The summer everything changed | CF

4~ Superpower

I hardly remembered anything from after the cop following us back home, mostly because I ignored everyone including our mom giving us the lecture of our lives. I just stood there and only tuned in partly on what she was saying by reading her lips. I knew she was angry but she knew I couldn't hear her, so she just sent me to bed before lecturing the others a little more.

    That's about all I remembered in total after getting back home, I hardly slept which was unusual for me. It was early when I decided to get up only around seven in the morning, I was confused to see Belly running from the beach as quick as she could. I walked out to the beach myself wondering what was going on, I saw Conrad walking up from the water.

"Hey, where'd Bells go in such a hurry?" I asked as he walked closer to me, he shrugged.

"She said she had something to do with a whale." He spoke leaving me confused. I stood there, I didn't have much else to say to him. "Uh-Do you wanna go get some muffins with me before everyone else wakes up?" He scratched the back of his neck. I could tell this was supposed to be part of his apology but that wasn't enough for me. "I'll let you drive." He looked up at the sky as he said it, like he knew he would regret it.

    "Count me in then." I spun on my toes, towards the house. Making him laugh.

    The drive was short and pretty quiet but I knew he was sorry. We got a few different kinds of muffins and Conrad payed. The drive back was what Conrad was going to let me do, he had a Range Rover. I knew they had more money than us but I didn't realize they had that much more money. Mom was always weird about the fact that Susannah had money and we didn't.

"Okay now be very careful. Put the car in reverse and back up, preferably without hitting the only other car in the parking lot." He spoke, I could tell he was nervous but I was a better driver than Belly.

"I know how to drive, Connie." I backed up, okay his car was a little bigger than I was used to. But that was no problem for me, I was always pretty aware of my surroundings. I still didn't exactly know what to say to Conrad. I didn't know how to talk to him, like I said usually in the summer I spent time with Jeremiah more.

"Everything alright with Jere?" I'm not sure that was the right thing to ask him, but why not? I didn't know what else to talk to him about.

"Yeah he's his same old self." Conrad shrugged and I nodded. "Why, has he not talked to you yet?" I nodded keeping my eyes glued on the road. I was a little nervous to ask him that.

"No he seems too wrapped up in other people." I muttered, maybe I was just over thinking it. "The only thing he's said to me was when I said I quit volleyball." I explained as I watched the road, following the speed limit perfectly. Conrad nodded in response, Conrad had definitely been acting different. He quit football, little outbursts at dinner last night, and how much he had to drink. I didn't wanna pry at him though, I knew he would shut down and that's the opposite of what I wanted.

"Why did you quit volleyball?" He hesitantly asked.

"I only played because Belly played, plus I was never really good at it." I declared shaking my head. "Plus everything lately has been Belly, Belly, Belly. Everything's about Belly, at least that's what it feels like."

"Yeah I can see that." That's the most normal he's spoken to me. I pulled into the driveway, parking his car behind Jeremiah's jeep. "Thanks Ollie, for coming with me." I nodded, getting out of the car.

Conrad walked towards the kitchen and I walked upstairs towards Belly's room. I stood in front of her door and thought for a moment before knocking. "Come in."

Belly looked up at me, she was standing by her bedside table. "I was just coming to ask if you were gonna do the ball." I laughed at the fact that she was responding to it.

"Yeah I am. Susannah seemed very excited about it." She finished checking the letter then picked it up. "Are you gonna do it?" She asked glancing at what I was wearing.

"Yeah I already gave mine to Susannah." She smiled, I turned for the door so we could both exit. When I heard her laugh, she walked beside me and I furrowed my eyebrows confused.

"Last night was bad ass of you, sometimes I wish I was deaf too." She was talking about how I ignored everyone last night. If she wasn't my twin sister I would've probably thought that was a rude comment. But since she indeed was my twin sister I knew not to take it badly.

"Yeah it comes in handy some times." I laughed.

"It's like your very own superpower." She joked setting her letter on Susannah's stand.

"Good morning, Belly. Good morning, Ollie. Where have you guys been?" Mom asked the two of us. "Is that a bruise?" She gasped.

"Um, I-I bumped into someone." Belly stuttered and I walked over to sit at the counter.

"You bumped into someone?"

"Doesn't look that bad." Conrad sat up for a moment from the couch, I knew he had a hangover. I'm pretty sure I would have had one if I didn't chug a bunch of water last night.

"Um, cereal?" Jeremiah offered Belly and I.

"Sure."

"Yeah, hit me."

"Oh my god! Our girls are gonna be debutants." Susannah waved the invitations in the air.

"I'm sorry. Like, Belly and Olive? Like, my sisters? Like, those things right there?" Steven annoyingly said.

"Shut up cretin!" Belly excited and Jeremiah poured her bowl then mine, the putting the milk in front of us.

"Okay, this is gonna be so much fun. Just you wait. There is, uh...there's the tea, the auction, the ball, of course, the rehearsal. I got to write this down." Susannah began to ramble, then she gasped. "We need to go shopping." My eyes lit up, I always wanted to improve my style.

"This sounds—expensive." Mom mentioned as I took a bite of my cereal.

"Oh, don't worry, Laur. It's on me. It was my idea after all, and we still need to style you for your book party, so."

"Belly, are you sure you want to do this? It doesn't seem very you." Mom asked her, so it does seem like something I'd do?

"But it's something Liv would do?"

"It's not." Conrad spoke up again from the couch making me look over at him. My eyes caught his but then I looked back to mom and Susannah.

"Conrad, could you please be a little more supportive?" Susannah scolded. "Now, who's gonna be the girls escorts?" She looked at both her boys.

"Not me. I went last year." Conrad said again, he went last year? With who?

"I swore off balls." Jeremiah spoke before realizing what he said. "The dances, dude." He told specifically Steven who was laughing.

"Wow guys stop fighting over me." Belly joked. "I am going to find my own date."

"Me too."

"I'm gonna go for a swim." Conrad spoke up. This summer was already so different from the rest, I wonder what it has in store for us.