ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀɴᴅ|ᴊ.ꜰ

🀣𝟢𝟢𝟩🀣

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ
↳ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇ.

Susannah loves oldies. It ranges from movies, tv shows, and music. But I always enjoyed all of it. She'd put on one of her old records and we'd dance around the living room. Conrad would sit and pretend to be disinterested but I knew he wanted to join, and Jeremiah and Belly would dance together even with Belly stepping on his toes.
Music is what made the beach house thrive; Music and the happiness it brought. And that's how tonight felt. It was July third and everyone was in the living room dancing and laughing and just... Happy. "Who was the singer you used to love when you were little?" Mom asked me. "Ella Fitzgerald?" Susannah questioned. "Exactly. She used to spin around our entire house listening to the oldies, she loved every one of her tracks."
Susannah changed the record, and at first it was silence, but then Ella's voice boomed through the living room and this etherial feeling washed over me. Jeremiah looked up at me from the couch, a grin spreading across his face as he stood to my level.
He reached his hand out to me. "Can I have this dance?" And of course he just had to be so cheesy. But I gave him my hand anyway. "Only if you don't step on my toes." Belly playfully rolled her eyes from the couch. "It was one time!"

Things felt like they were falling into place that night. Jeremiah and I dancing together, Belly and Conrad stealing glances at each other from the couch, and the moms, all three of them, smiling and laughing together. It was a rare sight, really.
The Fisher's, Conklin's, and Mahina's hadn't been together as one in a very, very long time. And now, all we were missing were the dads. "Hey, is Mr. Fisher coming four the fourth?" I asked. "He's held up at work so he probably won't be here for another few weeks," Susannah said. And it was odd. Mr. Fisher always came for the fourth. I was only expecting Belly's dad to be absent.
The moms would eventually retire for a movie before bed while us kids cleaned the living room up. I'd ditched them though to put on my swim suit. Tonight needed to be ended with a night on the beach, just like old times. I'd thrown on whichever one my eyes landed on first and put my hair up.
But when I back downstairs, Conrad was nowhere to be found. It was just Jeremiah and Belly. The two of them on the couch, alone, and Jeremiah holding her hand. "You've always been my best friend. But now it's more. I see you as more than that." Jere scooted even closer to her. "You're cooler than any girl I've ever met, and you're there for me. You've always been there for me. I... I can count on you. And you can count on me too. You know that."

Suddenly that weight in my chest had built back up after I'd worked so hard to bury deep inside of me. "And I know you've always liked Conrad, but you're over him now, right?" He asked her. He looked so... Hopeful. He was hoping she would say yes. "I... I don't know," She whispered. Jeremiah sucked in a deep breath, clearly becoming frustrated with the conversation.
"But why? He doesn't see you that way. I do." Belly's eyes turned red and glossy. Maybe because Jeremiah was right, or maybe because she wanted him to be wrong, too. "I know. I wish I didn't. But I do. I still do." Jeremiah moved away from her, putting distance between the two of them that should've been there from the beginning.
He couldn't even look at her, and I couldn't even look at them. "He'll only end up hurting you." Hurt. The same thing I'd been feeling these last few minutes. He'll only end up hurting her the same way you're hurting me, Jeremiah. I'm right here, why can't you see me?
"I'm so, so sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I couldn't take it if you were mad at me."
Jeremiah sighed. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just --- why does it always have to be Conrad?"
But it wasn't --- it's not. I'm right here and yet you're treating me like a ghost.

I'd suck up whatever feelings were rising up and head down the rest of the steps. I did it as if nothing happened, like I hadn't heard their entire conversation. "Hey, you guys ready?" And I'd plastered on a big smile, one they couldn't read through. Belly wiped her eyes, thinking I didn't see her but I did. "I'm gonna clock out for the night," she said. "Me too," Jeremiah followed. And then it was just me. Zara Mahina, Nani, Belly's best friend... Just me.
Just like always.
I'd still go on my swim, but I'd call Mateo to join me. I was sitting at the edge of the water when he'd walked over to me. "You texted me nine-one-one, what happened?" He took his spot next to me on the sand. My brain was screaming at me to shut up even though I hadn't even spoken yet. "He likes Belly... Just like I thought he would," My own voice had betrayed me in that moment as it cracked and tears began to prick my eyes. "You don't know that-"
I shook my head. "I heard him, Theo. He told her. He held her hand he told her that he likes her and... God, I was so stupid for thinking something was actually happening between the two of us."
My feet were moving before I could even process the action. I was walking back to the beach house, and I was walking so fast that sand was kicking up behind me. And Mateo was hot on my trail and calling out to me.

I'd open the sliding door, the one I'd gone through everyday of every summer, and I walked up those creaky steps and to a room I didn't expect myself to stop at. I didn't knock, I'd just walked in. And I shook the person who was sound asleep until she'd woken up. "Mama, I wanna go, I wanna go back to Chicago, I don't wanna be at Cousins."
She stirred, still half asleep. "What are you talking about, Nani? What happened?" When she'd turned on the light and saw the tears streaming down my face and the helpless Mateo Rodríguez behind me, she somehow already knew what had happened. Call it a mother's intuition, if you want. Because even if she hadn't acted like my mother in the last seven years, she still somehow had the ability to be one when she needed to.
"We can't leave," she said. And my heart had dropped to my stomach because I'd expected her to agree. I needed her to agree, to go back to Chicago with me. "Wha- Why? I don't wanna be at Cousins anymore."
She sat me down on the bed next to her. "Close the door." Mateo stepped out and closed the door behind him, giving my mom and I privacy. "You and Belly weren't supposed to know... I wasn't even supposed to know," She said. "What are you talking about?"
She sighed. "Susannah is sick again and it's more aggressive... Treatment isn't gonna help like the last time."
Suddenly, Cousins wasn't Cousins anymore. It was a death trap. We'd already almost lost her the first time, and then we lost my dad, and now Susannah was gonna die. Susannah was gonna die. That meant gone forever.

I'd just cried. I didn't know what else to do. Susannah was like my second mom, same with Laurel. Scratch that, they are my moms. They basically raised me alongside my dad and Mr. Fisher and Mr. Conklin. They were my family and I'd be losing another one of them.
Mateo was sitting outside the door when I'd opened it and mom had went back to bed. He hadn't left. Why didn't he leave. "Why're you still here?" I questioned. He stood to his feet and didn't even hesitate before wrapping me in his arms. "I know that's what you're used to but I'm not going anywhere... Even if we did break each others hearts last summer."
And he didn't leave. He stayed with me all night and we just sat there on my bed, listening to the waves crash and then watching the sun rise before he finally parted.
Susannah is gonna be gone someday... And I'm worried about boy problems and self image issues and everything that means absolutely nothing when things like this happen. I'd be losing another parent --- Jeremiah and Conrad would be losing their mom. Laurel would lose her best friend.

Later that day, after waking up from a short two hours of sleep, I'd knocked on Belly's door. I didn't wash my face or brush my teeth or even attempt to make myself presentable. I just wanted to see Belly. My Belly. She opened the door, already dressed up for the day. "Nani?" She questioned. "I need to talk to you."

Word Count: 1,543.