The Summer I Fell

little jewel

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The houses lining the coast of Cousin's passed swiftly as Jewel's Uber sped along the asphalt. The trip to Cousin's came every year, and every year the anticipation of the trip overwhelmed her. The family beach house appeared through the windshield, her knee bouncing uncontrollably. It would be the first year she was returning without her mother, the car accident making sure of that. She could hear the tires of the car rotating to a stop on the driveway, the big house staring down at her. She opened the door,
allowing herself a moment to feel the air before getting her bags. The same breeze shared throughout the world and yet...it never felt quite the same as when at Cousins.
"My little Jewel!" A familiar voice called out excitedly, Susannah standing in the entryway.
"Hi!" The girl exclaimed, leaving her luggage on the gravel to hug Susannah. Susannah moved Jewel's hair back from her face, tucking it sweetly behind her ear.
"You look so grown." Susannah awed, smiling down to the maturing girl before her.
"Oh, come inside, come inside. Laurel, Steven, and Belly won't get here until later, but the boys are going to be so excited to see you." She gushed, allowing the girl to grab her luggage from off of the ground. The two made their way into the kitchen, Jewel setting her bags down to take a seat at the island.
"Where are the boys?" Jewel asked, excited to see them both after a full year.
"They're out on the beach. Where, uh, where's your dad?" Susannah asked, noticing his absence.
"He...chose not to come." Jewel admitted, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Susannah nodded solemnly in understanding, knowing how hard the accident had impacted the Barlowe's.
"Yeah, I think the house reminds him of mom too much." Jewel explained, nodding her head at the awkward silence enveloping the room.
"I have good news." Susannah spoke abruptly, attempting to move on to a lighter topic.
"I have your invitation for the Deb Ball this year." She smiled, sliding Jewel a white card and a pen. Jewel read the words lining the top of the card, feeling her stomach clench.
"I remember your mom would go on and on about the Deb Ball every year. She couldn't wait until you were old enough to be a deb." Susannah reflected, pushing Jewel's hair back from her face once again. Jewel forced a weak smile, her eyes flicking back down to the card. The deb ball was one of her mom's favorite summer events in Cousins, having impatiently waited until the year Jewel was old enough. But she wasn't here now.
"I just need a check on the invite and you'll be all set." Susannah smiled, Jewel clutching the pen loosely in her hand. As Susannah turned her back toward Jewel, the girl dropped the pen back onto the table.
"Uh, where did you say the boys are again?" Jewel asked, hoping to avoid making a decision between her comfortability and her late mother's wishes.
"I think they went surfing." Susannah told her, lifting herself from the kitchen island to start making lunch.
"I think I'm gonna head down and go see them." Jewel told her, setting the pen back on the counter, the box left unchecked. 
"Of course." Susannah nodded, watching as Jewel grabbed the suitcases on either side of her chair. She made her way up the staircase, entering the first bedroom on the left. The same bedroom she had spent the entirety of July in every year. The same bedroom the other kids and her would make forts out of blankets in and play childish board games. The same room her mother would brush her hair every night. Jewel shuttered at the memories as she lugged her suitcase onto the bed. Her eyes gazed over the family portraits in decorative frames, the fluffed pillows on her window seat, old surfing medals she had won. During a normal summer at Cousins Jewel spent the majority of her time prepping for Cousin's annual surfing tournament...but it wasn't a normal summer at Cousins anymore. One split moment in time made any tournament the least of Jewel's worries. She forced herself to swallow the lump growing in her throat, moving quickly to unpack her bags. She set aside the blue bikini she had bought for specifically for the trip, knowing this summer needed to be better. She was impatient for drunken summer nights and crackling, bright firework displays. As Jewel walked to the beach she wondered how many plans the boys had already made. She smiled to herself as she saw Conrad on his board. He seemed paler than he had been the last time she'd seen him. Her smile grew a little wider as she saw another familiar figure sitting in the sand, hastening her footsteps against the warm sand.
"Guess who?" Jewel smiled, watching as Jeremiah turned to face her.
"Jewel!" Jeremiah gasped, swiftly pushing himself to his feet. The first thing Jeremiah noticed was how much she had changed. She wore a bikini now, instead of a wetsuit, and her hair was longer than it had been the last time he had seen her. She had another piercing in each ear, small diamonds filling the holes. His arms reached out for her, pulling her into his chest and lifting her into the air. Jeremiah couldn't come up with a word to describe the feeling of her bare skin flush against his own. New was the closest he could get. Jewel laughed as they separated, her eyes turning toward the eldest brother still far out.
"Do you mind if I borrow your board for a second?" Jewel asked, watching as Jeremiah moved to grab it for her.
"I'm glad you're finally here." He told her, earning a soft smile from the girl as he passed her the board.
"Me too." She replied, both teens exchanging lingering gazes. She moved toward the water a moment later, wondering why a new feeling was suddenly settling in her stomach. She pushed it aside as she made her way into the water and out to Conrad.
"Excuse me, you can't be here without parental supervision." She called out, watching as Conrad's gaze quickly shifted toward her. Jewel laughed as she watched a smile spread over his face, paddling herself toward him.
"When'd you get here?" He asked, leaning over the gap between them to wrap her in a hug.
"Not too long ago." She answered, turning her head back toward the beach house.
"Can you believe it's our last summer?" Jewel asked after a moment, turning to her head to see Conlan deny.
"It's not really." He argued, reminding her that they weren't really going away.
"You know what I mean though. It's straight to college for both of us after this." She rephrased, watching as the hint of Conrad's smile faded.
"Yeah, well we'll have to make this one memorable then..." He spoke, adjusting the board's strap wrapped around him, "...let's head in."