The Score We Settle

The padel ball cracked against the glass wall, a sharp report that echoed through the empty court. Elena wiped her sweaty palm against her skirt, though the dampness wasn't from the match.

"You're not even trying," Sarah said from the other side of the net, her face flushed with more than exercise. She'd invited Elena here—just the two of them, like old times—though three months had passed since Daniel left Elena for Sarah. Or maybe Sarah had left her marriage for him. The details were a blur of betrayal that still tasted like ash.

"I'm trying," Elena said, hitting the ball back mechanically.

"We said we'd stay friends," Sarah called out, moving toward the net. "That was the deal."

Elena laughed without humor. "You don't get to set the terms of a friendship you detonated."

The truth was, she'd agreed to this match because some part of her—a desperate, foolish part—still craved Sarah's company. Sarah had been her person for seven years. The one who held her hair back when she drank too much, who sat with her in hospital waiting rooms, who knew every scar and story. Losing Daniel was painful; losing Sarah had been amputation.

Sarah leaned against the net post. "I miss you, El."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"He's not worth it," Sarah said quietly. "Daniel. Whatever we thought it was..."

Elena's racket slipped from her hand, hitting the artificial grass with a soft thud. "You're telling me you didn't choose him? Because I remember that part pretty clearly."

"I chose myself," Sarah said, her voice cracking. "For once. And I got it wrong."

The silence stretched between them, heavier than the humidity. In that moment, Elena saw her friend—not the villain she'd constructed, not the traitor, but Sarah. Flawed, panicked, Sarah. Who'd made a catastrophic mistake and was now drowning in it.

Elena walked to the net. Sarah's eyes were red-rimmed. Whatever triumph Elena might have felt—the vindication of being right, of being the injured party—curdled into something wearier.

"I don't know if I can," Elena said. "Friendship. The way it was."

"I know." Sarah extended her hand across the net. "But maybe we could start with letting me buy you a drink. And we see what's left."

Elena looked at Sarah's palm—upturned, waiting. After a long moment, she reached out and took it.