The Summer I Was Supposed to Fall In Love

Chapter One

I was hoping this would be the summer I finally fell in love. But, instead, I was blowing my nose so hard that the skin on my nose was starting to peel.

The dry desert air was murdering my sinuses.

Mom blasted the air conditioning at the highest level. It was so hot I was already forming a tan line from my shorts.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked my mom, who was trying to maintain her perfect appearance despite the sweat melting off her concealer. She must have forgotten what Riverside, California was like in the summer too.

"To a place you loved when you were a kid," she replied.

I rolled my eyes, knowing it would be a place I actually barely remembered.

The last time I was in my hometown, I embarrassed myself so badly in front of my elementary school crush that I prayed to God that I'd move far far away from this place and never come back. He made me laugh so hard I choked on my 7-Up and spit up all over our table.

Half of my wish came true the summer after that school year. We moved away to Los Angeles. But then, we did come back to Riverside, California.

Here, there were a lot more stars in the sky at night, but exponentially less things to do.

We pulled into a driveway that triggered memories to flood back. In the very front yard of this warm, welcoming home, I remember splashing in blow up pools and riding bikes after school.

"RoRo, look at you!" Mrs. Waters ran toward me with open arms as I slammed the car door shut.

"You can call me Ronnie now, Mrs. Waters," I told her as I found a special place for my head just underneath her shoulder. It used to be lower, right at her belly button. I could hear her heartbeat much clearer from here. She sounded like home.

"Well you can still call me Auntie Coco. I'll never be Mrs. Waters to you my gorgeous girl," she said.

"I'm so excited to have a girl around this summer. My musty boys just don't know how to get things done the way us girls do," she winked at me.

"I'll be back to get her at 6," my mom said as she got back to the driver's seat.

My eyes went wide. I didn't think she'd be leaving me here, let alone all day. All of a sudden, the negative memories swarmed back to me: summers so hot I got sun tan lines from my sandals after five minutes outside, afternoons so slow I was watching the same old Disney movies over and over again.

This was my first summer as a high schooler. I was supposed to be going to house parties and falling in love with my imaginary first boyfriend. Instead, I'd be an unpaid babysitter?

A kid screamed at the top of their lungs, shaking me from my horror and into my tragic reality.

"Well, we better get back inside. It sounds like Forest is torturing the kids," she fussed on her way to the guest house she transformed into a daycare.

"Forest, what did you do this time!"

Forest ran out from the back, frustration all over his face. But that frustration melted away when he saw my face. "Roro!!"

He ran and swept me off of my feet. "Hey, Forest," I laughed.

"Ma, remember when she'd be so afraid of people that I'd have to hold her hand any time we went on a field trip?" Forest joked.

But he was wrong. It wasn't him that held my hand. Although he did make me feel safe, like the older brother I never had.

"I promise I don't need any more hand holding. People don't scare me anymore. Only mean toddlers," I joked.

"Well, time to get over another fear. I'm tapping out and you're up. Good luck," Forest ran up the back patio and back into the main house.

I walked into the daycare room and immediately grew overwhelmed.

I'm a child. How am I expected to take care of other children?

I saw fervent crayon drawing, fast toy car driving, and stuffed animal tug of wars. I was not qualified to deal with any of this.

I could tell Auntie Coco read the fear on my face. She grabbed my hand, just like they did when I was a toddler.

"Start with Addie. She likes to read," Auntie Coco instructed.

I looked down at Addie, a quiet girl sitting alone at a table. I crouched down into one of the toddler chairs next to her. The chair was so low, my knees ended up resting on my chest.

"What would you like to read, Addie?" I asked her.

She looked me in the eyes and into my soul. I think she could sense I was nervous as well.

I've always been transparent. Even a toddler can see right through me.

Addie pointed to a tattered book. I could tell by the ripped cover that it was a crowd favorite.

"Why are your nails so long?" Addie finally asked.

I looked down at my acrylic nails, the last thing I did before leaving Los Angeles incase I struggled to find a good nail tech in Riverside.

"I like them that way," I said confidently. "I think they're pretty."

"I think they're complicated," Addie replied.

"Well, Addie, you wouldn't be the first to call me complicated," I joked.

She didn't get it. I sensed her gaze shift into a demanding glare. I forgot for a moment that I was just there to entertain her. I started to read aloud, unsure if I was doing it right. I mean, I knew I was reading. But was I reading the way that toddlers like to be read to?

After a few pages, Auntie Coco saved me.

"Ro, can you grab some more toilet paper from inside the house? We have two number two's and not enough tissue!" Auntie Coco yelled.

"I'm on it!" I yelled back.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to Addie who honestly seemed relieved. I think I disturbed her from whatever quiet time she preferred.

I walked across the lawn, which had been redone since I was a kid. The grass used to be brown with prickly weeds; the kind that stick to your clothes and get stuck in your hair.

I opened the back door to the main house. We used to be forbidden from entering unless Auntie Coco was with us. So, whenever I did go inside, I felt like I was being let in on a secret.

Going in by myself, even at her instruction, felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to.

I traced my hand across the familiar walls. Not much had changed inside. The familiarity was comforting amidst so much change. I wasn't expecting for my life to be uprooted so abruptly.

No one thought to ask me if I was okay with it all. But I'm just a moody teenager to my parents. They think I have a complaint about everything.

I made my way to the pantry at the end of the hallway and grabbed two new rolls of toilet paper. When I closed the door and turned back around, my body collided into a warm, sweaty chest.

I looked up, and his eyes felt familiar. I searched them, to see if he'd recognize me back.

I could've sworn we were the same age in elementary school but his height, his firm muscles, and his jawline made him look like he was in college.

"Wait, do I know you?" He finally said.

My heart sank. Hunter, the boy I grew up sharing a bath with, didn't even remember me.