Broken Lullaby

Sydney closed her eyes as she tilted her head backward, a smile on her face. She really loved the beach. The sound of the waves hitting the shore, the blazing sun against her skin and the way her toes merged in the sand. It brought her a feeling of joy and peace, even if what her eyes saw expressed the exact opposite.
Brian, Matt and Jimmy were on the water. They looked just like the group of kids she had met eleven years ago, and for an instant, she smiled. She would usually join them, but not now that she and Brian were on such bad terms. It was better if she didn’t talk to him at all for a while.

Today it was Matt’s birthday and, as usual, the whole gang was at the beach. She laughed quietly and Morgan shot her a curious look. Yeah, they still called themselves a ‘gang’.
Sydney’s birthday would be tomorrow, so as they traditionally did, they would spend Matt’s birthday at the beach and then they would have a get together tomorrow to celebrate their birthdays, which was usually at his house simply because it was way much bigger. He had the money so he could spend it, that's what she always used to say to him.

She closed the book she had been reading and placed it on her towel. Morgan was also reading, her flawless skin shielded from the sun underneath the beach umbrella. Her long black hair was up in a messy ponytail and her big eyes looked back at her from the top of her sunglasses. “What?” she jerked an eyebrow and Sydney realized she had been staring at her for quite some time.

“Nothing,” she smirked. “I think we should get going. The party tomorrow might be at Matt’s house, but we still have got some goods to bake.”

Sydney was not a great cook, it was Morgan who liked to throw big dinner parties and show off her culinary skills, but she loved to bake and it was her responsibility to bring their birthday cake.

Morgan nodded and slowly got up, while Sydney jumped on her black, ripped shorts and grabbed all her stuff.



“Hey girls!” Valary greeted excitedly as she opened the front door. “Happy birthday!” She smiled at Sydney, who carried a big cake box, and was followed by Morgan who carried several small ones.

“Thanks hun,” Sydney walked toward the kitchen and placed the box on the counter.

No one had arrived yet, the house was dead quiet except for the sound of Matt’s voice informing them he was outside.
They joined him in the big backyard that overlooked the ocean, music playing over the speakers while Matt had the duty to stay by the grill. Sydney petted Bella, got herself a beer and soon everybody else started to arrive.

She was talking to Jimmy when her eyes caught two people approaching them. Brian stood by Michelle as she shouted an enthused ‘happy birthday’ and Jimmy made the question of screaming their names. Sydney tried to act casual, hugging Michelle and thanking Brian when he congratulated her, but every single one of their friends could feel the tension between the two of them. However, nobody asked questions. They knew it wasn’t worth the hassle, because no matter what had happened between them, it was just a matter of time until everything was back to the way it used to be. It wasn’t the first time they were mad at each other, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

After a while Morgan got inside the house, bringing the huge birthday cake, and entirely baked by her and Sydney, after a few minutes.

“Hey guys,” Michelle suddenly called, just as Sydney had started to cut the cake. Everybody stopped talking and looked at her. Sydney handed a slice of cake to Johnny and started to cut another one.

“Do you have to tell them now?” Sydney heard Brian whisper at Michelle.

“I just wanted to share some good news,” her smile was bigger than ever “Brian and I are getting married.”

There was a round of ‘Wow’s’ and some hand clapping. Sydney looked at them, like a deer caught in the headlights, dropping the slice of cake she was about to give to Jimmy and making him complain.

“Sorry,” she suddenly looked at her feet, watching Bella liking the icing on the cake that was now on the floor. “Morgan will cut you another one, I’ve got to,” she could feel something building up inside her chest and she didn’t know if she was about to cry or scream at the top of her lungs. “I’ll be right back,” she gave Morgan the knife and almost ran inside the house.

Brian’s eyes followed Sydney, his mouth flattened into a thin line and his mind still trying to understand why he had done that.
He had been stupid. Really stupid.
After his argument with Sydney back at the bar, he had gotten really pissed at her, which had led to wanting to forget it all by having wild sex with his girlfriend. Sex that had led him to act without thinking and proposing to her.
Of course that in the morning, after sleeping on it, he had regretted it. But Michelle was so excited about it, and he couldn’t just handle any more arguments, that he had ended up not undoing it.

“Hey, where’s Sydney?” Michelle asked Morgan after a while. Brian was now talking to Matt on the other end of the backyard.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her since she walked inside.”

“There’s been something weird about her lately,” Michelle leaned closer and Morgan nodded in agreement. “Everything was great at Brian’s party before I left for New York and since I’ve been back she’s always so distant and edgy. What happened when the three of you went out?”

Morgan’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you went out with him on that night after his birthday party,” a smile appeared on Michelle’s face as quickly as it vanished. “I mean, I understand, you’ve been friends for so many years, I’m not going to step between your friendship and tell him what he should do, but,” she let out a sigh “something’s not right. He’s been acting different too.”

Morgan’s eyes landed on Brian, her mouth slightly opening as a thought crossed her mind.

“Morgan?” Michelle shook her slightly by the shoulder. “Did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry,” still she didn’t look away from Brian. “I don’t know what happened that night, I mean, I don’t remember,” she tried to laugh but all she could do was exhale. “I should go find her,” she quickly headed inside the house.

“Sydney Marie White!” Morgan yelled once she closed the sliding door behind her. “Where the hell are you?” She walked to the kitchen and found her sitting at the breakfast bar.

“I didn’t do it mom!” Sydney joked, knowing that Morgan only used her full name was she was really angry.

“Why the hell did I just have to lie to Michelle?” She had dropped her voice, but still sounded annoyed.

“Why should I know?” Sydney shrugged, getting up and starting to walk away from the kitchen.

“You should know,” Morgan stepped to the right so that she could stop her from leaving “because you’re the one who told her that the two of us had gone out with Brian on the night of his birthday.”

Sydney looked down at her feet for a while and just shook her head. “What did you say?” She asked quietly.

“I told her that I didn’t remember, I didn’t know what else I was supposed to say!” Morgan took a deep breath. “Why did you tell her that?”

“It’s no big deal Morgan, I just told her you were with us because I had drunk too much,” she placed a big strand of her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t think about what I was saying.”

“But I wasn’t there, so why was it so important for me to be?” She crossed her arms against her chest and shook her head. “You can’t just tell me you lied to her for the sake of it and expect me to believe. And you two have gone out endless times before, so it’s not like she would be jealous.”

Sydney turned around and resumed to her position on the kitchen bar, her hands clutching against each other. She felt trapped, not knowing whether to break down or just run away.

Morgan uncrossed her arms and she too felt the tension overcoming her. She swallowed once. And then again. And finally she had the courage to ask.
“Sydney, what did you and Brian do?”