The Summer Everything Changed

Chapter 1

Summer was finally here. One hundred and eighty days of school completed. We were on our way to Cape Cod; me, my brother - Nick, and our mother. I loved the drive down. Passing all the stores and restaurants was soothing. It felt more like home than my actual home.

As we got closer to the summer house, I got excited. I rolled down the window and closed my eyes while smelling the salty air. The wind felt cool on my face and I smiled thinking about what was to come this summer.

Nick turned around in the passenger seat and laughed at me. "I bet Julie is daydreaming about Matt", he teased.

"Shut up, Nick!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Jules, honey, do you still like Matt?" My mother asked while looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"Oh my god, mom. No!"

"Because I thought there was maybe something between you and Chris at the end of last summer."

"WITH CHRIS?", Nick yelled.

I groaned. "Can we please stop talking about this? I don't like either of them. Nothing is going on with anybody. Just drop it - please."

"Alright, okay. It's done", my mother says.

"Wait - before we move on, what was happening with you and Chris?" Nick raised his eyebrows at me. He was honestly the nosiest older brother ever.

"NICK", I yell. "Drop it!" I clenched my teeth and pointed my finger in his face. He put his arms up in "surrender" and turned back around.

Matt and Chris Sturniolo were Marylou's boys. Our moms had been friends since they were teenagers. We'd been going to their house in Cape Cod every summer since I was born. The house was beautiful, and right along the beach. It was my safe haven, my happy place. The best part, though, was the boys.

The Sturniolo boys had always been special to me. They were twins, but Matt was two minutes older. Matt was a quiet, sensitive kind of guy. Never too chatty. He was always thinking and would naturally make smirky faces. I'd often catch myself staring at them. It was the kind of smirk that made you wonder what was going on inside his mind. Sometimes, I wanted to just kiss that smirk right off his face.

Chris was different. He was my best friend. He was kind to me and didn't want to see me left out of things. He never got embarrassed. He could do the craziest things and not think anything of it. He always had too much fun to care about being embarrassed. 

I'd always thought about how they were in school. I always assumed Chris was more popular. I think that without lacrosse, Matt would probably allow himself to fly under the radar more. He would just be quiet, shy, moody Matt. But I liked him that way. Not pretending to be something he isn't. Not caring about all of the stupid high school stuff we tend to make ourselves care about.

We finally pulled into the driveway. Chris was sitting on the front porch. My mother and Nick start getting out of the car, while I stayed in my seat.

"Yo, Nick", Chris yelled. He got up and ran towards my brother. 

"What's up, Chris?" They dap each other up and then pull into a hug.

Nick is the same age as Matt and Chris, 17. Our moms were pregnant together. Surprisingly, it wasn't planned by them. They sometimes call the boys 'triplets', since Nick was born only a few days before the twins.

Chris told my mother that Marylou was inside, so she went into the house to help her out. I get out of the car and walk up to Chris.

"Oh my gosh, Julie!" He picked me up and spun me around.

"Hi Chris", I said giggling.

"Look at you. All grown up."

"Gross. Chris, that's my sister." Nick gagged and playfully pushed Chris.

Just then, Matt walked out from around the back of the house. My heart was thumping. He looked so good. He pushed his hair back so it was out of his eyes. His blue eyes shined in the sunlight. It looked like he started to smile as he saw me. I could feel my face getting hot. How is it possible that he looks even better than he did last year?

He pulls me into a hug. "It's good to see you, Jules", he said quietly.

I could've stayed in his arms forever. 

"It's good to see you too, Matt." I didn't want the hug to end, but I pulled away.

The boys and I went back to the car to unload all of our things. As we brought them into the house, I could feel Matt staring at me. I placed my bags down and looked back at him. "What?", I ask.

He shakes his head and looks down with a slight smile. "Nothing. You just look....different."

I grabbed my bags and went up the stairs to my room.