Chapter 51

Diana was right next to me, eyes wide, body kinda stiff, like her throat was all choked up. I could tell, of course I could tell, she wanted to say something but nothing came out, and I knew exactly what it was: she was scheming a way to back out.

"You're gonna chicken out, aren't you, Diana?"

She swallowed hard, shook her head.

"No... it's not that. I just don't know if it's worth it. Maybe it'd be better to just call him and demand my money right now. Then I can tell him I found out."

I took a deep breath, crossing my arms, already getting a little impatient.

"Could be. You know what? Call him now. He was home anyway, lied about being at work. He's probably just waiting for me to get home so he can come over here."

She stayed thoughtful for another moment, like she was weighing all the options and hating every one, but she ended up grabbing her phone. She scrolled to his name in her contacts, hesitated, and before hitting the button, she looked at me.

"Put it on speaker." I said, firm.

"Dumb blonde," I thought, but I kept quiet.

"Just don't say anything about tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay..." she murmured, taking a deep breath.

The ringtone echoed through the room. Once, twice, three times. I was already chewing on the inside when he finally picked up, his voice oozing out of the speaker with that fake calm that made me sick.

"Hey, Di, everything good?" the asshole said, like he was some saint.

"Hey, babe..." the blonde played it fake, her voice too sweet.

I made a face right away. "Our boyfriend" and she's calling him babe? I pointed at her, corrected in a mocking whisper:

"Hey, hun!"

She almost lost her breath, let out a nervous laugh, but held it together.

"Listen, can you deposit the money I lent you two months ago today? My aunt needs it..."

On the other end, silence. Long. The kind of silence only a real prick can pull off.

"You know what, Di... I was supposed to give it to you last month, but things got tight. I even talked to my dad, but he's short on cash too. Could we push it to next month?"

She looked at me. I looked back. Neither of us bought it, but the excuse, if it came from someone else, might've passed. Coming from the asshole, it was just another well-rehearsed lie.

"Okay, no problem. Next month then, you'll hook me up..." she replied, all meek.

And then the bomb dropped.

"So, uh, has your student left yet?"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She shot me a quick look, and lied like only a woman can lie.

"Yeah, she left, babe. You coming over?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in half an hour, that cool?"

"Babe, can we do it another day? I'm dead tired, got a ton of issues..."

On the other end, more silence. Then he came back with that saintly regret voice:

"Okay... I'll miss you."

I, in the background, went wide-eyed: I mimicked his line, face twisted and whiny voice, "okay, I'll miss you." Diana had to turn her face away, nearly choking on laughter, hand over her mouth.

But the blonde knew how to play dirty.

"Babe, what about tomorrow? Let's take a little drive in the afternoon, I dunno... hit the mall, a motel..."

My eyes went wide, I clapped a hand over my mouth. That was a low blow, dirty trick. Diana knew damn well he'd be with me, and still she dropped the suggestion just to hear the fresh lie spill from his mouth.

And he, of course, fell for it like a sucker.

"Well... tomorrow I'm tied up all day. Gotta help some friends..."

She and I locked eyes right then. We wanted to scream in his face, but Diana held steady, and when she opened her mouth her voice came out sweet, almost syrupy, but underneath you could feel the venom dripping.

"Help some friends... That's why I love you. You're so helpful."

The "helpful" came out spat, half mockery, half hate, and I had to bite my fist to keep from busting out laughing in the middle of it.

And they hung up.

We burst into laughter, laughing loud, that nervous laugh that acts like catharsis, like it washed our souls in the middle of all that filth. But I swear, not even thirty seconds passed—my phone started ringing. I looked at the screen and already felt my blood boiling.

"Jully?" his voice came through all smooth and casual, like nothing happened.

"Hey, handsome... everything good?" I replied all innocent, glancing at Diana.

"So... I got off early and wanted to swing by your place, that okay? Is your cousin with you?"

Asshole. Asshole! Asking about my cousin right off the bat.

"Dude, I'm just leaving the bitch's house now!" I said quick, laughing loud so Diana would get the irony. "I think tomorrow... today's packed with people there. My mom's doing a prayer meeting, if you step foot in there you'll end up in the circle of the anointed sisters!"

Diana's eyes went wide and she shot me a fake glare, just mouthing so I could read: "Bitch, what the fuck?".

"Damn..." he replied, a little awkward. "But tomorrow still on?"

"Yeah. But come a bit earlier, make up some excuse at home so my mom doesn't flip. Just say we're hitting the mall, Mariana will cover."

On the other end, silence. He stammered:

"She's coming with us?"

I laughed, laughed hard, letting him hear my mocking laugh.

"Maybe... who knows?"

And I left it hanging. That's exactly what I wanted: make the prize bigger, make him drool, guarantee he'd fall into the trap and walk into my house wide open. Diana was looking at me serious, not believing what I'd just pulled.

"Girl, I'm almost feeling sorry for him... you're no joke, you know that?"

I laughed satisfied, biting my tongue, my old kid habit when I felt like I'd won. It was all set. I glanced at the clock—time to go. I wanted to stay with Diana there, glued to her, but it wasn't happening. My mom was nervous and I needed to be home to keep her steady, not let her back out. That slick bastard needed to learn his lesson, stop running around deceiving women. The world's not a free ride.

Diana went to the bathroom and when she came back, I was already dressed, backpack on my lap, sorting my stuff.

"Diana, you know what? Come to my place?"

I could tell she wanted to, but the embarrassment was holding her back.

"It'll be fun. We'll call my cousin, watch movies, eat popcorn, pizza... whatever you want."

She laughed, biting her lips, actually considering it.

"I want to, girl... but I'm embarrassed. I don't know anyone there."

"Duh, you know me!"

She froze, laughed at me, like she was just waiting for a little push.

"Come on, you dumb blonde! Pack your bag so we can go!"

"Don't call me dumb blonde, I hate that!" Diana yelled, half mad half happy, running to her room and coming back with a gym bag.

While she got ready, I grabbed my phone and texted quick:

"Girl, get over to my house now, major drama, sleepover! You still down?"