“Hell yeah, you won! And then you went and barfed your brains out in the bathroom. Like the champion you are.”
That earned a laugh from Sydney, though she refused to acknowledge the high five Hallie was leveling in her direction. “I think that was more than the flu.”
“Who gets stressed after the competition is over?” Hallie protested.
“Someone with a ten-step life plan. That was step two, with step three happening imminently.”
Hallie put her hand down, finally accepting defeat. “What was step three?”
“Training at Manhaven Tennis Center before getting a full ride to Walker College.”
“Which, again, you succeeded at.” Hallie smiled, a comforting gesture that the dimple in her right cheek pop.
“A lot of good that did me,” she lamented, hating the irritation in her own voice.
“Sydney.”
She looked up to find her friend’s smile gone.
“Hallie.” Sydney stretched her arms over her head, her forearms prickling with the sudden exposure to the air conditioning.
“You need to leave this room. It’s been a week, and I’m starting to get concerned about a vitamin D deficiency.”
“I drank that smoothie you made me yesterday,” Sydney countered. She unfolded her leg and placed both bare feet on the floor before she stood up slowly, giving her muscles time to acclimate to the severe change of—yeah—a standing position. How the mighty had fallen. “And to be fair, it’s only been four days.”
“Your life isn’t over, Syd.”
“Well, it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s starting.” Petulance, party of one.
“You’re only twenty-eight.”
“With no prospects,” Sydney said in her best impression of anupper-class English accent. She knew she wasn’t winning any awards for it.
“Better none than the one you had,” Hallie volleyed back.
Sydney winced. That one was fair, even if it hurt.
“I just don’t want to be the hot tennis player who peaked too soon.” It had always been a fear in the back of her mind. Her game spoke for itself, but she knew that sponsorships had been more plentiful and post-match attention more common because of her face and her body. At five-ten, she’d filled out in the hips and the chest in a way that earned her appreciative glances. It couldn’t be avoided, and while she tried to use her looks responsibly, sometimes it felt like they were more important than her talent.
Hallie walked across the room and stood in front of Sydney. She reached her hands up and pinched her best friend’s cheeks. “I’m sorry that your injury didn’t come with the doubly emotional turmoil of disfigurement. You should have gotten hurt trying to save a litter of kittens from a burning building or something. And, in focusing on the positives,” Hallie continued, “you get to stay in this beautiful house on the water.”
“It’s a hotel room.”
“First of all, it's a suite. And it’s free.”
Sydney cupped her hands around Hallie’s and sighed. She’d missed her best friend, especially these last few years when it had felt like everything was falling apart around her. “I’m sorry I’m being such a baby.”
The always understanding Hallie squeezed her fingers. “You’ve had a hell of a year.”
She stepped away from her friend, over to the window that looked out toward the beautiful, rocky shoreline she’d once called home. “Nothing is the way I thought it’d be. And, on top of that, I’m frustrated with myself for how poorly I’m adapting.”
“Again I will reiterate: You’ve been through a lot. Tennis.” A punctuated silence, one that Sydney knew would be filled with something else she didn’t want to discuss. “Grant.”
Still, she blanched at his name. “Don’t remind me about the last one. I cannot believe I was sostupid.”
Hallie’s tone matched her own. “He’s the stupid one. He threw away an amazing partner and person. People like him are very good at keeping everyone in the dark.”
Hallie grew quiet for so long that Sydney wondered if her friend had left her to wallow.
