Poolside Knitting

The sunlight on the hotel pool danced like something alive—mocking me, really. I clutched my vitamin D supplement bottle, the pills rattling like empty promises. Three years of friendship with Sarah, and here I was, avoiding her like she was contagious.

"You're spiraling," Marcus had told me yesterday. "Talk to her." Marcus, who didn't know about the cable knitting project.

Sarah and I had spent months designing it—interlocking cable patterns that symbolized our lives, our shared history, our partnership. We'd pitched it to the craft startup together. Celebrated with champagne when they bought it. Two weeks later, I found out she'd renegotiated her contract. Exclusive designer credit. My name removed entirely.

I pushed my sunglasses up my palm, watching the water's surface. Sarah was across the pool, laughing with the investors. She looked good. Radiant. The kind of person who could ruin you and still make you question whether you deserved it.

The vitamins were supposed to help with the depression that followed. The doctor said low vitamin D could cause fatigue, mood swings. Everything could be fixed with the right supplements, the right self-care routine. Nothing about how to survive betrayal from someone who knew your deepest secrets.

Sarah caught my eye. The smile faltered. For a second, I saw it—guilt? Regret? Or was I just desperate to find it?

She started walking toward me.

I considered fleeing. Instead, I stayed. Let her come. Let her try to explain how the cable patterns were suddenly hers alone. How our shared vision had somehow become singular.

"Hey," she said, sinking into the chair beside mine. "Been looking for you."

"I've been here," I said. "By the pool. Where you couldn't miss me."

She touched my hand. Her palm was warm, trembling. "I made a terrible mistake."

The water kept dancing. The sun kept shining. And I realized then that forgiveness and stupidity were sometimes the same thing. But I also realized something else—I wasn't ready to stop being her friend yet.

Maybe some vitamins really did work miracles. Or maybe I just hated the alternative.