𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑, jeremiah fisher

𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙽𝙴 °•*⁀➷ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙯𝙯𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙯𝙚,

𝙖 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧
(𝟏𝟏)
𝐈𝐕𝐘'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

the stars twinkling in the late night, actually nearly early morning sky, reminding me of the time.

Do Belly and I really need sleep though?

an obnoxiously loud noise yawn reminds me of Belly's sleep schedule, the girl is not a night owl and is usually in bed by 9:30. so a late night swim till 3am probably isn't ideal.

"okay belly, bed time" i declare, the poor girl tries to deny it, but she can barely keep her eyes open.

belly huffs, "fine, that's, fair i guess, but you stay out here and swim for a bit longer, this is the most relaxed i've seen you all day," belly slips out of the pool, wrapping her towel around her body she tip toes inside, careful to close the door gently,

leaving me alone with my thoughts. nighttime seems to make memories much clearer, and upsetting.

floating on my back, staring up at the sky, feeling my worries enlarge with each gulp of air i breathe in.

birthdays.

mine was coming up in a few weeks, so it's on my mind.

if i had to count on my two hands how many birthdays my dad had forgotten or missed, there wouldn't be enough fingers.

he was there for 3 and like maybe a half, he sent a text saying happy birthday the year before last, so at least he didn't forget.

i bet he didn't miss any of belly or steven's birthdays.

but that's not fair to think, they are his real family.

too deep in my own thoughts to notice the looming presence of the devil.

jeremiah fisher. or JERKemiah fisher, if you want to be more accurate.

even from my place in the pool, i still hear jeremiah's taunting low chuckle as he sits on the edge of the pool, legs dangling like conrad did before.

"what did the sky ever do to you?" he asks, either not picking up on my lack of patience for his annoying questions, or not caring enough to leave me alone.

my head snaps up, my eyes meeting him with irritation, in contrast to his eyes full with amusement, at the realisation i had just played into his tricks.

that little shit stirrer.

"excuse me?"

"you've got like this super intense glare on your face. i mean, i already figured you were in a mood, seeing as you're lying in the pool all by yourself, but that look sealed it. wanna tell me why?"

The balls on this boy.

first he is mean all day, then takes the time to come out here at like 3am just to tell me i look pissed, then ask me how I feel?

I scoff, in disbelief at the nerve of this guy, "why would I? Are you the Cousin's Beach therapist for hire, to make me spill all my little secrets to you, just for you to make fun of me later? i don't think so buddy."

Jeremiah paused momentarily, good, he's gonna back off and let me stew in annoyance.

then he starts laughing, a shit eating grin took up most of his tanned face.

his eyes flickered with mirth and slight mischief, it made him look roguishly handsome, and i was a sucker for a good smile.

but him being insanely, y'know, gorgeous, didn't erase the irritation buzzing in my body.

"yeah okay so I don't care that much, but colour me curious." Jeremiah's chuckles under his breath once more before adding,

"and hey I don't appreciate being regarded as a snitch, i may be amazingly witty and beautiful but whatever you say right now, is one hundred percent confidential."

I don't know what has gotten into jeremiah, do i really look so pathetic that even jeremiah pities me?

actually, it's more likely that he got bitten by a radioactive spider, or a moth or something.

he continues, "that's my rule as cousin's beach number one therapist, good for one night only though, anything you say tomorrow is totally for everyone's ears."

i huff out a laugh as a break our eye contact, feeling colder in the pools warm water as I do so, laying my head back flat in the pool. star fish pose.

after a few beats of surprisingly comfortable silence, Jeremiah unfortunately begins to speak again.

"we can just sit here if you want, but you can vent if you need, my confidentially agreement is no joke, and no judgement I swear, it just looks like you've got something on your mind." I don't look up at him as he says this, or after an awakened silence hangs over us, only when he starts to get up to leave to i start talking.

"it- it's my dad- um," i mumble out, still staring up at the night sky, unsure if i want to share these details with jeremiah of all people.

but he sits back down again, so maybe i could share a little bit, let him see a small bit of what's in my mind.

but i have to remember what laurel told belly and steven about my parents and why i'm staying with them.

for now, my cover story is that my parents were old friends of Laurel from high school, but unfortunately my fake parents were in a car accident and died elena gilbert style off a bridge.

Laurel had come up with the cover story, and clearly had amazing taste in tv shows.

Without looking at him, I continue with more confidence in my voice, "before he was in that accident laurel told you about,"

I'm careful with my words, because telling jeremiah a little bit about my parents is a big deal, i've never really told anyone before, but that doesn't make this special.

it's not like i can drop into the conversation, hey my dads actually alive and you know him, belly's dad? he doesn't know the date of my birthday by the way, LOL.

so i have to be careful with what i share.

"he wasn't really here, neither was my mom, they both were always, um busy with other stuff," I speak softly, but loud enough that Jeremiah can hear my story word for word, if he's even listening.

i know that the way i'm dating it to jeremiah sounds like i'm a snobby rich kid who's daddy and mommy didn't spend enough time with her, but i can't tell him the full truth, only a snipet, and this small bit is relieving a lot of stress already.

"my dad had missed all but like three of my birthdays," i sniffle out refusing to cry.

SPLASH

Large arms engulf me in a different kind of warmth, different form the heat of the pool. this was jeremiah.

"this doesn't make us friends." i mumble out.

"I know, it's just a little talk." Jeremiah's holds me tighter, and i let him, clearly this boy needs a hug, i'm just helping him out, i can be kind sometimes.

going back to sleep that night was much easier, what jeremiah had referred to as a 'little talk' had really removed a heap of stress from my head.

5 stars for cousin's beach renowned therapist. hopefully he was being truthful about his confidentiality comment.

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𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚
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