Page 88 of Balancing Act

“What? You what?” Kendall pressed, her voice dropping lower but losing none of its edge. “You didn’t even say goodbye. You told me you were in love with me, and thenpoof—gone. Like I didn’t matter to you at all. You were my best friend, Jamie.”

“You did matter,” Jamie shot back, the words coming faster than she intended. “You mattered too much. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”

Kendall stared at her for a moment, caught off guard. “Too much?”

Jamie sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Yeah. Too much. You were everything to me back then. And when I told you how I felt, and you said you didn’t feel the same...” She stopped, shaking her head as embarrassment welled inside her. She took a deep breath. “I couldn’t be around you and pretend I was fine. I didn’t know how to be your friend and not be in love with you.” Jamie’s voice cracked. She knew she should tell Kendall about the cancer—about everything—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “And things got complicated.”

Kendall shifted on her feet, her arms uncrossing as she absorbed Jamie’s words. “Complicated how?”

Jamie hesitated again, debating how much to tell Kendall about what happened in the weeks and months after their falling out—about the cancer, the long months of recovery, the endless cycle of feeling like she was barely surviving.

“Just life stuff,” Jamie finally said, her voice soft. “Stuff I wasn’t ready to deal with back then.”

Kendall frowned, studying her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sounds of the arena hummed around them—laughter, footsteps, the distant echo of someone calling a name—but it all felt muted, like they were caught in their own isolated bubble.

“Life stuff,” Kendall repeated. She shook her head, but there was no malice this time, only confusion. “You always did keep everything to yourself.”

Jamie gave a half smile. “Yeah. Old habits.”

Kendall sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m not going to lie—I was so angry at you for a long time. You were my best friend, Jamie. I didn’t know what to do after you left. I thought things would be weird for a little while after you told me you were in love with me and I didn’t feel the same, but I figuredwe’d talk and work it out like we always did. But then you just left out of nowhere. Not only did I lose you as a friend, but I lost Amanda, too. We were never the same after.”

“I know,” Jamie said softly. “And I’m sorry. For leaving like that. You didn’t deserve it.”

“You’re right. I didn’t.”

The two stood there for a moment in silence, the dust of the past finally settling without suffocating.

“I’m not the same person I was back then,” Jamie said, after a moment.

“Good. Back then, you were kind of a jerk,” Kendall replied, but a hint of a smile cracked at the corner of her mouth.

“I kind of was, wasn’t I?” Jamie sighed, and relief washed over her.

Maybe this wasn’t about fixing the past. Maybe it was about acknowledging it and moving forward.

Kendall glanced around the arena, then back to Jamie. “Are you sticking around for the rest of the meet tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “I’ll be here.”

“Okay.” Kendall hesitated. “Good. It’s good to see you, Jamie.”

“You too,” Jamie said, and she meant it.

Kendall gave her one last look before turning and walking away, disappearing into the crowd.

Jamie let out a long breath as her shoulders dropped, finally easing. Amanda reappeared a moment later, eyebrow raised. “Well? How’d it go?”

“Oh, now you conveniently reappear. Thanks for hanging me out to dry.”

Amanda grinned. “Years of practice in conflict mediation between you and Kendall prepared me for this moment. But, seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Honestly, that went better than expected,” Jamie admitted.

“See? Facing things head-on isn’t so bad.”

Jamie rolled her eyes, grinning as she spotted Beth moving through the crowd, blonde waves catching in the overhead lights. Jamie felt herself settle into the warmth of the gravitational force that Beth seemed to have on her.

“Find your T-shirt?” Jamie asked, as Beth approached, slipping back into her spot beside her like she belonged there.