Free Who We Were by Christy Sloat

bikini with matching skirt.
    “Hey girls!” She got in the back seat and waved to Lily. “I’m Kyleigh.”
    Lily smiled, but as soon as she faced forward, her face turned sour.
    “I remember,” she moaned.
    The tension was thick, but only coming from Lily. Kyleigh was fresh as a daisy and cheerfully friendly. Lily was being a rude snot, and I wasn’t sure why.
    We hit the freeway and got to the lake before anybody else. I grabbed my blanket, chair and bag containing books, magazines, tanning oil, sunblock, and water. I was prepared and so were the other girls.
    “I brought my iPad so we can listen to music and take pictures if we feel like it,” Kyleigh said.
    “I thought you couldn’t hear,” Lily rudely asked.
    My face burned with embarrassment. I felt like Lily’s rudeness was somehow my fault. I had invited Lily and told her about Kyleigh’s hearing loss.
    “I can hear the music as long as I have my hearing aids in,” Kyleigh explained, not seeming hurt at all by Lily’s comment. Perhaps she was used to being asked these questions.
    We found a spot and plopped down in the sand. I set up my chair and laid my blanket in front. Kyleigh sat to my right and Lily to my left, neither one sitting by the other. Great, I was in the middle. I silently prayed that they would get along for at least a little bit.
     
    The sun was pouring into my skin, and I felt so relieved. It was such a great feeling to finally be here on the lake. The small sound of the water hitting the shoreline was heaven to my ears.
    I tried to forget that tomorrow was a school day and tried to ignore Lily’s incessant talk about Oliver. Oh, I wished I could shut off the sound like Kyleigh did a few minutes before. She told us she needed a “break from noises” and pulled out her hearing aids. Lily went on and on about how perfect Oliver was. Then she confessed that she went all the way with him at the party the other night.
    “On the kitchen table!” I shrieked.
    “Keep your voice down,” Lily laughed. “No. It was before that and in his room.”
    She smiled like she had just announced the best news ever. I’m sure my frown was evident. Lily always told me she knew when I was unhappy. She said that it showed all over my face, so I’m sure she noticed now that I was not thrilled. But she kept going, telling me all the dirty details about her first time.
    “He was so sweet about it … and careful,” she promised. I couldn’t help but cringe.
    “Then he got you drunk and left when you needed him most,” I blurted out. Her face scrunched up, and she turned away from me.
    “It’s not like that.”
    I sat up and faced her. “No? Then what’s it like, Lily?”
    She stood and threw the sunblock down on her towel. Her face was red now, and I could tell I had angered her. We never fought. Sometimes we’d have an occasional disagreement, but never a fight and never over boys. We got along like sisters.
    “He got scared. He didn’t like to see me like that, and he doesn’t know how to deal with scary situations very well.” I could tell she was lying for him. I hated to do this to her and make her face the truth.
    “He’s a jerk, Lily. He may have gotten scared, but no matter what the situation, you don’t run off when the girl you just had sex with is dying on the grass of your house.”
    Kyleigh put her hearing aids back on and said, “Whoa, ladies. What’s going on?”
    “I’m simply telling her that Oliver is a jerk, and he shouldn’t have run off the other night.” Lily turned to look at Kyleigh then back at me. I could see she was mortified that Kyleigh was now in the middle of our argument.
    “I don’t need this crap! Especially from you, Sadie. I mean, what are you doing with Nash, huh?” She placed her hands on her hips.
    “What does that have to do with this?” I asked hesitantly.
    “You think Nash is such a good guy? You want to compare boys? Then get your facts straight,” she spat. “Nash took off too