I Love You, I'm Sorry

Chapter 11.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

"OFFICERS, THANK YOU. It won't happen again, I can promise you that." Laurel assured as she walked the officers out, giving them her infamous fake smile.

"Tell Mr. Fisher the Chief wants to set up a tea time when he gets back in town." The male officer informed Laurel.

Laurel nodded, "Absolutely."

"Sorry again for all the trouble." Laurel added in, "Have a good nigh, officers."

And then Laurel's sweet facade instantly dissolved the moment she shut the door, turning around to face the five teenagers with a disappointed look.

"How could you guys be so irresponsible?" Laurel questioned, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"Mom, it wasn't a big deal. Alright? Seriously. The cops were just looking to break up the bonfire." Steven explained, seeing no need for a lecture.

"Not a big deal?" Laurel repeated, a crossed look on her face as she stared down her oldest.

"Yes." Steven replied, nodding.

"I would say getting picked up by the cops for underage drinking is a pretty big deal, Steven." Laurel made her point.

Steven shook his head before he then sniffed, letting out a scoff, "Were- were you guys- you guys smoking tonight?"

"What?" Laurel's face twisted, "Keep your voice down. Susannah's asleep on the couch." She scolded once more, becoming flustered by her sons' discovery.

"Well, I wasn't yelling." Steven tried to defend himself, "Well, you- you- you were-"

"Just so you know, Laurel," Jeremiah swooped in, "I- I didn't drink tonight. I was the DD, I swear."

Laurel began to shake her head as her eyes drifted to Conrad who sat silently in the corner, "You're the oldest. What the hell's gotten into you?"

"And when did you two leave the house without telling anybody?" Laurel questioned, glaring at the twins. "And what in the world are you wearing?"

"It's Taylor's." Lemon spoke as she let out a heavy sigh, her fingers moving to the hem of her dress as she tried to pull it down more.

"What happened to your face, Y/n." Laurel demanded, "What the hell happened?"

Lemon shook her head as she looked away. She didn't need this from her mother, she already hated that she followed Belly and regretted not staying and watching movies like she was supposed to.

And plus, she felt embarrassed for the reminder that she got punched in the face.

"Belly wanted to go to the bonfire." Lemon told her mom, "So, I followed her."

"What did I tell you about following your sister? Be responsible for once and stop doing everything your sister tells you to!" Laurel scolded, glaring at her daughter.

Lemon's head quickly whipped towards her mom, "Stop patronizing me. I only followed so that she wouldn't get hurt or do something stupid! Why am I the only one getting in trouble!"

"Okay, but why are we the only ones not allowed to go out?" Belly interjected in annoyance, crossing her arms.

"It's not that you're not allowed it's that you two should have told us you were going." Laurel explained, "How'd you even get there?"

"We walked..." Belly quietly trailed off, both twins taking a glance at one another.

"Jesus." Laurel hissed, "You know better than to walk that far down the beach alone late at night. Look at your sister's face!"

"Can you stop treating us like kids?" Belly raised her voice, shaking her head.

"If you want to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one." Laurel stated.

"Then maybe you guys should, too." Conrad butted in.

Laurel blinked profusely, "What does that mean?"

Conrad shrugged as he looked away.

"I hope you realize this night could've ended a lot differently if your family wasn't your family." Laurel stated.

"We're sorry, Laur." Jeremiah apologized.

Laurel let out a tired sigh, "Just- go to bed, guys."

And Lemon was the first to go, wanting to get away from her mom and everybody else.

She was never going out again.

Ever.
🐚

"HEY." Belly spoke as she entered their room, "I got you this for your nose." She shook the frozen vegetable bag as she handed it to her sister.

"Thank you, Belly." Lemon tiredly whispered as she took the bag and placed it onto her face gently, instantly feeling immense relief from the pain.

"Are you okay, like actually?" Belly asked worriedly, "I'm sorry I got your face punched." She scooted closer to her sister, laying her arm over her twins' stomach.

Lemon shook her head slightly, "You didn't get me punched, I got myself punched because I wanted to go and somehow save Conrad."

"Tonight was shit." Lemon said, "We're never going to bonfires again."

"Noted." Belly nodded, smiling as she watched her sister. "We met some cute boys, though. Taylor will practically be on our asses when we tell her."

"Maybe this summer will be better." Lemon sighed, "Or, hopefully it will be."

Belly nodded as she snuggled closer to her sister, smiling as Lemon's hand softly rubbed at her arm, "We'll see."

The twins soon heard a knock coming from the other side of the wall, which wasn't unusual. It was just Jeremiah saying goodnight to them, another tradition they've done since they were little.

Lemon pulled away from her sister momentarily as she took off the vegetable bag from her face, reaching up to give Jeremiah her two knocks, smiling to herself as she laid back down, pulling her sister back to her side.

"Here you go." Belly quietly said, placing the cold bag on Lemon's face.

"Thank you." Lemon grinned as she closed her eyes.

She totally forgot she was supposed to text Atlas.

"Night, Belly."

"Night, Lemon."