It was the middle of the night, and Boris was at a school park ten minutes away from his house. Why exactly he’d agreed to be there at that time, he wasn’t even sure. All he knew when he got Sarah’s text two hours earlier was that he needed to be there. It helped that Lara was feeling weak from an unexpected illness, so she’d turned in early for the night. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice his absence from her side.

He noticed blinking headlights on a car parked a few feet away from him. Then he got a text: ‘Come to the car.’

He did as he was told and entered, and saw Sarah in the driver’s seat, holding her phone. “Boris, I’m glad you chose to come.”

“What’s with all the cloak and dagger stuff?”

“I’ll get to that in a second. Meanwhile, is your health good? Have you felt any different lately?”

Boris looked at her, not sure what was happening.

“Look, I was with Norkor at the spa when Cecelia called about two weeks ago. We’d gone for a massage. Cece was with Lara, so the four of us had a girls-girls chat on the phone. Once the masseuse came in, we said our goodbyes, and then Norkor put her phone away. I guess Cece thought Norkor had hung up, so she spoke freely with Sarah. What we heard was so wild that Norkor immediately started recording.”

With that, Sarah hit play.

*****

“That’s my girl! You got a fully furnished house out of that man? Whaaat!”

“Not only fully furnished, Cece; rent is paid for the next five years. My pastry appliances are already setup, my new gas stove is hooked up. My dishwasher, my washer and my dryer are here. No more hand washing for me in any form.”

Cecelia held her head in her hands in gleeful shock at Lara. “Giiiirl! I know I told you to look for real benefits, but damn this was nowhere near my mind. What! Is he really that rich?”

“Shwɛ! Have you ever tried to convert dollars in your life before?”

“Gaddemmit! Girl, you have to hook me up. I need this kind of blessing la! How did you get this mumu free like that?!”

Lara was laughing along with Cecelia, but she’d been racked by guilt all morning. For the last week, Boris had been acting extra sweet and offering to do things for her. She’d tried to say no and stop him, but he only seemed to want to treat her even more. He’d rushed to get the house and all the other stuff, but she’d never intended to honor her part of the debt.

Also, this was still her best friend in the whole world, and the one man she’d wholly trusted for the last twelve years. How could she even take it this far and do all this to him when he’d been nothing but loving and loyal to her? Yes, she was getting all she’d ever wanted, but was it worth losing him?

“This is an excellent start. Now you can get even more out of him-”

“Cece, can we just enjoy ourselves? I just got this house and I called you over so we could vibe. Abeg, enough with the strategy. Right now, I’m getting you a drink.”

Lara proceeded to go to her pantry and grab some a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream.

Cecelia approved. “My girl! We can pick plans later. In fact, let’s video call Norkor and make her jealous. You know how she loves her Bailey’s.”

Lara chuckled at the suggestion, and watched as Cecelia made the call with her teasing face on. But then the call had barely started to go through when it dropped.

She tried again but the result was the same. “Stupid network. Where’s Boris, anyway?”

Lara smiled and took a sip of her drink. “You’re going to get jealous. He woke up this morning and decided that I need ice cream, so he’s gone to get me some.”

She laughed as Cecelia’s mind melted right before her eyes.

*****

Boris sat in the car park of Lucky’s Ice Cream, replaying the recording from Sarah. He’d had her send it to him the night she first played it for him, and he’d spent the last week listening to it.

The first night he’d heard it, it was as though someone was telling him the story of someone else. But then as the days went by, the implications really began to hit him. The drug Lara used must’ve been wearing off slowly, and his mind was coming back to normal.

He’d wanted to strangle her and take her off the census, but then he wouldn’t feel the satisfaction of sweet revenge. Sarah had tried to tell him to leave her and just forget about it all, but Sarah wasn’t the one whose life had been flipped on its head. He had one day left before he had to leave, and he had every intention of executing his plan.

For now, he would play along in sober mode. His savings were damn near diminished, but he had just enough to make one devastating move.

He looked at the bag that sat next to the ice cream, a gift from Elvis via his brother.

When he’d told Elvis what had happened, boy was ready to scorch the earth. But, having been denied a run at Lara since before he and Boris left for Texas, he’d already built up a small amount of resentment against her. This incident was enough to multiply that resentment a hundredfold, and he’d contacted an old friend from his past life of partying and asked for a favor.

Boris had been told what would happen if he did what he’d planned to do, and he knew how much it would mess up his best friend. He’d spent the time at Lucky’s coming to terms with the fact that she wasn’t his friend at all.

He’d been there for her, seen her through hell and high water, and this was the thanks he got?

Most of what he’d done for her under the influence, he would’ve done for her anyway, maybe just not to the extent he’d gone. They could’ve planned it well in a way that worked for both of them; they would’ve figured it out. But to turn him into a mindless slave?

He hated what he planned to do, but payback was a cold-hearted, ruthless bitch, and it was time he let her loose.

He put the car in drive, and headed home.

*****

Lara was watching TV in the living room, but she was nowhere present. The guilt beginning to submerge her. She’d barely been able to sleep, and had resorted to reading her bible to try and find some kind of solace, but found only condemnation in her conscience as she flipped the pages.

She liked everything she’d gotten, but she was no longer okay with what she’d done. She was going to tell Boris everything, and whatever happened after that would have to be okay. She’d had a lasting friendship that could survive damn near anything, but this one was definitely going to kill it, if not kill her.

She started to think of how to tell him when he came downstairs, looking all excited. “Babe, come up here. I have a surprise for you.”

Still feeling guilty, Lara tried to play it cold. “Not tonight, Boris. I’m not feeling too well.”

Boris came down to her. “This is our last night together before I leave. I don’t plan to spend it in front of the TV. Now, come. You’re going to love this. It’ll actually make you feel better.”

He stretched out his hand and waited.

Goddamn Boris, he knew her well enough to know how to get her. Even if she never planned to make him her serious boyfriend, he was definitely the kind of guy she should be looking for. Clarence was done in her books. It had now been almost three months and he’d barely even called her.

“Fine, but you better not be looking for any action tonight.” She put her hand in Boris’, and they went upstairs.

They got there, and Boris had set up a nice, hot tub with candles, her favorite bath bombs, a bottle of wine and her favorite dark chocolate. There was a message on the wall above the tub: Thank You For Everything. Lara melted when she saw it.

“Now, I have to pack, but you’ve been such a great girl and you deserve a nice little treat as a final memory.”

“Motherf*cker! Why do you get me so well! This was exactly what I needed. Aww, thank you so much.” She gave him a kiss, took off her clothes and got into the tub.

“The night’s not going anywhere. Relax, enjoy yourself, holla if you need anything. I’ll be in the bedroom packing.”

Boris turned to leave when Lara took his hand. “Save enough energy for me. And don’t you dare fall asleep anytime soon.”

She pulled him down gently and kissed him passionately, while she guided his hands down to her treasure trove. But then she moved it further down as she pulled back from the kiss, and watched in delight as Boris realized what she was telling him. Then she took one finger and pushed it in, and then pulled it out as she whimpered. Then she let go of Boris’ hand.

Boris nodded with a massive grin on his face, and then went back to the room to pack.

Well, Boris knows now, and you can only wonder what he’s got up his sleeve for payback. The final episode should tell us just what he’s gonna do to this traitor of a friend…