all my friends had said things , done things , i 'd noticed the looks and they all avoided cooter like the plague and not because he made it clear he did n't like my friends around the house or me spending time with them ( both of which he made very clear ) , but because they hated him for what he was doing to me and , by that point , they hated him so much they could n't be responsible for their actions or their words if they had to spend too much time with him .