The past is always there - The summer I turned pretty(Unfinished)

Daniel Miller

"You're gonna love this place," Jeremiah says, as we walk into a candy shop.
He's said the same thing about every single places he has showed me for the past week. At this point, he's more excited that me.

It's been pretty nice here in Cousins so far. Jeremiah has been showing me around and telling me about the people around here. Still haven't gotten to know any other people than that boy I met at the Country Club last week.
But I've gotten to know the Conklins and the Fishers pretty well, though.

Well, almost all of them.
Steven's still not talking to me. He's avoiding me at any costs.
I act like I don't care, but I mean, it does hurt.
He's supposed to be my brother. I wanted him to like me.
But of course I can't say this.
Never show them how much it really hurts.
Don't. Show. Emotion.
Ever.

The candy store is pretty big.
Just like everything else in this town.

"Jere!"
A guy walks up to Jeremiah.
One of his friends, I assume.
"What's up?" The guy aks.
"Nothing much, just buying some snacks," Jeremiah says, turning to me.
The guy turns to me too.
"Are you new?"
I nod.
"I'm Mark," he says, putting out his hand for me to shake it.
I do.
"Evie."
He looks from Jeremiah, to me, and back at Jeremiah.
"Is she..." he starts, quietly, but doesn't finish. Jeremiah nods quickly, trying to keep him from finishing that sentence.
But I know exactly what he was going to say.
Is she a girl you're fucking.
"I'm his friend," I say, forcing a smile.
I'm seriously sick if this. Every place I go with Jeremiah, people think we fuck. Is he that big of a player, that people can't BELIEVE that he's just friends with a girl?!

Jeremiah grabs a basket and hands it to me.
"Pick whatever you want. Mom gave me her credit card," he says, with a huge grin om his face. I grin too, at the way he looks just like any of the kids around us. All happy and excited to get candy.
Before I can even say anything, he takes my hand and drags me with him to one of the aisles.
"We need to get this."
"Ooohh, and this!"
"We for SURE need that."
I just laugh and follow him as he's running around, picking different snacks until the basket is so full it can't fit anything more.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," I tell him, as he's trying to decide what flavor Doritos he wants. He's so focused, he doesn't even turn to me. He just nods.

I walk over to the drinks.
What should I get?
I look through the drinks when my eyes stop at one of them.
The cherry coke.
The fucking cherry coke.
The stupid soda that always catches my eye.
Has for years.
The stupid soda that brings back so many memories.
Memories I've tried to forget.

They would always buy cherry coke.
They would both drink multiple a day, every single day. I always joked about how they would die of that shit one day.
"You're so dramatic," JoJo always said, with a smile on his face.
Ash would just throw his can at me to annoy me.
And I'd throw it back.
Ash was more addicted than JoJo was. He would always have a cherry coke in his hand or backpack.
Always.
At one point, he even kept it in his locker at school, until the principal found out and made him empty it.
Don't get me wrong, I loved it too. It is a good drink. I just knew when to stop!
Something Ash and JoJo didn't.
I haven't touched a cherry coke in 4 years.

I snap out of my thoughts.
My eyes are blurry.
They're filled with water.

I blink to get rid of the tears.
I guess I can drink a pepsi.
As I reach for the pepsi can, I hear a voice behind me saying, "good choice," and it's not Jeremiah.
But still a familiar voice.
I turn around.
The boy from the Country Club.

"Are you stalking me?" I ask with a smirk.
"Oh yeah, of course," he says back, jokingly.
"I've followed you since last week. I know where you live, what you've done, and even what you ate for dinner last night."
"Oh my god, you really are a stalker," I say. He smiles and I do too.

He turns to the sodas and take a pepsi can, too.
He turns back to me.
He starts smiling.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing. You're just pretty."
I laugh awkwardly.
"I didn't get your name last time..."
"Oh, it's-"

"Evie!"
I look behind the boy, to see Jeremiah looking crazily around, until he finally sees you.
"God, I thought I lost you!"
I laugh.
Jeremiah turns to the boy, with a confused and shocked expression on his face. He puts down the basket before saying anything.

"Dan?"
"Hey Jerry," the boy replies.
Jeremiah's face light up as he practically jump onto the boy.

"Damn, it's been so long!" He says, as he lets go of him.
"Yeah, it has for sure. What, like, 4 years?"
"Yeah. Wow, you've really changed."

Jeremiah turns to me.
"You guys know each other?"
I say, "no," before Dan gets the time to respond.
"We were just both getting pepsi's."
"Oh, okay," Jeremiah says.
"Well, Evie, this is Daniel Miller. Dan, this is Everleigh."
He pauses.
"Belly and Steven's half sister."

Daniel's expression changes.
"I didn't know they ha-"
"Yeah, no one did," I say, interrupting him.
No one else says anything for a couple seconds.

"Well, anyways," Jeremiah says.
"We better get home. Mom needs her card back."
He starts walking to the register, and I walk after him, when I feel a hand on my wrist.
I flinch.
I have to stop doing that.

I turn my head.
"See you later, Evie," Daniel says with a smirk, and lets go of my arm.
"Yeah... see you later."

Why do I not want to leave him?