Why do people do things to purposely hurt you?

So I had this friend and he has gone off the handle for the last time to me. He has been causing me problems for over two years. Not all of the memories that I have of him are bad, but honestly the good are begining to fade. We have stopped talking because being a friend with him is a vicious cycle. Every few months he decides that he is better for me than anyone else. I can't take it anymore. He has gone too far. He told me how I don't care and told me to count the friends that I lost. I have come to terms with that because if they were real friends they would be there no matter what. The main thing that ticks me off is he blames me for the lost friendship. It's all my fault according to him. He brought up stuff that he knows makes me feel like I'm not worth anything. That is not a friend. I deserve so much better. So I told him I'm sorry and I do care and I'm sorry that things turned out this way. Finally, I told him I was praying for him. So the next time he sends me a message I'm not going to open it. It makes me cry because he knows just the right buttons to push to get to me. I'm done with this little game of mental torture. I grew up he didn't.

ttfn :)