Sand Castles

The Doctor Who theme song played, and Lucy cursed under her breath as the eyeliner she had been applying deviated from its course. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and, without looking at the caller ID, she pressed the answer button and put the phone to her ear. "Howdy."

"I am so sorry for what I said, Luc. I wasn't thinking. I know. I'm an idiot. But you have to forgive me or I might die."

Lucy laughed at her friend's frantic words, wiping away the smudge of kohl from underneath her eye. "Have you been looking at yearbooks again, Lauren?"

"Lucille Jane Petropoulos! This is serious!"

"So is your addiction to our high school years, Laur," Lucy said. Happy with how she looked, she stashed her make up bag in the cabinet under the sink and left the bathroom. "You should really talk to a professional."

Lauren let out an angry huff of air. "Lucy! Come on. Just say that you forgive me."

Lucy Jane rolled her eyes. "I always forgive you, Lauren. You shouldn't have to call me every time I get slightly upset with you to make sure our friendship hasn't ended. It'll take a lot more than you bringing Michael up to make me hate you."

"You really scared me," Lauren said, voice only slightly less melancholy.

"Lauren," Lucy sighed, "you have been my best friend for more than seven years now. Just because I get a little angry at you doesn't mean I'm going to forget all of the things you've been there for me through. I should not have to remind you of this after every tiny spat we have."

"I know," Lauren said, and Lucy could tell she was switching the phone from one ear to the other. "It's just that the way things ended with you and Mike-"

Lucy interrupted her. "The way things ended between Michael and I had nothing to do with a small argument, Lauren. You know that." After a short pause she continued. "Are you still coming out next weekend?"

"Of course I am! I've been looking forward to it all summer. I just had to find a babysitter for Henry."

Henry was Lauren's two-year-old toy poodle. She treated the animal like he was her son, pampering him with toys and expensive pet foods. She got him manicures and brushed his teeth. In the wintertime, she bought him little sweaters and booties so that he wouldn't get cold when she took him out.

"And I have taken the weekend off. Sadly, Jadey still has swim practice over the weekend and dance on Friday, so we'll have to be sure to schedule our plans around those. But she's really excited about seeing you again. She wants us to sit in on her Saturday practice."

"That would be awesome! I haven't watched her swim since, what?, last summer?" Lucy could hear the grin in Lauren's voice.

Lucy nodded, though she knew her friend couldn't see her, and replied in the affirmative.

"Are you still swimming?"

"Yes. Every Wednesday. Dr. Alex prescribed it as therapy, remember?"

Lauren let out a snort of a laugh. "Yeah, four years ago. She said that you'd only really need to do it for maybe a year. I thought after you left you might just stop because you wouldn't have to report back to her on it."

"It still helps me, Laur."

For a moment, Lauren didn't answer. She wanted to make sure that she wouldn't back out of what she had to say. Then, "Swimming reminds you of him, doesn't it?"

"Lauren, are you really going to do this again?"

"No, Lucy, please just listen to me. You never listen to me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Not when what you say has to do with him. Why should I have to listen to you talk about him, Lauren? You know what he did to me."

"Do you know what you did to him, Lucy Jane?" Lauren's voice was sharper than it ever had been before.

That remark stopped Lucy short. What she did to him? What had she ever done to hurt Michael Phelps? "Excuse me?"

Lauren sighed. "You haven't talked to him since you two broke up, have you? Not even once? Did you read any of the letters or texts or emails he sent you?"

Lucy sat down on the couch. She stared forward, past the bookshelf and the wall beyond it, and thought to herself. In fact, she hadn't read the text messages, the letters, or the emails that Michael had sent her. She'd deleted them and thrown them out immediately upon receiving them.

"Then of course you wouldn't know."

"What are you talking about, Lauren?"

"Nothing, Lucy. I have to go to work. I'll see you next Friday."

Without saying another word, Lauren hung up. Lucy kept the phone up to her ear for almost five minutes afterwards before her arm started cramping up. She put the phone down on the coffee table and pulled her legs to her chest. She knew she should be leaving for work. She was worried, though. Her thoughts, which she thought had been perfectly sound, were now frazzled. She sat on the couch as long as she could without ending up late for her shift at the cafe. As she left, she couldn't help but think, What did I do to him?



It was Friday and Lucy was dreading picking Lauren up from the airport. The two hadn't spoken at all the entire week since Lauren had asked about Michael, not including the two minute conversation they'd had the night before to confirm when Lucy needed to be at the airport, and she was incredibly tense. She was scared of how her friend would act when she saw her.

Lucy dropped Jadey off at dance, then made her way to the airport. As she got closer and closer, Lucy Jane's heart began to race. She remembered the last time she'd gone to pick someone up from the airport after having fought with them. It wasn't a pleasant memory and she didn't want history to repeat itself. Not with Lauren. Not when she was just starting to get better. She needed this visit to be perfect. Lucy's foot pressed down on the accelerator.



The two girls stood awkwardly across from one other. While other passengers rushed forward to greet their loved ones, Lucy and Lauren only stared at each other. Lauren was biting her lip and shifting from one foot to the other. Lucy swung her keys back and forth, and pushed loose strands of hair back from her face.

Lauren was the first to break. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Lucy's neck, whispering that she was sorry, though over the week Lucy had realized that their argument had been her fault and had forgiven Lauren immediately upon the realization.

When the two pulled away from one another, Lucy shook her head. "It's not your fault, Lauren. I'm the one that should be sorry."

"It's just," Lauren started, "you know, I'm still friends with Michael."

Lucy nodded. "I know you are, Laur. I need to stop being so bitchy about you mentioning him." The words hurt to say, just like thinking about Michael hurt. She couldn't help how she reacted to hearing anything about him. Over the years since their break up, it had simply become a reflex to put up her guard when Michael was brought up. "The past is the past, right?"

Lauren smiled and stuck her pinky out between them. "Better now?"

The smaller girl grinned back and linked her own pinky with her friend's. "Much better."