The Summer We Changed

intense

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When morning light peeked through the blinds of Jewel's room she found herself motionless. Sprawled in bed, stuck staring at her ceiling as waking reminded her of their troubles to come. She could hear people downstairs, the speaking voice quiet yet not entirely familiar. Her eyebrows furrowed as she finally pushed herself out of bed, opening her door to follow the voices downstairs. She could see Aunt Julia seated in the kitchen, Skye in front of her as Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah stood together.
"...how are you doing since your mom?"
"It's been rough." Jeremiah answered, falling under Jewel's gaze as he admitted it.
"Rougher now that our aunt's stealing our house." Conrad spoke with petty, his stance on the situation evident in his attitude.
"I'm not stealing anything, Conrad. Like it or not, I get to choose what happens to this house and I choose to put it on the market. You boys should get on the road. Beat the traffic back to Boston." Aunt Julia spoke, a defeated tone in her voice.
"There's no chance. We're staying for the open house." Conrad pursued, refusing to leave even though they had officially hit rock bottom.
"Uh, no, no, no. I can't have a bunch of teenagers chasing everybody away. Call your father, because this isn't an Aunt Julia problem." She denied, wanting her space from both the drama and the over-abundance of teenagers.
"Except it is. Because you are the problem." Conrad snapped, stepping forward as if to stand his ground.
"I don't have time for this." Julia sighed, throwing the rag on the counter before she left the kitchen.
"Conrad, she's still your family." Belly attempted to remind him, Jewel knowing that Belly, too, had made that solemn promise to Susannah and neither girl intended to break it.
"Then why is she doing this to us?" He fought, allowing his frustration and anger to start spilling out of him.
"This is hard for her, too." Belly scolded, watching as Conrad's face twisted in amusement.
"Really? Seems like she's doing this all pretty fucking easily." He cursed, storming off to the confines of his bedroom upstairs as Jewel sighed in frustration.
"He's grown into quite the asshоlе." Skye mumbled from the kitchen island, Jeremiah letting out a sigh.
"You have no idea." He exaggerated, leaning against the counter as Skye and Belly left to get ready for the day. He remained seated at the island, the argument clearly only placing more weight upon his shoulders. Jewel often wondered if Jeremiah was stronger than she was, emotionally at least. His mother had died, his relationship had ended, and his brother held a grudge Jewel was unsure they could fix. She wondered how he could keep it together, lifting the weight of their burdens while struggling to keep the rest of his family intact. It wasn't until Jeremiah's eyes had caught hers peering in that his expression changed. Pure frustration swirling into a pool of comfort as she stepped into the room.
"Uh, good morning." Jeremiah smiled, watching as she moved to pour herself a glass of water.
"That was a little intense." She spoke softly, watching as he nodded in agreement.
"I know with everything given he's probably not doing the best...but is everything okay with you two at least?" Jewel asked, leaning against the counter to keep herself at bay.
"We're working on it, I guess. You know how he is...and his attitude isn't helping." He admitted, fiddling with his fingers as Jewel drifted into thought. She had been best friends with Conrad for as long as she could remember. She always knew when something was wrong with him...except for when it was about Susannah.
A loud bang erupted in the house a moment later, snatching Jewel from her thoughts as she jumped.
"What the hell was that?" She asked, Jeremiah standing from his seat to check the living room.
"I don't know." He shrugged, the sound of footsteps against the stairs stealing their attention away.
"Should we go check?" Jewel asked, unsure if they should offer help to someone who didn't want them around.
"Let's leave it to Aunt Julia." He suggested, the pair moving back into the kitchen. A knock on the door sounded a moment later, Jewel's eyes quickly turning toward the front door. She was glad she couldn't see the realtor, probably too upset to remain kind, especially with the heat.
"Do you think it's the realtor?" Jeremiah asked as his motions remained stilled.
"The open house doesn't start until two so I don't know who else it could be." She reminded him, feeling as if their demise rested in the form of a middle-aged realtor, blocked only by the thick wood of the door. Jeremiah moved first, passing through the doorway into the dining room. Jewel followed closely behind, Belly and Conrad engulf in a cloud of awkwardness.
"What's going on?" Jeremiah asked for them, Conrad's eyes flicking toward theirs with sorrow.
"The realtor's here." Belly answered, letting them know that it was a dreaded time ahead.