She Wiped the Slate Clean
“Theyll kill me, they wont let me back home Nick, seriously, you know them. I didnt get in I dont know what to do now.”
Lily stood in the hallway, smudging mascara and tears across her cheeks. Her bag slipped from her shoulder and thudded to the floor. She could barely stand. Her friend held her close, rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles.
“I failed. Not even close. My parents” Lilys breath hitched. “Dad already saidif I dont get in, Im going straight to work on a construction site. And Mum I told her, and she hasnt spoken to me all morning.”
Nicole guided Lily to the kitchen without letting go, sat her down, and pushed a glass of water toward her.
“Dont be scared. Youre not alone,” Nick said firmly. “Well figure it out. We always do.”
“But I thought Wed be together In the same class”
Nicoles mother peeked in. A woman in her mid-forties with a sharp bob and steady eyesa teacher by trade, good with children.
“Whats happened?” she asked, gentle but firm.
“Didnt get in,” Lily whispered, staring at the table.
Her mother sat beside her, silent, and tilted Lilys chin up.
“Well. Try again next year. As for your parents Well think of something.”
That evening, a family meeting was called.
“We were going to rent you a flat there anyway,” Nicoles father said. “Lily can stay with you. Study in peace. And you wont be alonewell sleep easier. Deal?”
Her mother nodded. Nicole grinned. Lily could hardly believe it.
“Really? You dont mind?”
“Weve known you since you were knee-high,” Nicoles mother smiled. “Youre like a second daughter. Just need to talk to your parents, but I doubt theyll object.”
Lilys hands trembled. She turned away so no one would see her cry. But Nick noticedand chose not to say a word.
Theyd met in Year Two. Nicole had just moved to their estate. She knew something was off when she spotted Lily lingering by the school gates, wearing sandals two sizes too big, watching other children scatter home.
Lily wasnt in a hurry.
Her house had no warm dinners, no cosy chats about the day. Five siblings, a father always in his cups, a mother whod slap her for a loose thread. No wonder Lily dawdled.
Nicole had been the one to approach her, offering a chocolate bar. Then, sharing pencils during art. That was how it began.
From then on, Lilys life unfolded beside Nicoles. They visited Nicks grandmother in the countryside, brawled with boys who picked on them, got scolded by their form tutor. Nicoles parents bought Lilys prom dress, knowing shed otherwise show up in something plain.
That autumn, Lily moved to the next town over with Nicole, just as planned. A two-bed flat by the bus stop. Slightly scuffed furniture, a scratched-up kitchenbut the oven worked perfectly. On Sundays, Lily baked apple crumble. Nicoles mothers recipe.
Lily took a job at a bookshop, refusing to be a burden. She cleaned, cooked, studied maths in her spare time.
“Nickdyou want pasta or soup?” shed ask when Nicole dragged herself home late.
They lived almost like family. A year of unclouded happiness.
When acceptance letters came, Lily called Nicole first.
“I got in. Full scholarship. Third on the list!” she crowed.
Tears spilled freely. Nicole hugged her tightjust like she had when Lily was thrown out for a torn coat. Only now, they were tears of joy.
But the joy had a bitter edge. Lily was moving into halls, “to bond with coursemates.” Nicole felt like they were parting for good but kept her voice steady.
“Will we talk less now?” Lily sighed.
“Maybe. Doesnt matter. Distance wont change us.”
Lily nodded. Her eyes held quiet sorrowand resolve. She wanted a fresh start.
It never crossed Nicoles mind that “fresh start” meant “without you.”
Years later. Nicole waited at the bus stop, shivering. Fifteen minutes late. Her phone buzzedanother message from Lily.
“Cant make it. Teams hitting the pub to celebrate the project wrap. Another time?”
Third cancellation this month, no reschedule. Nicole pocketed her phone without replying.
They barely met now. After uni, Lily dove into techendless jargon about productivity, networking, onboarding. Nicole had humoured her at first, but it grew harder each time.
No more laughing over trashy telly, sharing fears, reminiscing over school photos. All gone.
Even Lilys face had changed. Polished nails, plumped lips, a nose slightly refined. Always immaculate in sharp suits, hair perfectly styled.
Stylish. Beautiful. And nothing like the Lily she knew.
One day, Nicole spotted a comment under Lilys profile pic: “Best decisions are made by your side.” The mans page? Director of her company. Twenty years her senior.
Weeks later, Lily mentioned offhand:
“Congrats are in orderIve got a man now. Older, but brilliant. Different crowd altogether. With him, Im finally living, not just surviving.”
Nicole congratulated her, but nausea rose in her throat. Not jealousyjust the sense of something broken between them.
Lily was racing toward “a different crowd.” Nicole was just living. Work, films with her husband, saving up to redo the bathroom.
It got worse. An old mutual sent screenshots.
“God, Nicole keeps nagging to meet up. Shes not bad, but being with her feels like being stuck in the past. So glad I got out,” Lily had written.
No outright malice, but it stung. “Nagging.” Nicole stopped reaching out.
A month later, Lily called. Her voice was brisk, stripped of warmth.
“Nick, hi. Justgiving you a heads-up. Changing my number. Deleting all socials.”
“Trouble?” Nicole asked carefully.
“No. Just starting fresh.”
“And?”
“Look Youre part of the past. And I dont want to drag that with me.”
Silence. Lily waited.
“Sorry. Were not friends anymore,” she added, softer. “Goodbye.”
The line died.
Nicole sat frozen, phone in hand. Not angry. Not hurt. Just hollow, like furniture had been hauled out, leaving only echoes.
Yet somewhere, a thought lingered: “This isnt over.”
Life went on. Nicole laughedwith her husband, her daughter, her parents. She still remembered Lily, wondered about her, but never searched. Lily had erased her. Her choice. Choices deserved respect.
Two years later. Nicole was making potato bake when her phone rang. An unknown number. She answered without thinking.
“Hello?”
“Nick? Its me Lily.”
Her voice was hoarse, shaky, but familiar. Nicole went still. Old wounds split open, but only cold spilled out.
“Sorry to just I didnt know who else to call. Im in a bad way. Really bad.”
A pause. Waiting for concern. But they werent friends anymore.
“Jamesyou know, the onehes gone. Found someone else. My fault, probably, but He sacked me. Didnt even pay my last wages.”
Nicole said nothing, already knowing where this led.
“Could you lend me some? Ill pay it back. Justthe mortgage Maybe three grand? Four?”
“Who is this again?” Nicole asked lightly.
“ItsLily, remember? We went to your grans, shared that flatNick, come on, you remember.”
Her tone wavered. Suddenly, it was the girl whod fled drunken parents at Nicoles door. But pity couldnt rewind time.
“Ah. The Lily who said we werent friends? Not even in a fightjust because. Yeah, that rings a bell.”
Silence. Lily hadnt expected that.
“I was wrong I was stupid. I get it now. Please, Nick. Give me a chance.”
“If you really get it, good. Thatll help you later. But me? I dont go back where Ive been written off. You tossed me aside when life got shiny. Why should I help now?”
Another silence. A sniff.
“Fine.”
The call ended.
Nicole set the phone down, exhaling hard. The tension of years left with her breath.
She returned to where she was wanted. Her husband arranged apple slices on a pie; her daughter moulded a plasticine dinosaur. Warm light filled the kitchen. Laughing, Nicole gave the dinosaur wingsturned it into a dragon.
Her phone
