Natasha Conklin was sweet. Sweet like peaches in the summertime, sweet like vanilla buttercream and sunsets, pulsating through her body as if it had been injected in her bloodstream. But it was often said with much regret that she was a waste of a girl. Too much sweetness and beauty lost in stubbornness and half-hearted promises. Even when all the promises led to unforgettable memories in Cousins', North Carolina.
The Conklins have been going to Susannah's Beach House in Cousins' every summer for as long as Natasha could remember. All year long, she counted the days until she was in that house, even though it was the same every summer, that's what she loved so much about it. She missed the sound of the seabirds, waves crashing on the shore, and the feeling of sand underneath her feet. It was a heavenly feeling, as if you were drifting away from a sick and twisted reality. But, on top of all the warm memories in the beach house, Natasha Conklin missed Susannah's boys the most.
Conrad Fisher and Natasha Conklin spent every second of every day in the summer together, even though most of their conversations revolved around Isabel Conklin, and Conrad would be either drinking or smoking a cigarette half of the time. "She's Jeremiah's, not mine. What am I doing wrong, Tasha? Why doesn't she like me?"
Drunken words are sober thoughts. Natasha knew her sister was madly in love with Conrad. He was attracted to her, always had been, even before her big glow up. The fucked up part was that Belly didn't know that Conrad liked her back and Natasha never had the guts to say anything, because a part of her hoped that the longer Conrad went without knowing that Belly liked him back, he would move on. Maybe, he would finally realize that the girl he wasted his days with was constantly looking at him through rose-tinted glasses.
The best part about this summer in particular was that both Belly and Tasha looked different. Braces gone, hair styled differently, the list could go on and on. For lack of better words, they were close to unrecognizable. Even so, boys in school never looked at Natasha. Belly was the one they looked at. Maybe it was her long hair and perfect smile, or the fact that she played for the school's volleyball team. And despite Tasha being nothing short of a carbon copy of her (born on the same day just a year apart but how much of a difference does that make?), Isabel Conklin was the center of attention.
"We're leaving in ten. Are you done packing?" Steven appeared at her bedroom door, leaning against the frame as his eyes roamed over her messy room, clothes thrown all over the place as the girl struggled to pack her suitcase with decent outfits to wear all summer. "Please tell me you're done. I don't want to sit next to Belly the entire trip, we'll just end up arguing the entire way to Susannah's." Tasha laughed at his seriousness and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, dragging it out the door and towards the car, where Steven's bags were already in the trunk. Belly followed shortly after, her best friend Taylor by her side.
"Promise me you'll finally get with Conrad." She heard Taylor whispering to Belly and to avoid looking like she was eavesdropping, quickly got into the passenger's seat of the car. She hooked up her phone to the aux, scrolling through her Spotify account before clicking on a playlist. Anything to get her mind off of the inevitable relationship between Belly and Conrad.
Laurel got into the backseat with Belly, who waved to Taylor one last time before closing the car door, and Steven got into the driver's seat, almost immediately starting the car and making their way towards Cousins'. Natasha didn't pay attention to the time, but Steven must've stopped at a gas station three-fourths of the way through their trip because the car needed gas. Tasha got out of the passenger's seat, slightly lightheaded from looking down at a book most of the ride. She placed a crumpled up receipt in the book (The Secret History, a road trip classic she would bring with her every summer) to hold her place and made her way into the gas station store. She picked up a pack of spearmint gum and picked through the refrigerator for a drink, her ring adorned fingers running over the multitude of soft drinks, completely unaware of the cashier looking at her from behind the counter.
