more frustrated with the woman. So he told her he knew she wasted money on things she and her kids didn’t need.
“I’m not going to apologize for wanting to provide for my children,” Molly quipped.
At this point, Jack was not above calling her out and stated, “If you actually loved and wanted to provide for them, you wouldn’t have sat on your flabby unemployed butt for the last two years. That’s how your home ended up in foreclosure in the first place.”
He wasn’t lying, but sometimes people have a tough time looking the truth in the face.
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Never Again
Molly was not happy with his remarks and snapped at him again, “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. I hope you never have children.”
Jack was on a roll though so he did not hold back and said, “Spare me the righteous indignation. You don’t care about them. You never did. You got pregnant twice so both of your husbands would marry you. I applaud your first husband for getting out while he had the chance. Just my opinion, if I were him I would have left you, too. You shouldn’t have cheated on him.”
Molly was shaken by what he said and demanded to know how he knew. Jack refused to share his source. At the end of the day, did it really matter how he knew? The point was she was a liar and a cheater and he could expose her. As he was telling her not to continue upsetting him, Molly tried to deescalate the situation. She tried to say she needed his help. Of course, she was asking for money saying it was for her “phone, internet, and cable bill.” Jack decided to ask her how much it was and she said she needed a whopping $550. He was shocked.
“No. Absolutely not. Even if I had it, I wouldn’t give it to you. Why not ask your neighbors or family? Oh, wait. I bet they already shot you down. That’s why you came to me, isn’t it?” Jack said to her getting close to his boiling point.
He told her it was not going to happen. There was no way he could help her out. But Molly was not satisfied with this and pushed the limits by saying, “You could put it on your credit card.”
Jack had to take a second to process what she had just said because he couldn’t believe she had said it. And then all of the frustration that had been building up throughout the conversation as well as over the years he had known her all came out.
“That’s really ballsy. You know I’m on a fixed income. Among other things, I’ve got a car payment, rent, insurance and you have the nerve to ask me to use my credit card, which I only use for emergencies, to pay your freaking bills? No! [Heck] no!” Jack shouted.
Molly then went to the extremes and declared she would tell people that Jack liked men. He was irate that she was threatening him and “throwing a tantrum.” And this woman had already outed him to his father which had made life difficult, so he wasn’t playing around. He hit her below the belt by telling her he knew she was cheating for money and was just too lazy to keep a job.
Jack threatened her that he would give away her secrets and her husband would leave her. Her poor husband had been treated terribly by his first wife, so Jack assured her it would be easy to reveal everything Molly had done to him as well. Jack made sure Molly knew he was not bluffing. She was not going to get his money again. She was never going to take advantage of him again.
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Parasites
Molly was enraged at his threats. She played the victim like she always did and called him names. Finally, Jack hung up on her. It was satisfying because “she always had to have the last word.” He didn’t give her that this time. Although things had been going downhill for their friendship, this was one of the last straws for Jack. Unfortunately, he did not completely rid her from his life for a while even after this encounter. However, Molly’s kids have all but estranged her and she is barely able to have contact with her grandkids now. Her behavior created a gap in her family that may never be closed. Their success has not been shared with her.
There are plenty of Mollys out there in the world preying on the innocent and caring. Sometimes it feels good to tell someone off. But is it better to just completely cut them off? Wouldn’t that have saved Jack time and effort? We can’t all make the right decision off the bat, but I know I wouldn’t want to be trapped with a mosquito for any amount of time. And Molly the Mosquito wouldn’t be getting any time or money out of me.
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