The Summer We Changed

romantic

°。°。°。°。°。°。

When the sun had fully sunken into the horizon, Belly and Taylor had already drifted off into a deep sleep. Jewel stood from her place on the loveseat, heading toward the kitchen for a drink, unaware of how Jeremiah's eyes traced after her movements. His eyes shifted toward Conrad, whose eyes were locked onto the phone in his hand, and Steven, whose unwavering focus remained on the movie. Jeremiah pushed himself from the couch, drawing neither of their attention as he followed Jewel's path into the kitchen. He watched as she poured herself a glass of water, her eyes flicking up at the motion of him entering the room.
"Hey, did you want something to drink?" She asked, turning toward the fridge as he moved toward the island.
"No, thank you." He passed, watching as she poured herself a glass and put the bottle back in the fridge.
"I, uh...I thought maybe we could talk?" Jere spoke, prompting Jewel to put her glass back down upon the countertop. Jewel nodded in response, awaiting whatever conversation seemed to be bothering him. 
"You don't have to be here, you know? I can drive you back to Lake Sutter if you wanted to..." Jeremiah rambled, unaware of Jewel's furrowing eyebrows.
"Jere, I grew up here more than I ever did in New York. Nothing in my life mattered until I was here in this house. My mom is here, Susannah is here. I'm not letting it go without a fight." Jewel interrupted, watching intently as he nodded in understanding of her reminder.
"Did you really call my dad?" She asked a moment later, a hint of amusement in her tone. Jeremiah's expression told her all she needed to know, a light laugh slipping past her lips.
"I bet he was happy about that." She spoke sarcastically, the same smile from the drive to Julia's making another appearance, much to Jeremiah's delight.
"Definitely not." He replied, watching as she took a sip of her drink.
"Have you talked to him since you left?" He asked, Jewel biting her cheek as she shook her head in denial.
"Not really, no. Just occasional reassurances that I'm still alive." She admitted, Jeremiah nodding solemnly in response.
"You should call him." He advised, knowing firsthand that the distance and silence benefited neither party.
"Well, if he knows about the motel charge than he's probably not going to be in a 'talking' mood." Jewel reminded him, her eyes shifting toward his as he nodded once more.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for just showing up like that. I should've waited until I had heard back from you." Jeremiah apologized, knowing his abrupt arrival only added more weight to an already strained relationship. Jewel shook her head, refusing to accept his apologies.
"...Lena thought it was romantic." She admitted, watching as Jeremiah's eyes met hers once more.
"Why?" He judged, unsure of how causing more problems could be considered romantic in the eyes of any woman.
"A guy driving hundreds of miles because I wouldn't answer my phone? I can see why." Jewel admitted, meeting his eyes once more. She watched as his eyes flicked to her lips, pondering for a moment, before quickly retreating back to the comfortability of her eyes. The sound of the back door shutting drew both of their attention away a moment later, Jewel moving to check on the others. Belly and Taylor still lied sound asleep on the couch, Steven and Conrad missing from their places.
"I guess they went outside." She told Jere, unaware of the current panic attack Conrad had chosen to keep hidden from the others.