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Jenna looked as if she’d just discovered a secret society, but Carly remained impassive. Whatever she was feeling lay behind armour plating.
“It was a long time ago,” Carly said with a small shrug. “Half a lifetime, near enough. I’d almost forgotten I was ever there.”
Had she?
Lauren didn’t buy it. The tension in the air was thick enough to chew.
“This is great!” Jenna said, oblivious. “Now you’ve got two friends here. Only if you change your mind, no pressure.”
Carly’s stare was not the stare of a friend. It was the look you gave a lion standing too close to the zebras.
“Tell her what she’s missing,” Jenna added, turning to Lauren. “We’ve got a real community vibe.”
“Yeah,” Lauren said, her voice wobbling on the lie. “Everyone’s really welcoming.”
“That’s good to know,” Beth replied.
She hadn’t changed: still observing from the sidelines, still smirking as if she already knew how every match would end. Lauren might have felt sorry for Carly having Beth as backup if she hadn’t been too busy suffocating.
“Mmm.” Carly folded her arms. “It’s nice to know some things change.”
An awkward silence settled.
Jenna finally seemed to notice. “This is like watching an awkward MAFS reunion. Are you sure the two of you haven’t slept together?”
Lauren managed a strangled noise. It was meant to be a laugh.
She could have coped with Carly being an ex. That was familiar territory. Being reminded of her own cruelty was far more confronting.
“Hardly,” Carly said.
The snub was casual, but it stung.
Carly rolled up the sleeve of her jacket to check her watch. “Listen, we need to head off.”
“What?” Jenna said. “But it’s still early!”
“I know, but tomorrow’s a working day.”
Jenna pulled her into a hug, then Beth. “Okay, so long as you’ll still come and watch soon, and have a drink with me and Abi.”
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
Carly smiled, but only at Jenna.
Then she and Beth walked away, leaving Lauren rooted to the spot with her pulse hammering and every laugh in the room suddenly aimed at her.
“Jesus Christ,” she breathed, rubbing the back of her neck.
Jenna was still talking, something about subs and kit orders, but the words blurred into static. Lauren nodded at random intervals until Jenna got distracted by the bar.
The second she was free, the floor seemed to shift beneath her. She turned blindly towards the toilets, but a group of drinkers blocked the path, so she pivoted and shoved into the kitchen instead. The overhead light was harsh and white. Lauren leaned against a table stacked with plastic cups and tried to breathe.
This was meant to be her new start. But Carly had seen her—really seen her—and Lauren knew what had stared back.
She pushed through the fire door into the night. Cold air slapped her face, but it didn’t clear her head. She staggered to the edge of the car park, braced her hands on her knees and dragged in oxygen.
Her laugh turned into a sob halfway out.
