The Summer We Changed

a memory

°。°。°。°。°。°。

Jewel stood in the kitchen as evening came, staring out the window at Jeremiah's silhouette on the dock. Footsteps to her left pulled her attention away, Jewel watching as Conrad met her side.
"Can we talk?" Conrad's voice spoke up, drawing Jewel's eyes to meet his own.
"Always." She told him, the entirety of her still desperate to comfort the boys. Desperate to keep her promise to Susannah, even if nothing was as it once was.
"I'm sorry for how I acted last summer." Conrad apologized, a part of him feeling as if he had been the cause of their struggles.
"It's okay. You were right anyways." Jewel spoke, solemn tone in her voice that didn't go unnoticed by him.
"No, I never should've told him that." He denied, shaking his head in his own disappointment.
"It doesn't matter now." Jewel brushed off, turning to face him now.
"How are you doing?" She asked, hoping at least one of them was able to keep their head on straight, despite how damaging the news felt. Conrad nodded in return, his eyes pulling away from hers.
"You're a shitty liar." Jewel reminded him, a slight smile forming on the corner of her lips.
"So are you." He deflected, reminding her that he  could just as easily see through her lies. Both his and Jewel's smile reappeared once more, their eyes shifting back to gaze at the lonesome Jeremiah.
"He's gonna be pissed about dad. I should probably talk to him first." Conrad suggested, knowing that their dad had never truly disappointed Jeremiah until today.
"That's probably best." She agreed, watching as Conrad moved toward the door. Jewel's eyes fell to her fingers as she fiddled with them, knowing the feeling Jeremiah was going through. She wondered if her dad was ever going to change, but she also hoped he would forgive her for their fight, and taking off on her own, more.
"Hey, Jewel..." Conrad's voice spoke from the half-open door, pulling Jewel out of her thoughts.
"I really am glad you're here." He told her, a singe of guilt still keeping him in a chokehold after he had implied he didn't want her in Cousins.
"I know." She smiled, prompting a small one from Conrad. She watched as he moved out the door, heading out to a solemn Jeremiah. Jewel made her way into the living room, hearing the sounds of the others as they moved toward the couches.
"Jewel, hey!" Steven's voice called out as he tried to squeeze his way in beside Taylor, much to Belly's refusal.
"What are we watching?" She asked, taking the empty space on the loveseat.
"It Happened One Night." Steven answered, prompting a smile to emerge from the memory of Susannah. For the first time for Jewel, the memory of her didn't co-exist with an unbearable weight on her chest. This time, Jewel made sure the memory was preserved peacefully, displayed neatly in her mind for her to view whenever she needed to. All of them gathered together in Cousins once again, possibly for the last time, and yet the sound of Belly and Taylor's laughs still apparent, echoing in the room as Steven playfully "bothered" them.
It wasn't until the movie's beginning had already began playing that their attention turned toward the sound of the door opening, Jeremiah and Conrad making their way toward the couches. Jeremiah gave her a reassuring smile as he moved to sit beside her, the memory forming growing a little brighter with his newfound presence.