The Summer We Changed

it won't hurt forever

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Jewel sat on the wood in front of the bright bonfire burning, her bored eyes watching the flames switch directions over and over. A cup of vodka cran rested in her hand as she wondered why she was there in the first place. A girl's laughter erupted from nearby, Jewel's eyes shifting toward the girl and her boyfriend happily smiling as they danced. Her eyes gazed over the couples that surrounded her, Jewel feeling her heart sink lower into her stomach. The more she saw the happy couples celebrating summer break, the more her mind raced back to thoughts of Jeremiah. Finishing her drink, Jewel stood from her place, her drunken mind becoming too emotional to stay at the bonfire. Jewel watched people pass as she left the area; faces starting to resemble those who no longer spoke to her. To an outsider, Jewel was a zombie, trapped in her own body as wandered along the edge of the lake.

Jewel walked back to Neil and Lena's house, moving toward the long dock that laid out over the lake behind their home. Jewel's eyes watched as the moon reflected off of the waters ripples, the scene reminding her too much of Cousins Beach. Thoughts of Cousins were something Jewel tried to push away, the memories always matched with the reminder that Susannah was gone. A reminder that the boys and Belly barely spoke to her anymore. A tear slipped down Jewel's cheek as she quickly wiped it away, fishing her phone from her pocket. She scrolled through the familiar names lining her contacts, but her finger stopped over one. She wondered if it was a good idea to call Jeremiah so late...and after so long. Jewel moved to press the button, the startling sound of a screen door slamming prompting her to instead drop her phone into the water below.
"Shit!" Jewel cried out, quickly leaning down in an attempt to fish her phone from the lake. Jewel sighed as the brought the device back to the surface, water dripping out of the phone's every crevice. Footsteps along the dock made Jewel turn her head, a familiar blonde headed toward her.
"Hey." Lena's voice called out, Jewel forcing a smile back to her.
"What happened?" She asked, taking sight of Jewel's leaky phone.
"I dropped it." Jewel spoke, attempting to hide the fact that she was about 4 drinks deep.
"I thought you were staying with a friend tonight." She questioned, Jewel's eyes growing bigger as she realized she had outed herself by returning.
"And "friend's house" is code word for "party", isn't it?" She asked, Jewel struggling to come up with a defense for her lie.
"Come on, let's go put it in rice." She laughed, grabbing Jewel's phone from her.

The two stepped through the house's back door into the kitchen, Lena moving to get rice from the pantry.
"Can you grab the tomato juice from the fridge?" She asked, Jewel furrowing her eyebrows as she did so.
"So how was the party at least?" She asked, moving to pour the rice into a bowl.
"It was okay." Jewel lied, moving to sit at the kitchen's island.
"And that's why you're home early?" She questioned, somehow always seeing through Jewel's BS.
"I just...I couldn't get Jeremiah out of my head. There were all these couples there and I..." Jewel explained, although not truly knowing why she was feeling this way herself.
"It hurt?" Lena finished, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard before moving to make herself a drink.
"...yeah." She confessed, biting her lip as her gaze remained locked onto her hands. Lena leaned over the kitchen's island, resting her hand comfortingly over Jewel's.
"I promise, it won't hurt forever." She reminded the girl, Jewel giving a small nod at the encouragement. Lena grabbed the drink from the counter, setting it in front of Jewel.
"Drink that, so you won't feel shitty in the morning." She smiled, Jewel wrapping her hand around the cold glass.
"Thank you for letting me stay here." She spoke, watching as Lena putting the juice back inside the fridge.
"It's really no problem. Besides, having guests motivates Neil to clean, so..." Lena joked, pulling a light laugh from Jewel. Although everything was changing, she was grateful to have Lena and Neil remain constant.