LARA.
The drive home from the hospital the day before was silent, and I wondered why. I even tried to start a conversation with Tony, but he let me know that he wasn’t interested. I even went as far as asking him what was wrong, but he simply said he wanted quiet time. So, I let him be, even though I felt uncomfortable about it.
I sighed as I arrived in front of Beth’s house. She would be at work, so I prepared the extra key and took it with me. On getting to her door, I noticed the padlock she normally uses to lock it wasn’t there. That meant only one thing; she was at home.
“Why would she be home by now?” I said and checked the time on my wristwatch. It was some minutes after noon. “Weird,” I said and turned the doorknob, then I banged the door and it opened. I was about to shout her name, but what I saw shocked me even more. The purse in my hand dropped to the floor as I stared at my so-called best friend and my boyfriend pulling away from a kiss. “What the fuck is going on here!?” I exclaimed.
“Lara,” Beth started. I could see a look of fear on her face. She was shivering a little too, but that’s none of my business. All I needed to know was what I saw that just transpired between the closest people to me. “Lara, I swear, it’s not what you think it is. I was-”
“Oh? Do you have an explanation for why I met you kissing my boyfriend?! And you seemed to be enjoying it?! Wow!” I exclaimed and turned to face Tony who just stood there staring at me. He didn’t look bothered or indifferent. He looked calm as if I didn’t just catch him cheating on me with my best friend. “Aren’t you going to explain yourself, Anthony?” I said, glaring at him.
“Lara, please, let me just explain to you what you saw. Don’t misunderstand what you saw, please. It isn’t-”
“Shut the fuck up!” I yelled at her and she jerked backwards immediately. “Oh my God! No wonder! There was always this stupid tension between you two whenever you had a reason to be close by. Grace talked about it the other day, but I warded it off because I trusted you! I trusted you, you bitch!” I said and walked up to her and pushed her. She staggered backwards and tried to maintain her stance by holding a nearby chair. “You betrayer! Because you had no man in your life, did you have to come after mine?! Oh, I should have known when all you do is speak as if you were the holy one. So, you could do this to me, uh? I’ll be back to you.” I said and faced Tony angrily.
The fact that he looked very calm annoyed me even more. Beth was in tears by now, and I loved to see it that way, but Tony was unfazed. He didn’t even seem sorry for what he did, and that pissed me more. I raised my hand to beat his chest, but he quickly grabbed my hand by the wrist, stopping me from touching him. I tried to force my hand out of his grip, but it was too tight.
“Leave me the fuck alone, you betrayer!” I exclaimed, trying to force my hand out of his hand, but I couldn’t.
“Betrayer?” He finally spoke. “You call me a betrayer?” He asked and scoffed. “Damn, you’re such a player and a liar, Lara. You fucking used me. You used me because of the love I had for you. I legit stopped sleeping with ladies because you seemed serious! I should have known when you ran away on the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of my life; my wedding day. But because of you, it was called off. I should have known when you returned all of a sudden and faked everything, saying you loved me after leaving a provoking letter and ditching me on my happy day!” He yelled the last part and released my hand angrily, making me stagger backwards.
I was surprised. That was the first time I’d see Tony that annoyed. He looked so different from the loving man I had always known. His eyes were red by now and he glared at me angrily. It looked like he could tear me apart any moment from now.
“Tony, please. Just leave and we’ll settle this between us.” Beth begged him, holding his hand, but he jerked her hand off his arm.
“I won’t leave this place until I put this liar in her place!” He replied to her.
I stayed back, staring at both of them. I couldn’t believe my eyes. What shocked me the most was that Beth could do this to me. From what I was saying, she must have told me to Tony just so she could ruin my relationship with her. And it was working, Tony was very angry at the moment.
“Wow. So, you could do this to me, Beth?” I said and scoffed at her. My heart was beating heavily by now, but I just didn’t know what to say to Tony. My chest was heavy because I never expected a betrayal like that. If it was even ever going to happen, I had always thought it would be from the other girls and not Beth. But I was wrong after all, no one could be trusted.
“Lara, let me explain myself. I told you right from the time that-”
“That what, uh?” I said and walked up to her angrily and pushed her. It caught her unaware, so she almost fell to the ground, but Tony was quick to grab her from falling. He helped her up, much to my surprise. “Tony, what are you-”
He turned to face me immediately, cutting my sentence off. “Do you want to hurt my baby that she’s carrying? If you lay your hands on her once again, I’d call the police on you. And you know what that means,” he stated, glaring at me.
“Be… Beth is carrying your… you mean, she’s carrying your baby?” I felt a pain in my heart as I heard that. I turned to face Beth, unable to believe what Tony had just said. “You knew the father of your baby all along? He’s been cheating on me with you all along? So, you lied that you didn’t know who the father was, despite knowing it was my boyfriend. You’re pregnant for my boyfriend, my fiancé, Beth?” I asked her, a look of shock on my face. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Tony chuckled lightly. “And for one,” he said calmly. “I am not your boyfriend anymore, get that into your head. I have nothing to do with you and I’m calling this whole shitty thing between us off, right from this moment henceforth.” He stated with a serious look on his face.
“What… Tony, what are you saying? I’m carrying your baby, did you forget that?” I scoffed, not sure I heard what he said very well.
“My baby?” He let out a loud laugh. When he stopped, he said, “To hell with you and your bastard baby which isn’t mine.”
Now, that was the greatest shock of all. Tony knew already. He knew about the baby already, and there was nothing I could do. “Oh my God,” was all I could mutter, as I grabbed my head, trying to process everything that just happened.