Page 112 of Freshmeet
“Hello?” Laura’s raised voice broke the trance Sarah had me under.
“We just have too much history. Too much messy history and a lack of boundaries that let us cross the line over and over. If I want this to work with Sarah, I can’t be your friend.”
“You’re going to let her tell you who you can and can’t be friends with? Real healthy.”
“That’s pretty rich coming from you,” I sniped back.
“I—”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to start a whole fight about the past, but that kind of proves my point, doesn’t it? Friends shouldn’t argue about past couple shit.”
Laura huffed. “That doesn’t address her controlling who you’re friends with.”
“She didn’t tell me I couldn’t be friends with you. I’m making that decision.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” She crossed her arms, her voice condescending as hell—one of the things I always hated about her.
“Why would she make any demands when she doesn’t, or at least didn’t know who the hell you are? I’m guessing she figured it out, though.”
“You didn’t tell her about me?” Hearing the emotion in her voice, I refused to look at her.
“Why would I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, because I’m your high school sweetheart.”
“People have got to stop saying that like it means something. You dumped me for the first douche you met at college. Real fucking sweet.”
“I can’t believe you’re degrading what we had.”
There was so much I wanted to say, to yell, but even in my completely shitfaced state, I knew better than to let her get under my skin.
“You remember a couple of years ago when you dated that guy from Chicago?”
She quietly said yes. Her softening posture and voice showed she knew where I was going with this.
“What did you tell me? We couldn’t be friends anymore because it wasn’t fair to him.”
“But—”
“Did you mean that?”
Pop music filled the silence between us. Eventually, Laura gave in. “Yes.”
“Well, Sarah deserves the same respect.”
“You really like her.” She sounded pained, but I didn’t understand why. We didn’t know each other anymore. It’d been years since we were actually friends. This summer she’d tried, and I’d ignored her.
“I do. She’s someone special.”
Laura looked up at me. When I didn’t turn away from Sarah spinning with Olivia, she tugged my sleeve until I did. “You’re willing to sacrifice what we have or could have for her?”
I glanced back at Sarah, her blood and dirt-covered suit coat flying open as she spun, her blond hair wild and whipping around, her smile so bright and real it took everything in me to look back at Laura. “It’s not a sacrifice.”
Harsh, but one hundred percent true.
My heart squeezed as Laura’s eyes welled up, and she nodded. “I’m happy for you.” Despite her words, she gave me one more pleading look.
I smiled sadly and turned back to watch the only girl whose tears I actually cared about hug her best friend. Laura let out ashaky breath, then walked away, leaving me alone with aching feet and an itchy head.
