am i the asshole for cutting ties

Hi, everyone. I’m a college student, and I’ve been wondering if I’m the asshole for deciding to cut ties with my friend group. Here's some backstory, and I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

The group consisted of five girls: myself, my best friend from high school, and three other girls (Jamie, Taylor, and Emily) who lived in the same apartment building as us at the time. Taylor, Emily, my best friend and I stay in the same apartments building this year but Jamie is somewhere different this year. Things started off fine—we’d all hang out together, and I thought we were decent friends. We even went on a trip to Miami together during spring 2024, and there were no issues to my knowledge. However, things began to shift around spring 2024, and I started noticing behaviors that rubbed me the wrong way.

Jamie and Taylor became roommates, and they started going on “friend dates” without the rest of us. It wasn’t something simple like grabbing a quick bite—it was full-on outings that they didn’t tell us about or invite us to. I’ll admit, my roommate (my best friend from high school) and I occasionally went places without the group, but it was just to grab fast food nearby, nothing major. I felt like their exclusion was intentional and different.

The Trip That Changed Everything
In summer 2024, Taylor invited the group to her home, which was about 2-3 hours away from me and my best friend. Initially, it was supposed to be just the five of us staying at her place with her parents. However, two weeks before the trip, Taylor decided to invite her high school friends too, turning it into a much larger gathering. Suddenly, it went from a small trip to nine girls and her parents in one house.

I wasn’t comfortable going anymore for a few reasons:

* I didn’t know her friends and didn’t feel okay being in cramped sleeping quarters with them.

* My mom wasn’t comfortable with me driving out of state.

* I didn’t have a job to pay for the trip, and I wasn’t going to ask my parents to fund it when they were already paying for school and other expenses.

My best friend didn’t go either for similar reasons. She wasn’t thrilled with me for backing out, but ultimately, we were both on the same page about not going. Also, my friend and I communicated our issues with Taylor adding her additional guest and a surface level she seemed as if she understood.

Other Incidents

* For my birthday, I initially told the group I didn’t want to do anything but later decided to have a dinner at an upscale restaurant. Everyone agreed to come, but when I changed the date because of phone issues, Jamie and Taylor acted like they never knew about the plans. When I rescheduled to Sunday (to avoid overlapping with Taylor’s birthday), Taylor refused to come, saying she had a meeting. She eventually showed up but barely interacted with me, and the vibe felt off. With Jamie feeding off of Taylor they didn’t even take pictures with me.

* I hosted a campus event through an organization I’m part of and invited the group to come support. Only my best friend showed up. Emily had work, which I understood, but Jamie lived in the same building where the event was held and didn’t bother to come. Taylor’s excuse? She needed to “set up her iPad.” To add the event was PJ theme so Jamie could’ve came in here PJs and grab a bite to eat since food was provided.

Homecoming Drama
Our school has a big homecoming, and everyone is encouraged to stick with a buddy for safety. Jamie and Taylor ignored me and my best friend the entire time, essentially dragging Emily along while leaving us out. At one point, they walked so far ahead of us on the way to Jamie’s apartment that the door locked before we could catch up. We only got inside because one of Taylor’s high school friends noticed us.

At a pregame, they made us wait 40 minutes for Jamie’s other friends before heading to a party. Once at the party, they disappeared and left us behind. My best friend and I had to figure out how to get back to our Apartments alone while drunk.

Final Thoughts
There’s more I could share, but these are the main incidents. My best friend has her own stories with them, but I’ll let her speak on her experience if she chooses to. After everything, I’ve distanced myself from Jamie and Taylor. I still feel bad, though, and wonder if I should have handled things differently.

So, AITA for no longer being friends with them? Or could I have done something better in this situation?