PART 6

“You disgust me.”

“Since you met her, I’ve ceased to exist for you! We were the only and best friends. There was no one else. But then she came along and pushed me aside. And now she wants to get the guy I like? Why should I let that happen?”

“Stop blaming others for your mistakes, Anna. You pushed me away,” Emily said angrily. “You act like you’re a good person with a sweet angelic smile, but you’re rotten inside. Of the two times I tried to kill myself, what did I get from you? A pat on the back, some bags of drugs, and the promise that all my pain would disappear after a few wild nights. Diana changed me. She was the only friend who truly cared about me and my well-being, with no ulterior motives.”

“Do you think a poor girl like her is with you because of your last name?”

“Yes, I do.”

“How naive you are.”

“I know Diana and she knows me. Unlike the ten years of friendship you and I shared, in just three years with her, I’ve become a better person than I ever was with you.”

“You’re blind.”

“Look, Anna, I have many friends: idiots, opportunists, fakes, liars, and all sorts of personalities. But there’s only one type of friend I would never have... an envious racist with a classist morality.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I thought you were smarter! Maybe now envy is clouding your judgment. I don’t want or need friends or people like you in my life. Call your father or buy a ticket to go home because I don’t want to see your face again. My wallet... you can keep it. Just like the money, I have no use for people like you.”

With one last look of disapproval, Emily walked away firmly while Anna took out her friend’s wallet and smashed it against the ground in anger.

Meanwhile, by the rocky shore of the beach, Diana had decided to take advantage of the night’s tranquility to search for shells that might match the colors of the bracelet she had chosen, especially a particular shell.

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“Puperita pupa, if I didn’t find it in the sea, maybe there’s one here,” she said to herself as she searched among the rock crevices with the flashlight on her phone. “Where are you? Come on, come out... Got you! I found it!”

The young woman was so excited to have found it that she tripped over a rock and fell face down on the ground.

“But if we meet again...” she heard a voice in the darkness as she picked up her phone.

“You’re the pretty girl from the beach,” added another individual, who, when Diana shone the phone’s light on them, realized they were the guys who had bothered her at the beach.

“Pretty, sure. Good-looking, depends on taste,” Diana said, getting up from the ground, brushing the dirt off her rear, and starting to walk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet a friend.”

“Stay with us for a while,” one of them said with a smile, grabbing her arm.

“Let go of me,” she said without losing her composure.

“You’re a bit stuck-up, aren’t you?”

“Let go of me, now,” she said, looking him directly in the eyes without fear.

“Our friends are nearby, come with us and we’ll introduce you,” the other guy said, approaching her.

“I said let me go!” Diana shouted as the one who was approaching her was thrown into the air.

“I thought it was clear that she was coming with us,” Mike said in an extremely dry tone, walking towards the guy holding Diana’s wrist.

“You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea. They say there have been muggings in this part of the beach lately by two hooded individuals,” Mike informed them, surprising the two men.

“Get ready for the beating of your life.”

“I can’t deny that a good fight would be nice,” Mike continued, cracking his knuckles, “but I’ll let the police handle you.”

“The police?”

“I called them five minutes ago. They should be on their way.”

“Hey, you! Get up!” Letting go of Diana, he ran to help his companion. “We need to get out of here! The cops are coming!”

As the two fled, Mike watched them go, his back turned to Diana, who still held the shell she had searched for so long to give to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked without looking at her.

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll walk you back to the hotel.”

Mike began to walk away without turning around, no matter how much she called his name. When she tried to reach him, grabbing his shirt, he roughly pushed her away, causing the shell to fly from her hand.

“Don’t touch me! ...After the trip, I don’t want to hear anything more from you,” Mike said furiously, turning back around and leaving her speechless.

“Mike…”