dark paradise•conrad fisher

one

LOVING CONRAD FISHER WAS NEVER EASY.

No one said it would be. He was a very complicated person. He seemed mysterious and maybe even rude when you first met him, but if you really took the time to understand him, he was different.

Conrad was everything to Angela Cortez. She couldn't live without him. Ever since Steven Conklin invited her to the beach house in Cousins Beach, she had fallen in love with him.

Angela remembered when she first saw him. Ever since a young age he was handsome and very caring.

Steven and her were best friends since grade school. His mom, Laurel, had started a tradition where they spent the entire summer at Susannah Fisher's house in Cousins Beach.

Angela got along well with everything there. Especially Conrad of course.

She met Steven's younger sister who was pretty much the same age as her. Angela was sure that was the day she became best friends with both of the Conklin siblings.

Then there's the Fisher siblings. The oldest, Conrad, and then Jeremiah. Jeremiah and Angela were good friends, but her and Conrad sparked from even a young age.

And then there's Susannah- an angel walking on Earth. She was selfless and she was a bright soul. She was the mother that Angela needed after hers died.

She lost her mother the second year she stayed at Cousins. It was right before Angela had to leave for school. She found out her mother was dying and then had to leave Cousins early.

Susannah was always there for her, always treating her and the Conklins as one of her own.

You'd imagine how Angela felt when Susannah Fisher passed away last year to cancer.

Last summer, there were signs. None of them picked up on it besides Conrad. (Except for Laurel, who knew.)

It crushed Angela harder than she thought it would. At first, she felt like an intruder in the beach house. Belly and Steven had known Susannah since they were born, and Angela just kind of showed up one year at Steven's request.

But she quickly realized she was warmly welcome dby Susannah. Angela had hope that she would make it through everything, but she didn't.

It hurt, physically hurt, to think about Susannah not being there anymore. To even be near her beach home. Sometimes it even hurt to look at her sons.

Fortunately, Angela didn't really have to worry about seeing Conrad. They hadn't seen each other since Susannah's funeral.

They had seen each other a lot after summer was over last year. Typically Angela didn't see the boys much in the other seasons, or even talk to them much.

But she talked to Conrad. And she saw him.

They dated.

Yes, Conrad and her both confessed their feelings for each other. And he was sweet. He came to visit her from Brown University. He brought her candy, took her on drives, and gave her everything she ever wanted.

All of that was messed up at her prom. Angela brought Conrad, and it went terribly. Actually, it went kind of good at first. But then Conrad didn't want to dance or really talk to any of Angela's friends.

And then he needed to go outside. And then he didn't want to stay any longer. And then their relationship was over without any exact words being spoken.

Angela lost Conrad Fisher, and he wasn't making any attempt to make things right again. She moved on from him, or so she told herself.

Tonight, Angela was lying on her bed, scrolling through old pictures of her and Conrad. As much as she tried to convince herself that she didn't love him anymore, she knew she did.

School had just gotten out. She missed what summer used to be like. She missed Susannah and she missed the boys. Angela missed Cousins.

At least she had Belly, Steven, and her friend, Taylor Jewel.

Angela thought she was hallucinating was her phone started ringing. Jeremiah Fisher was calling her.

"Uh, hey Jeremiah-"

His tone was serious, "Angie. Are you with Conrad?"

Angela sarcastically laughed to herself. With Conrad? She's wanted to see Conrad for so long, but he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

"No. Seriously, Jere? Why would I be with Conrad?"

Jeremiah knew everything about her and his brother's breakup. He knew that her heart absolutely broke without Conrad.

"I just thought maybe he came to yknow-"

"Jeremiah... what's going on?"

"Conrad's gone."

Angela immediately sat up, turning on the lights in her room, looking around in a panic. Conrad was... gone? She was already worried about him after everything at the funeral, but now he had gone missing?

She knew him. It wasn't like him to give up on college. At least Angela assumed he wasn't at college anymore if he was gone.

"What do you mean by gone?" Angela nervously asked.

"He's not answering my texts or picking up my calls."

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday."

Angela remembered that Conrad should be in the middle of his final exams right about now. "Isn't he in the middle of finals? Maybe he pulled an all nighter at the library."

Angela wasn't quite sure if she could picture Conrad doing that or not.

"No, no. I don't think so. Apparently he told his roommate something and then just took off. I think I'm going to go to Brown in the morning and see if I can track him down."

Angela wasn't sure if what she was about to do was a good idea or a bad one. She wanted to sss Conrad again so desperately that the words just came out.

"Okay. I'll come with you."