Page 160 of Deep End

“I don’t want to put you out like that. Isn’t your roommate a total bitch?”

I wince. “She definitely tries.”

“Don’t worry about it, then. Luk, can I stay with you? Hasan and Kyle won’t care.”

I freeze. So does Lukas. His eyes find mine again, and the fear of what might happen if Pen is left alone has me quickly nodding.

“Yup,” he says, eventually. I don’t think he’s pleased, but Pen can’t tell.

“This is such a relief.” She snuffles, tearful. “Luk, do you happen to have—”

He’s already holding a box of tissues out to her. Five minutes later, they drop me off at home.

Victoria declares, “Ah, yes, the three forms of torture. Nail pulling, waterboarding, and waiting for a WADA-accredited lab to do what they’re paid for.”

Coach Sima side-eyes her, but there’s a grain of truth in that. The procedures for retesting are soul-suckingly lengthy, even sped up to give Pen her fair shot at the NCAA.

Morale is six feet under. The days crawl, high-strung. Assistant coaches mumble among themselves, stop when I walk by. I catch one of the water polo players peek into Pen’s locker, hoping to find a stash of syringes and hormone vials. On Tuesday, after I mess up a running forward and get a mild concussion, Coach Sima tears into me about being irresponsible—and then gruffly apologizes when the doctor sends me home with orders to rest.

“Pen is heroic,” I tell Bree on Thursday, watching Pen do a perfect reverse two and a half. She’s been holding her head high, showing up for practice, giving her best.

“No shit. I’d be a bug drowning in puddle water.”

I put myself in her shoes, and cannot imagine functioning as well as she does.

We are together a lot—practice, meals, study hours. Whatever time is left, she spends with Lukas. He and I have agreed that Pen needs us, and that she shouldn’t be left alone.

And yet.

Jealousy, I remind myself,is ugly. Envy, uglier still. All the more when it’s directed at someone in need. Pen is my friend, and I’m proud of Lukas for being solid and dependable, for accompanying her to the doping lab to witness the opening of the B sample, or to listen to a lawyer “exploring options.” He makes sure that she’s sleeping and eating and staying healthy. If his support of an ex in need were half-assed, I’d respect him much less.

Still, I miss him.

When we text, it’s mostly about her.Is she okay? Need anything? I’m dropping her off at Avery. Okay, I’m here.

When he leaves for his NCAA championship in Georgia, Pen moves back into her apartment, and so do I. We share her small bed, laughing at the way we kick each other during sleep. We avoid compulsively checking our emails. We watch Lukas being his obnoxious, winning self.

“Just another day at the office,” I muse, watching him hoist himself out of the pool, a handshake and half hug with the Cal guy who came in second. Water slushes down his tattoo, over the tech suit. He leans in to listen to Coach Urso list the things he did wrong, even after winning a race. He barely even smiles. When he does, it’s notreal. I know the difference. “He dominates his sport so much, and yet cares so little.”

Pen scowls. “He makes everything look breezy, but when he was younger and having issues . . . you weren’t there, but I saw how much it fucked with his head. Hedoescare.”

I used to assume that Pen was familiar with the depths and shallows of Lukas, and knew things he wouldn’t showme. Now, I realize that her perception of Lukas is stuck. A sixteen-year-old boy, instead of the man he has become.

That night, my phone vibrates. Everything okay?

Pen breathes softly next to me.Yup. She’s sleeping.

LUKAS:You?

SCARLETT:Not sleeping.

LUKAS:But are you okay?

SCARLETT:Yeah.

Shadows of tree branches mottle the ceiling.

SCARLETT:Lukas?

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