Three friends held an unusual intervention earlier this week for 26-year-old Chet Harris. Jared Powell, Miguel Torres, and Shane Hill all said their lifelong friend’s problem is not addiction. The issue?
He only calls them when he is driving.
Powell, who organized the intervention, said Harris’ behavior had become so disrespectful that he and his friends had no choice but to confront him:
“We used to talk on the phone all the time. Now the only time any of us ever hear from him is when he’s driving. If you try to call him when he’s at home, he acts like you’re interrupting him. If he’s driving, though, he’s suddenly your best friend.”
Hill agreed: “I hate to sound like a jealous girlfriend or something, but I deserve better than this. I called him at home the other day and he was just watching TV. But he was so dismissive. He showed no reaction to my concerns and just gave one word answers. Then he said he had to go eat, and he never called me back.”
The friends began sharing similar complaints over a period of months and decided to do something about it.
“I just felt used,” said Powell. “It’s like I’m there because he’s bored and has nothing better to do. But as soon as he gets home, I’m not worth his time.”
Torres said Harris has always been the more self-centered member of their circle:
“I’ve always secretly wondered if he’s a narcissist, but now I have no doubt. The other day I was driving and called him while he was at home, to give him a taste of his own medicine. A minute later he asked if he could call me right back. He eventually did, later that night, while he was on his way to pick up a pizza.”
Powell and his friends held the intervention last Tuesday. Harris found them waiting outside of his home after he got off work, only seconds after ending a telephone conversation with Torres.
“He was surprised,” said Hill. “He invited us inside, and we explained how his behavior made us feel, but he just said we were overreacting. Then he started trying to call us out for our own issues.”
The group said Harris accused them of everything from always being late to having poor attitudes. He even told Hill he was the biggest cockblock in the city every time they went to the clubs.
“I asked him to name one time he had called me in the last three months when he wasn’t driving, and he just looked at me like I was crazy,” said Powell.
After several minutes of arguing, Harris grew frustrated and asked his friends to leave. They have not spoken with him since.
“I did have one missed call from him the other day, right about the time he would have been driving home from work. It was just so unbelievable that he would do that again after the intervention,” said Hill.
Powell said he hopes Harris changes his behavior, but he’s not counting on it. “I guess he thinks we’re just not worth his time unless he has nothing better to do. It’s just a shame it took us so long to realize that.”
The friends have agreed to not speak with Harris until he calls them when he isn’t driving.
Definitely a narcissist, self absorbed. Everything is all about him, on his terms and time. Drop him.