love me like you • jeremiah fisher

chapter thirty one

song: illicit affairs - taylor swift

"I think I'm going to go help Cam and Skye." Conrad began, I couldn't help but notice he looked stressed.

That night at the beach I promised Conrad I would be there for him too and I didn't intend on breaking that promise.

"Yeah I'll go with you." I said softly. "Alright well, I'm going to look for a place to sleep." Jeremiah said, Belly agreeing to go with him.

"Are you okay?" I asked Conrad as we began walking.

"I never should have gone to the boardwalk." He sighed, not meeting my eyes. "This is not your fault Con." I told him, stopping in the middle of a random hallway. "There was no way you could have known what Julia was planning." I added.

"Maybe, but she would have never done it if I stayed back. They fucking took everything. And you heard Skye the house is going to sell fast." He replied, running a hand through his hair.

"No, Con. It's not over yet. We're going to figure something out. I promise." The words felt bitter on my tongue.

I had to make this better.

I hated how the world seemed to be targeting the boys with one thing after another and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

"How do you do that?" If I wasn't paying attention I would have missed his quiet whisper. "Do what?" I asked confused. "Calm me down with just your voice." I sucked in a breath as his eyes finally met mine. "Con.." I said softly.

"I'm serious. You can't tell me you don't feel it too.." His eyes felt as if they were burning holes into mine.

"Feel what?" I asked the question but deep down I knew what he was referring too. He was wrong.

Jeremiah was it for me. He was my person.

He would always be my person.

"Bri we both know what I'm talking about."

"No." I said, shaking my head lightly as I pulled my gaze away from his. "Yes." He whispered back, taking a step closer. "You're confused with everything going on. There's no way." I began, trying to justify what he was saying.

"Fuck, I know there's a million things going on but I know what I'm feeling Brianna." The brunette cursed, searching my eyes for an answer. "Conrad, I'm in love with Jeremiah." I said definitively, finally meeting his eyes again.

"Why?" His voice cracked. "Because how could I not? He...he means everything to me." I broke, silently begging him to understand.

"Don't I mean everything to you too?" His question broke my heart.

"Of course you do Con. And I would never want for you to think that you don't. But it's different." I argued. "It's always Jere, huh?" He scoffed, turning to look at the blank wall.

"Stop. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in the past, but you have no right to use my feelings against me like this." I glared at him, my vision beginning to blur. "I-" Conrad finally turned back to look at me and his expression changed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where my heads at right now." He finally took a step back and with that I took one closer, taking his face in my hands.

"When I said I was going to be here for you through everything I meant it Con. I understand that with everything going on, this can be interpreted as something else. Don't rush your feelings, okay? I see the way you look at Belly." Once I mentioned her name, his eyes sparkled.

"I'm not her." Somehow saying those words caused me an unreasonable amount of pain and I had no idea why.

"I know, god I'm sorry." I pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back softly. "Thank you." He whispered into my neck.

"I'll always be here." I whispered back.

-

"You guys weren't messing around." Jeremiah began as we walked in with trays of food. "Have you guys seen Taylor and Steven?" Belly asked. "No, we could go look for them though." Conrad piped up and Jeremiah followed along with him.

-

I leaned my head against Jeremiah's chest as we watched the movie with the group. "I love you." He whispered into my hair. "I love you more." I whispered back as Cameron got mad at Taylor for making a mess with her apple bong. "Why don't we take this outside?" Someone suggested to which we all agreed.

-

The boys were shouting as they rode the golf cart and we walked behind them.

Taylor was looking at the group with a smile on her face. "You and Steven?" Belly asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, there seems like there's kinda a vibe." I added.

"No, I save all my vibing for Milo. Steven really hurt me last year, it's not really something I can get over." The girl said softly. "I get you." Belly reassured her. "I know you do." I sighed as the two bonded over their mutual heartbreak.

"I really loved Conrad. In a way, it's kind of a relief it's over." I casted my gaze downward as I heard his name.

It reminded me of our most recent conversation.

I began walking slower, staying next to Skye as the other two talked. "You got it?" I asked them, looking to see the apple in much better shape. "Yeah, definitely getting somewhere." They grinned, continuing to work on the bong.

I looked back up to see Jeremiah waving at me from the golf cart. "This thing is officially dead." Steven declared as they all got off the cart. "Perfect timing. We can crash up here for the night." Conrad told the group as we moved to sit under the tree. "We playing truth or dare or what?" Steven asked as we all began to sit in a circle.

"I dare you to eat the apple bong?" I said, passing the fruit to the boy before Skye could object. "Easy." He said taking a bite, before immediately spitting it back out.

"Disgusting." I cringed as the fruit landed all around us.

"Steven!" Taylor whined, taking some of it off her blouse. "Let's keep playing, distract me from this." Taylor laughed, motioning to the pieces of apple around us.

I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing. "Okay Conrad, where do you see yourself in ten years?" Cameron asked jokingly.

"Here, in Cousins. You know, Fourth of July barbecues, all that stuff." I caught his eyes looking at him seriously.

I knew what he meant. Cousins was somewhere we could all call home, why wouldn't we want to come back?

"Alright this is boring. We have to give much more Euphoria." Taylor told the group as everyone laughed. "Okay okay, I'll give it a whirl." Skye said closing their eyes and waving their hand around, landing on Belly.

"Belly I dare you to kiss Jeremiah." Skye said excitedly.

word count: 1162
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