bad in the bones -conrad fisher

ch. 2

I sit at the dinner table, sandwiched between Belly and Steven, and pick at the chicken that was on the plate in front of me. The conversation was bustling, especially between Jeremiah and Steven. You'd think that they never spoke during the other seasons, but I knew firsthand that wasn't true. They just could not stop making jokes.

Laurel was sitting on one end the table and Susannah on the other and across from me, Conrad was slumped over, in his own little world, oblivious to everything going on in the world around him.

My stomach churns, not feeling really hungry but that could either be because I ate too many Twizzlers on the ride in or I was still suffering the heartbreak blues. "You okay?" Belly leans over and asks. I smile up at her and nod, shoving a piece of chicken in my mouth. She looks at me with pity and I knew she thought it was the latter and I hate that being a heartbroken, sad sap was a part of my personality now. I hate that that's what she thinks about when she looks at me.

"So, Belly, I have something for you," Susannah says, getting both of our attentions. She gets out of her chair, making us all watch as she grabs something from out of the kitchen. It's a small, white envelope and she hands it to Belly. In gold letters scribbled on the front it reads: Cousins Beach Debutant Ball.

"Is this why you had to go to the country club earlier?" Laurel asks, making Susannah laugh and shrug. There was a country club here? Of course their was.

"What's a debutant ball?" Belly asks, looking at Susannah. A scam. A show. A miserable excuse for people to put young girls on display. Laurel expresses my thoughts verbally and Susannah rebults, telling Belly that it was a coming of age. Like a bar mitzvah.

"It is not like a bar mitzvah," Laurel scoffs. Susannah shrugs, accepting defeat.

"I'd really like you to consider," she says, finally. Belly folds up the invitation and puts it down on the table.

"Debs are for sheep," Conrad speaks up. It was the first time he spoke all dinner and everyone looks over at him. He doesn't look up even after Jeremiah starts to take jabs at him.

"Didn't you go last year? With Nicole?"

"Who's Nicole?" Belly asks. I feel heat radiating off of her arms and Conrad looks up at her like she had no right to speak.

"It was after you guys left for Steven's college tour. It doesn't matter, I only went because Mom asked me to." I remember that summer and how they came home early. Steven and his dad went off on a road trip to check out colleges and I remember being viciously jealous that his dad cared that much. I felt guilty for feeling that way when a few months later, Laurel and John announced their divorce.

The two brothers bicker back and forth before Susannah tells them to stop. I keep my eyes focused on the peas that I moved around on my plate, popping one or two in my mouth every few seconds. "Conrad quit football, you know," Jeremiah says, getting in one final jab before Conrad throws his fork down on the plate, a crash reverbrating through the room. It bounces off the china cabinet on the other side of the room and everyones eyes widen as they watch him walk away.

"Was that really necessary?" Susannah sighs, putting her head in her hands, her golden hair falling in front of her face. I look at Jeremiah, finding out more about his personality in the last few moments than I had learned from all the stories Belly and Steven had told me. He was a jealous little brother.

+

My phone buzzes in my hand and I click it open: Mallory.

how is it?????

My fingers hover over the keyboard on my phone, deciding what words to use to describe my first day in Cousin's so far. There isn't a lot to say, really. Gorgeous, warm, a seaside dream. And then there were the boys. Gorgeous, warm, a seaside dream.