LARA.
“I really can’t get over this video. It will never get old to me.” I let out a loud laugh as I watched the viral video of me pouring an itchy cream on her body and how she had continually itched herself until she left the hall.
“I think what you did was unnecessary. She didn’t say anything harsh to you and you just decided to embarrass her in public. It’s not very nice of you, Lara.” Yeesha said.
I dropped my phone on the chair and stared at her. “I wasn’t trying to be nice, okay? She betrayed me and that is a punishment for a betrayer!” I snapped.
“True,” Janet replied, nodding her head. “I agree with Lara. She deserved it and more, for real.”
“I still can’t get over the fact that Beth could do something like that. I mean, who would have thought?” Grace asked and scoffed. “I’m in awe, man. She sure deserves anything Lara does to her. That’s what happens when you betray your best friend of several years for some man.”
“I wonder why y’all keep supporting the wrong things Lara does. Yes, maybe Beth was at fault too, but if we’re being logical, Lara was not a very good friend to Beth either.” Yeesha shrugged. The way she kept saying her words calmly pissed me off, but I rolled my eyes as if I wasn’t bothered. But I was.
“I wasn’t a good friend to Beth? Maybe you should teach me what a good friend is, uh?” I asked sarcastically.
“Well, if you’d listen and take my corrections, then I wouldn’t mind teaching you.” Yeesha stood up to go to the kitchen, but I stopped her.
“Sometimes you talk stupidly. You say words without filtering them. Don’t you think before you speak?” I gave her a scornful glare.
“Lara,” Grace called, trying to tell me to leave the issue. But I would never give in when I was arguing with someone. I would rather the argument not end than for the other person to beat me to it.
“Drop it, Lara,” Janet added.
“Never!” I snapped. “If I don’t put her in her place today, she will never learn to not start what she can’t finish.”
Yeesha turned to look at me. “That’s the thing about you, Lara. You never want to listen to advice. You think you’re always right, and anyone that doesn’t support you, you’d take them as an enemy. That’s a very shallow habit and you have to do something about it.” Then, she paused and muttered, “damn, now I’ve forgotten what I wanted to take in the kitchen,” she hissed and walked back to her seat.
“You have no right to tell me how to behave. I know you’re envious of me, and that’s why you’re always against me. But it’s fine because just like the other fake friend has shown herself, you’d also-”
“Just shut it, Lara.” Yeesha cut in, surprising me. “Oh, because I don’t talk that much? Maybe today is the day I’ll put you in your place. If nobody else has ever told you that you’re an opportunist and a bad friend, then I’ll tell you today. You don’t care about your friends at all, even Beth whom you used to call your best friend. That girl could sacrifice her life for you, but you? You can’t even sacrifice something tiny for her. Yet, you call her names.” She shook her head. “Nah, Lara. You’re the devil here.”
“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed as I stood up from my seat. I turned to face Janet and Grace, who were now looking at each other by now. “Did you hear what Yeesha called me? An opportunist and a devil. Does she even know what those words mean?”
“Of course, I do!” Yeesha said and stood up, some inches apart from me. “Beth has always been sacrificing things for you! But what about you? You’re only concerned about what you’d get from her. You’re like a pest to her, if you don’t know. All you do is suck her up because you see that she’s juicy. Is that what a good friend does? I see it all, Lara. I just don’t talk because I’m not the one being affected. But at this point, if no one would tell you the truth, I will. Why are we friends if we can’t tell one another the bitter truth about ourselves? You need to turn a new leaf, Lara. You need to.”
“Yeesha!” Janet called her and stood up, walking up to her. “Are you trying to cause a fight?”
“If you see this as a fight, then, sorry. If you two can’t tell her the truth, then someone will, and I guess that someone is me.”
I shook my head as I stared at Yeesha in shock. I never believed in a thousand years that she could ever say such things to me. “Beth stole my man from me, Yeesha. Are you blind and can’t see that?” I scoffed. “She didn’t even go for any of my exes, she went for my fiancé. If it were you, would you be fine with it?”
Suddenly, Yeesha banged her hand on the stand next to her. “You’ve done worse things to her too! Have you forgotten that you went ahead to date the guy Beth loved a lot in high school? She told you that she liked him and you continued to seduce the guy until he dated you. Is that what friends do? Yet, Beth let it go. I bet you didn’t know how much she cried behind closed doors because of the hurt she felt. But she remained your friend. Why? Because she loved you a lot. She fucking sacrificed the guy she loved for you. She valued you and the friendship she had with you more, so she didn’t make a fuss about it. Don’t you get it?!”
“You sound so stupid right now by bringing up the past. And for your information, you don’t have a point. Was it my fault that the guy chose me over her?” I asked her.
“And is it her fault that Tony chose her over you now? After seeing that you’re only a cheat, a liar and a gold digger? No. So, it’s fifty fifty. Now that the table has turned, why are you so pained? Besides, you were the one that destroyed the good thing you had going on with Tony. So, why are you trying to put the blame on Beth? I guess the guilt is eating you up inside.” She yelled at me. Those words hit me hard in the chest, but I couldn’t let her notice that.
“How dare you call me a gold digger?!”
“That’s what you are!” She shrugged. “Isn’t it because her father is influential that you decided to be her friend? Isn’t it because of the riches you could gain from her?” I was silent at that point. “Isn’t that why?!”
I couldn’t take it anymore, as I had no words to counter hers. So, I did what I knew how to do best. “I won’t continue arguing with you unnecessarily. I have important things to do. So, get the fuck out of my house, and I don’t want you to ever step your feet here again!” I pointed towards the door.
Yeesha chuckled loudly before saying, “oh, you mean the same house Beth got you? But no problem, I’ll leave.” She shook her head and walked out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Her words hit me hard, and I felt my image get dented as she walked away, while Grace and Janet simply sat there staring at me without any words.