birdie | a tsitp story

one

"bells, you are going to fly out of that window if you aren't careful!" mom tells her.

i look up to see belly dangling her head out of the window, just as we pass the "Cousins Beach" sign. she did that every single year, she always claimed it smelled the same, and it was just waiting for her. i love my sister, but she can be so eccentric.

as we park in the driveway, i see the door twist open as jere flies out, immediately hugging my mom. i see susannah come out seconds after.

"look who came back all grown up?" jere says to belly, swinging her around while the mom's share a knowing glance.

"birdie!" i hear someone call, and i quickly look around to find louis racing up towards me, and engulfing me in a hug.

"you got taller" i say to him.

"nah, you just got shorter" he retorts laughing.

i quickly hit his arm, and he feigns pain.

"is that little birdie?" jere says swinging me around.

"put me down!" i squeal.

"okay, but what happened in the 9 months i haven't seen you? the glasses and braces are gone too! did you and belly just like mutually agree to get contacts?" he teases.

"we'll never reveal our secrets" belly says swinging her arm around me.

"connie, hurry up!" we hear susannah yell.

"i'm here, i'm here" he says rushing out.

he looked different. he had bags under his eyes, and he was wearing a sweatshirt, which he vowed he never would on a training day.

"connie!" mom says greeting him.

"i liked you guys better with glasses" he says walking over.

"too bad, i like me without them" belly tells him happily.

"you too birdie?" he asks with a grin.

"yep!" smiling to show him my braces were gone too.

"and the braces!" he replies.

"i don't know about you guys but i think it's time for a.." steven starts looking at his imaginary watch.

"BELLY FLOP!" all of us cry out.

"no, no, no" she goes as we all race to catch her.

"1,2-" jere counts, with 3 being the splash of belly going in.

"well i mean, since that's over.." steven starts as belly climbs out.

"you know, i guess it's time for.." jere says.

"a fly birdie!" they all shriek as i scream no and try to run from them.

jere and steve grab me by the arms, and conrad and louis grab my legs, while belly directs them over to the trampoline.

i squirm in their tight hold to no avail, and they start counting slowly.

"1,2,3!" they scream together dropping me flat onto the trampoline, while i bounce up and down like a popcorn kernel.

we all head in, and i grab my bags from the foyer to my room.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

i've always loved my room. it was right next to belly's and louis', and the walls were the same beige with blue leaves like all the other rooms. my room by what the boys said was a "typical 13  year old girls room", and i'll be honest, it is. with the led lights, photo wall, and vines, it looked straight off of pinterest.

"hey audrey, call your father and tell him we got in safely!" mom yells from the bottom of the stairs.

"k!" i yell back.

i quickly grab my phone, and call my dad. it's only been a year since they got divorced, and my dad already has a girlfriend. if anything, i would have thought mom would have started dating since she wanted the divorce.

"hey dad! we got in fine and everything, and we all haven't died from the heat yet" i tell him as he answers.

"no!" he says with a dramatic gasp.

"yep, i gotta go and unpack though" i sigh.

"aw, tell everyone i miss them, and i'll see you all on the fourth" he tells me.

"i will, love you" i say confused by the last statement.

"love you" he replies, before hanging up.

"mom, dad's coming for the fourth?" i ask.

"yeah, the dad's always come" mom says confused.

"he didn't come last year" belly joins.

"well, we had just gotten divorced from then, but we all are fine now" she says in a blank voice.

it wasn't the response i was looking for, but it worked.

"birdie, c'mon let's go to the beach with jere and belly!" louis says bursting in.

"fine, fine!" i tell him as he tells me to hurry and everyone's waiting.

i toss my bag open, and grab the first suit i see which ends up being the swimsuit vivian lent me. i throw that on, and grab my towel and run out to the back door.

"finally!" louis tells me.

"that was like two seconds" i reply.

"audrey, look at them!" he says watching jere and belly.

"they are so stupidly in love, how can they not see it?" i groan.

"jere totally see's it, it's just belly who won't." he says.

i place my towel next to belly's, and run in to an immediate tackle down from louis and jere.

i hate to be like belly, in her poetic, sentimental mood but i've been waiting all year for this moment.

wc: 880 words

id love to here feedback, or even just comments abt the story from anyone who reads this! also sorta thinking abt making it so conrad and belly never existed bc this is ✨strictly✨ a jelly zone.