Deleted Messages

The pool shimmered like something out of a dream, all blue ripples and twilight reflections. Maya stood at the edge, clutching her iphone like a lifeline. The screen glowed with three unread texts from him.

'You coming?' 'Everyone's asking.' '??'

Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard. She'd been doing this dance for weeks – the casual flirtation, the almost-thing that never quite became a thing. Her best friend Jada called it 'situationship purgatory.' Maya called it Tuesday.

The phone buzzed again. A photo this time: the whole group by the water, laughter frozen in digital amber. There he was, dark hair wet from swimming, that half-smile that made her stomach do unnecessary gymnastics. Someone else was standing close to him. Too close.

Maya's finger slipped. The photo vanished into the deleted folder, along with five weeks of conversation history.

'Maya!' Jada called from the water. 'Get your butt in here! The water's actual perfection!'

She slipped off her flip-flops. The concrete was warm under her bare feet. Somewhere in the distance, music thumped – that song everyone had been playing all summer. The one that played in every tiktok, every store, every car ride.

Her iphone sat on the pool chair, screen dark now. No notifications. No waiting. No half-smiles in wet hair.

She dove.

The water swallowed her whole – cool, shocking, alive. For a second, everything was muffled and blue and perfect. No overthinking. What does that text mean? Is she just a friend? Why hasn't he made a move? All dissolved in chlorine and weightlessness.

When she broke the surface, gasping, Jada was right there. 'You okay? You looked like you were having a moment.'

Maya wiped water from her eyes. 'Yeah. Just... deleted everything.'

Jada's eyebrows went up. 'Everything everything?'

'Everything everything.'

'Badass.' Her friend grinned. 'Now get back in here. Lucas is doing that thing where he tries to do a handstand underwater and always fails.'

They swam until their fingers wrinkled, until the sky turned purple and the pool lights flickered on. Somewhere on dry land, a iphone lay forgotten, its screen still dark, its heart light.

Maya treaded water, watching the party swirl around her. She felt light. Fiercer. Like she could stay in this blue space forever, just swimming, just being, no notifications required.

Then her phone buzzed on the chair.

She didn't look.