{Only Love - Ben Howard}
...Darlin' you're with me, always around me, only love, only love, darlin' I feel you under my body...
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May 26th
"Great news, honey!" Mom squealed.
My bleary eyes caught sight of her, bursting into the sleepy air of my bedroom as she flew open the curtains, allowing light to burst in, coating the room in a bright glow, as she practically steamrolled me out of bed.
"Could it not wait for a more civilised hour of the morning?" I yawned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, still sure if she left now I could reach back into my sleeping state for a while longer.
The bright, daylight sun streamed in through the window, added heat to the room as I knew another hot day was ahead of us.
I was dragged out of bed and beckoned into the living room where the rest of my family had been summoned. We congregated around the breakfast table, all of us unhappy at this impromptu family meeting. Cady was painting her nails, Dad had his eyes glued to the sports pages of his newspaper, and Bodhi was barely conscious as his tender, hungover head rested on the table.
"Now that I have you all here, I'd like to make an announcement," she proclaimed.
Her excitement did not intrigue me or make me wonder what kind of news could have been so monumentally important to disturb my sleep. I had struggled to rest once I returned to the cabin the night before after leaving Elliot, my eyes refusing to fall heavy and closed until the sun had crept over the horizon, and the early morning birds began to chirp.
"Could you hurry and tell us so I can get some aspirin?" Bodhi lifted his head momentarily, his voice groggy.
"What is it, Rosalind?" Dad spoke up, still reading the newspaper article that he was so enthralled by.
Ignoring Dad's blatant ignorance, Mom continued.
"I have arranged a date for Benjamin and Avalina tonight."
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach, any hunger in my empty belly dissipating into a groan of nausea. While no one else seemed to care, except maybe Dad, who finally tore his eyes away from the paper to respond to Mom, his eyes lighting up.
"Fantastic! This will definitely seal the deal for the promotion!"
Dad had shifted completely from his detached presence I was familiar to witnessing most days when I joined my family, as he tossed his newspaper to the side and rose to praise his wife, kissing her on the cheek, surprising all of us.
"Well if that's the town crier finished her duties for the day, I'll be off to bed. Night everyone," Bodhi sighed, lifting himself from his seat at the table and staggering back to his room.
"Don't look so angry with me honey, you know I am doing this for you," Mom assured me, and yet I knew no matter what I said, she wouldn't give up.
Especially not if Dad was happy with it.
"I'll do it on one condition," I countered, my voice strong and quietly defiant. "I get to wear whatever the hell I want, and Benjamin and I go somewhere away from the club where you two can't stalk us."
Dad shuffled uncomfortably, contemplating the idea, uneasy with the terms of my request. Their eyes met and I watched a silent conversation take place between them for a few moments, as I waited patiently for their response.
YOU ARE READING
Summer Rain
Teen Fiction"Together we were like summer rain. Rare and indescribable until you feel it for yourself..." When Avalina Bennett and her family spent the summer at the Beaumont Country Club, she was sure her summer had been ruined before it even started. Her br...
