The Summer We Changed

for sale

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As the sight of the Fisher's summer home came into view, Jeremiah anxiously sat up straight. Conrad's car sat parked in the driveway, bringing hope to both Jewel and Jeremiah as he pulled in. Jeremiah was the first out of the car once it was parked, quickly heading inside the house to search for his brother. Jewel held back as she watched him go in, telling herself that they would need a moment before she threw herself into the mix. She knew the real reason however, too disconnected to push herself through the front door. Thoughts of last summer came into her mind, remembering the first time she had walked through the doors without her mom with her. She wondered how life could be so cruel, forcing her to relive such a traumatic loss of a maternal figure yet again. If she would've known she'd lose both of them...

Jewel pushed herself further into the house, finding Conrad and Jeremiah bickering loudly in the kitchen.
"What do you mean you're not leaving? What's more important than that?" Jeremiah argued, clearly still not on good terms with his only brother.
"School doesn't matter!" Conrad fought, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Jere, the house has been put up for sale." He admitted, Jewel feeling that same cement block strapped to her chest the moment the words struck.
"What?" She muttered, her voice drawing his attention as he peered over. He looked between the two of them, his eyebrows furrowing as his gaze grew cold.
"What is she doing here?" He asked, Jewel taking her turn to upturn her eyebrows.
"This wasn't planned." Jeremiah spoke, quickly correcting the assumption despite the ego-drop.
"Oh, I bet." Conrad mumbled, turning back to the box at his hands.
"You took off, remember? Is this why you haven't answered any of my phone calls or texts?" J
"Jere, did you not hear what I just said? We're gonna lose this house. Mom's house." C
"I don't understand. Your dad wouldn't..." She spoke, watching as the elder brother shook his head in denial.
"He's not, our aunt Julia is. Apparently, the house belonged to both of them and then when mom...and now Aunt Julia owns the whole thing." He explained, Jewel watching as Jeremiah thought of a solution.
"Okay, so we'll call dad and just figure something out." He offered, watching as Conrad shook his head once again.
"You think I haven't already done that? He says legally the house is hers." He fought, Jeremiah still not fully understanding the complexity of the situation.
"Why doesn't he buy it..." Jeremiah retaliated, only building upon Conrad's frustration more.
"He doesn't have the money to buy it after mom's medical bills!" He answered, Jere's jaw clenching at the words.
"Yeah, I know how much the medical bills are, because I was there. How long did you know about this and not tell me?" He fought, Conrad still trying to defend his sudden disappearance.
"Jere, this was all happening so fast. I was going to tell you guys after I'd taken care of it..." Conrad explained, Jeremiah releasing a scoff in response.
"This is you taking care of it? Going awol, ditching school..." He questioned, Conrad quickly interrupting.
"Fuck school! I don't care!" He exclaimed, Jewel's eyebrows furrowing as the words fell from his mouth.
"Conrad, you have to go back or you'll fail your class." Jeremiah reminded him, watching as Conrad threw his hands up in frustration once again.
"Who cares?" He shouted, Jewel taking a step toward them.
"You can't exactly become a doctor without a degree, Conrad." She fought, Conrad replying with only a glare.
"Why did you even come here?" He judged, Jewel hurt that her mere presence was an inconvenience to him.
"Seriously? We drove here to check on your ass, alright? I didn't think you'd pull this shit again, but you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself!" Jeremiah yelled, the venom dripping from his words as he spat them at Conrad.
"Jeremiah." Jewel scolded, watching as he stormed out of the room. She let out a frustrated sigh at the aftermath of their arrival, pinching the space between her eyes
"Look, Steven texted me in the car, Belly and him will be here tomorrow..." She began, Conrad's head quickly turning at the mention of Belly's name.
"You seriously invited them?" He questioned, watching as she scoffed in annoyance.
"You really are unbelievable, Conrad. I didn't invite anybody. It's almost like you have a family that cares about your wellbeing...don't forget that. We thought something bad happened to you, Conrad. We all did...Belly included." She reminded him, taking a stab at the mention of Belly. Even if they were angry, they were all they had left, but as much as she wanted to deny it, Jewel wondered if there was just too much for them to fix. She left Conrad to his thoughts a moment later, heading up to her bedroom inside the no-longer comforting beach house.