CRUEL SUMMER, conrad fisher

𝑜𝑛𝑒

- cruel summer -
𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎

THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE!
𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚑𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚎
𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛
𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚢
𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝-𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕
𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜.

cruel summer, c.fisher
ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 2.8ᴋ

TALIA BECKETT DECIDED this summer would consist of relaxing, reading and (if she's lucky) a summer romance like the kind she's seen in 'Greece' growing up. She just needed an excuse to stop obsessing over Ivy League college entry requirements and this summer would just have to do.

Her dad, Cyrus, tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel to the beat of one of the songs on Talia's summer playlist. She spent the first waking hour of her holiday compiling it. With vocals provided by Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Dayglow and many others- Talia was determined for this summer soundtrack to make her feel alive.

"Excited?" Cyrus asked, glancing at his daughter who was fiddling with her earring. Athena, their gorgeous, brown-crowned beagle, barked playfully in excitement from Talia's lap.

The Beckett family adopted Athena when she was just a puppy- a lot of time has passed since then. Still, Athena's high-energy and natural ability to lift spirits never changed. Talia prided over the name she chose for her; naturally, she was going through her short-lived Greek mythology phase.

She and Talia were their parents' little girls, and the argument for custody was challenging. Ultimately, Talia's mom got the house and Cyrus was left with everything else- including the children and the dog.

Talia laughed and gave her a soothing pet, "I think she might be more excited than I am,"

Cyrus smiled as he pulled up through the large drive, "I bet she's just looking forward to all the running she'll be able to do."

Houses along the road were gargantuan compared to their cosy studio apartment in California. Talia thought they looked classic- romantic and the thought of living in a place like this for the next two months to be surreal.

As soon as the ignition fired down, Talia unbuckled her seatbelt and put Athena on her lead before letting her out the door. Cyrus went to grab their bags from the boot of their minivan, whilst Talia was resisting the excited tugging from Athena.

"Lia, just let her go and come help me with the bags- I've shut the gate anyways," Cyrus instructed from behind the rear door.

Talia unlatched Athena from her lead, "Don't go too far, Thena," Talia warned, petting both sides of her head before standing back up and starting to haul their belongings onto the porch. The house was a pale peach- somewhat coral colour, with a wrap-around porch of grey-painted wood. It was beautiful. Talia couldn't wait to explore.

"Here," Cyrus extended an arm with silver keys dangling from a gold keychain with a 'Summer Begun, Summer Fun' engraved into the metal. It was tacky and still encouraged a snicker from Talia.

Talia let out an excited squeal (a sound she couldn't naturally produce) as she rushed to the front door. She scrambled to unlock it, finally hearing the click and seeing the door swing open.

The house was even better on the inside. With high ceilings, gorgeous hardwood floors and the most cohesive summer furniture, Talia was left in awe at the sight.