𝐈𝐝𝐟𝐜 | 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫

four

"WHAT'S WRONG?"

molly asked as she lightly kicked at the sand.

jeremiah shrugged and looked to the ground. "i don't know."

she raised her eyebrow and him and stopped walking, waiting for him to turn around and face her. "don't do that, jere. c'mon, you know you can talk to me."

"i just wanted my dad to be here," he admitted softly, eyes finally meeting hers. "and now that he won't be, it just sucks. i was so excited to show him those new fireworks i picked up and now he's just not coming?"

she chewed the inside of her lip. "maybe there's more to the story than just a business deal," she suggested. "i'm sure adam would be here if he could."

"i doubt it," he said sourly.

she patted his shoulder before beginning to walk off towards the house. "you can still show me."

he smiled immediately and jogged to catch up to her. "i was gonna make you watch them anyway."

she nodded and laughed. "i know. i was just suggesting it before you did to cheer you up."

he let out a breathy laugh before shoving his hands in his pockets. "hey, so, um...what's going on with you and conrad?"

"what?" she asked, head turning sharply to look at him.

he shrugged. "you guys have just been, like, you know, like, attached at the hip for forever. i don't know. i just thought that maybe something was—"

"no, absolutely not," she said firmly as she opened the back door for them to enter. "there is not and has never been anything between me and conrad."

he nodded and held back the small grin. "cool."

"why do you ask?" she questioned curiously.

he shook his head frantically. "no reason. just asking." she seemed to have accepted that answer as they began walking through the kitchen in a comfortable silence.

"molly, hey," her dad greeted, standing by the front door with a lady she'd never seen before, her siblings, conrad, and laurel beside him.

she smiled and jogged up to hug him. "hi, dad."

"molly, this is my girlfriend, victoria. victoria, this is my daughter, molly," he introduced when he pulled away with an excited grin.

"hi! it's so nice to finally meet you," the woman in white said with a friendly smile as she held out a hand for her to shake. "i love your hair."

she returned the smile and shook her extended hand. "thank you. it's nice to meet you too."

"well, i'm gonna go get them situated outside. we'll be out there if you guys need anything," laurel said. "and please, don't make a mess in here."

once they were out of few and everyone started to disperse through the house, she grabbed jeremiah's wrist and pulled him along with her up the stairs into her room, shutting the door behind her.

"she was kinda hot," he blurted out.

she glared at him. "that compliment felt so superficial."