Pulled in by the Current ~ Steven Conklin

~The Conklin's Arrival~

The Conklins have been coming to our beach house every summer since I was a baby, since before any of us kids were born. The Dads come to visit, but it's not their place, they don't belong to it, not the way we do, the mothers and us kids. Our summer house is made up of lots of things. The beach. The swimming pool, late at night. Movie nights with us girls. But the kids, us kids most of all. It's the same every summer, I've always loved that about it. For me everything good, everything fun happens between June and August. It's where my best memories were made.

I'm sitting by the pool, hat covering my face when I hear Belly's shrieks and the boy's laughter. I know that the Conklins have finally arrived and it's time for the annual Belly Flop. An event where they chuck her in the pool and then chase me around until I end up drenched as well. Typically I attempt to drag one or two of them in with me. I hear the scream and the splash of water as Belly makes her grand entrance to summer. As she reemerged from the pool, she fakes an injured ankle bringing Conrad into the pool with her. Great. One down, two to go. 

I slowly remove my hat off my face, careful not to grab Jeremiah's or Steven's attention, and slip my legs off the lounge chair. My phone drops off my lap, I forgot that was there. Both Steven and Jeremiah turn around with massive grins on their face. The moment of silence where we all try to predict our next moves is suffocating. I know I'll end up in the pool one way or another, so what do I have to lose?

I sprint away from them, around the back of the pool, mentally formulating a plan. I climb over a deck chair laughing as they stumble over it, catching up to me. Once we've made a full lap around the pool, I change direction and charge straight at them, and they freeze, shocked, I have them right at the edge of the pool. I run at them, grinning as they accept their fate and push them in causing a massive splash, as the three of us hit the water. I reach the surface of the water to hear Susannah and Laurel laughing, they got it on camera. I could not be happier.  I throw my hands up to Belly, high-fiving her, and sticking my tongue out to my disappointed twin.

We got out of the pool and dried off, Belly went inside to talk to our moms. Jeremiah and Steven went inside to play games.

"I cannot believe you managed to pull that off" Conrad shook his head, sitting on the lounge chair next to me. 

"It was going to happen eventually, I'm just so happy it was filmed" He rolled his eyes at my taunting and sat back in the chair, closing his eyes.

Conrad and I have always been closer, despite Jeremiah and I being twins. I suppose as we were growing up he was the big brother I could go to when I needed some advice whereas Jere was more independent and preferred to go to Dad. Conrad and I could just sit and talk. 

Recently he's been de-socializing, Mom blames his breakup but I know it's his anxiety and him spending too much time inside his head. I remember when I was fourteen, Conrad had his first panic attack, he says he was just stressing out, but I remember clear as day walking in on him in the bathroom struggling to breathe. From then on I forced him to open up to me more.