Spinoff to Phone Number Thread...

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind words and support after I posted a couple weeks ago about losing my friend. It was really comforting and I'm doing much better although she is often in my thoughts which is fine.

However I'm dealing with a new issue entirely. My friend's younger brother (who had some kind of developmental impairment, at least emotionally but it's actually something wrong) kept my friend's cell phone "for sentimental reasons." He KEEPS CONTACTING ME through it... texting at first, now calling and leaving me messages. I responded at first to the texts because I figured he needed to talk or whatever but now it's random texts like "hey peeps" and "what sup" and random forwards that kids send around (he is young, like somewhere between 12-14 but acts younger) like "if you care about me you'll forward this to X number of people" kinda things. Recently he called and invited me to go to dinner for a milestone for him which I didn't respond to because I don't really feel up to seeing the family again, it just opens up old feelings.

So, really I hate the fact that I'm being contacted by her phone at all, I recently lost all the numbers in my phone so her name wasn't even in it but of course I know her number by heart and every time I see it in my caller ID my heart jumps a little and it takes a second to register that it's not her, she's dead, it's her brother with some nonsense.

Her brother really means well, he's a sweet loving kid but I want minimal contact with the family, it's too hard. Would you talk to someone in the family and ask to gently tell the younger brother not to contact me? I know her older brother well enough to talk to him about this delicately but with all the raw emotion the family still has I don't want to hurt the younger boy's feelings or the parents. Her younger brother is very sensitive, can't really handle too much emotionally and has been through so much already I'm afraid to hurt his feelings. I'm currently ignoring all non-important communications and haven't heard anything lately so hopefully he is getting the idea, but not sure what I will do if he calls/texts again.

Re: Spinoff to Phone Number Thread...

That may be a good idea to speak to his family - you are probably part of a group text and not someone he is contacting specifically, so maybe it won't be too emotionally difficult for him to remove you from the list...

And even if it is - you aren't responsible for him, KWIM?

Re: Spinoff to Phone Number Thread...

Some of them are group texts and some are individual. Either way it weirds me out. I think I'm gonna see if he lays off and if he doesn't I'll talk to his brother.

I just feel bad either way. I know he like, needs people to be there for him too, but I need to grieve on my own and some space would help to do that.