The Summer We Changed

pointless

°。°。°。°。°。°。

By the time noon had come, Jeremiah and Jewel found themselves pulling into the driveway of the beach house.
"I'll take the groceries in." Jewel told him, sending him a reassuring smile as they hopped out of the Jeep. She peeked over as she walked, Jeremiah standing in front of Conrad, hoping that for once he would choose to let someone help. She moved inside the unlocked house, putting the groceries away as the boys spoke outside.
"Hey..." Jeremiah's voice spoke as she finished up the chore, her eyes shifting toward his tall figure coming into the room.
"How'd it go?" Jewel asked, trying to remain hopeful despite Jeremiah's not-so-happy expression.
"We're gonna call our dad." He said, a smile forming on Jewel's face. She was happy that Conrad agreed, even if it was just for a phone call, knowing that it's progress on getting the brother's on good terms again.
"Except...he doesn't really know you're here." Jeremiah admitted, Jewel nodding her head in understanding.
"So stay silent, got it." She reassured him, watching as a smile of his own formed. The two headed into the dining room, Conrad already sat with his phone flat on the table. Jewel gave him a look of reassurance as she moved to sit beside him, Jeremiah taking the seat across from her. Adam's contact appeared on the screen a few moments later, the three taking a deep breath before Conrad answered.
"Dad, hey." Conrad spoke, awaiting to hear his father's dreaded voice.
"Hey, Con. I only got about a few minutes here." Adam spoke, evidently having more important matters on his plate at the moment.
"Hey, Dad." Jeremiah spoke up, surprising his dad with his presence.
"Jere? You're in Cousins, too?" Adam questioned, clearly not aware of either of their presence in Cousins.
"Yeah, just got here last night." He admitted, hearing his dad's frustrated sigh in response.
"And apparently you were in Lake Sutter the night before?" Adam questioned, Jeremiah falling silent as his eyes flicked up toward Jewel's.
"I got a call from Malcolm, he said there was a charge on Jewel's card for a motel out in Lake Sutter. Care to explain that?" Adam spoke, an accusatory tone in his voice.
"Dad..." Jeremiah spoke, attempting to fathom an excuse for the unplanned visit.
"If you roped Jewel into this..." Adam began to say, a scolding tone in his voice.
"She's not here, Dad." Conrad lied, having both of their backs as Jeremiah struggled to come up with an excuse.
"All right, look, I got a heads-up from the bank telling me you're trying to access your trust. That's not gonna happen." Adam told them, seemingly adamant with his choice on the matter.
"So you've already made up your mind?" Jeremiah questioned, his eyebrows furrowing as he wondered how his dad could let the house go so easily.
"Yeah. I mean, that money is for your future. I'm not gonna let you blow it on a beach house." Adam explained, not seeming to understand how deep their attachment was to the house.
"It's not just a house, Dad."
"You want me to beg, Dad? 'Cause I will. I will. I'll do whatever you want..." Conrad pleaded, trying anything he could to convince his dad to keep this last fragment of his mom alive.
"Guys, I had my lawyers look into any possible loopholes right after the funeral, but there's none. Okay? The house is legally Julia's." Adam explained, Jewel watching as Jeremiah grew angry.
"Wait, so you've known we're losing the house since the funeral?" He questioned, hearing his father sigh on the other end.
"Jere, I'm not your evil father trying to ruin your life. And believe it or not, I'm just as upset as you are about it." Adam attempted to reason, finally bending Conrad to his breaking point.
"That's such bullshit. That's such bullshit. You never cared about this house, Dad. You never cared about it 'cause you never cared about Mom!" He spat, his words drenched with a thick venom.
"You know that's not true. Jere, come on. You get it, don't you?" Adam now pleaded, Jewel watching as Jere pinched the bridge of his nose frustratedly.
"Dad...I don't, I don't get why we can't just use our trust to buy it, and then we can sell it later if we need the money." Jeremiah argued, refusing to believe that he would let them down so catastrophically.
"No. Julia's gonna go ahead with the open house tomorrow. I really appreciate the attempt here, but this is the end of the conversation. You just make sure that Julia gets everything that she needs. You got it?" Adam spoke firmly, a sternness in his voice that only made them feel weaker.
"Conrad was right. Talking to you is pointless." Jeremiah spat, shutting his father down as he hung up on him. Silence flooded over the table as the three sat in defeat, unsure what their next move was, or if they even had any moves left.
The door opened a moment later, their attention shifting toward the entryway as Steven, Belly, and Taylor made their way into the house.
"Surprise!" Steven called out, holding up a dessert as they came into the dining room. Steven's eyes met Jewel's first, the depressive expression on her face telling him that their day hadn't quite gone to plan.
"Oh, shit. I knew we should have texted them we were here." Steven cursed, looking toward Belly and Taylor.
"No, no, it's not that." Conrad reassured them, Jewel's eyes shifting toward Jeremiah's for a moment. She wasn't sure how she could break the news to them, or even if she could be the one to do it. The look of worry on Belly's face only made Jewel feel worse, choosing to let someone else be the bearer of bad news.
"We're losing the house. They put it up for sale." Jeremiah admitted to them, Jewel watching as their faces fell in defeat.
"What?" Belly mumbled, the news a shock to both herself and Steven.
"Oh, Cinderbelly...they're selling the house?" Taylor spoke solemnly looking to Jewel as she moved to wrap Belly in a tight hug. Jewel nodded to her in defeat, confirming the harsh reality that their home would soon no longer be theirs.