"heard the risk is drowning, but i'm gonna take it"
chapter two .. risk
...
KAIA SAT ON one of the barstools at the kitchen island while susannah was mixing up the brownie mix, and laurel was at the stove making the popcorn for the girl's annual movie night.
each year on the first night, the moms, kaia, and belly would all watch 'it happened one night' together as tradition
belly walked in, her swimsuit was still damp and her hair was wet and tangled, she had a towel draped over her arm
"brownies are going in!" susannah announced cheerfully
"go put the dvd in!" laurel said
kaia and belly exchanged a look, the girls planned to sneak out to the bonfire together, they were both sick of being seen as the "annoying little girls" and they wanted to go out for once, they just couldn't mention it to either of their mothers knowing neither of them would approve of the idea
"uh, do we have to watch 'it happened one night'? can we do something different?" belly asked
"but we always watch 'it happened one night' on the first night" her mother responded
"well, we could watch 'the philadelphia story' instead" susannah suggested
both the girls fell into an almost uncomfortable silence, they both wanted to say something but neither of them wanted to hurt their mothers feelings.
susannah broke the silence, "you girls okay?"
kaia looked up at belly before responding, "yeah! it's just uh- we're both a bit tired, do you mind if we skip the movie tonight?"
kaia hated lying to her mother, especially when she was so excited about the tradition, it made her feel like a shit daughter. she felt a pang of guilt wash over her
"yeah, i think i'm just gonna head to bed" belly added
there was a pause, all four women stared at each other for a long second. susannah and laurel exchanged a brief glance, kaia could see the concern on her mother's face, but she didn't push. she smiled gently at the girls, "okay hun yeah, sure! we can uh," she hesitated "do the brownies another night"
kaia could see the subtle disappointment in her mother's expression, and it hit her like a punch to the stomach, "im sorry mom" she said, her expression somber
susannah nodded, "it's okay sweetie, you should get some rest"
she smiled at her mother and laurel before she stood up from the chair and followed belly up the stairs
☼☼☼
"GOSH I FELT terrible lying to the moms like that, especially to my mom" kaia admitted, rummaging through her closet for an outfit that would be perfect for belly
belly nodded in agreement, "yeah but i'm sure it'll be okay, as long as my mom doesn't find out. at least susannah wouldn't hound us for it"
kaia tilted her head slightly as she held up a pink dress to the light, considering it for belly. "yeah, i guess that's true, laurel is a bit... protective sometimes"
YOU ARE READING
close to you ☼ steven conklin
Romanceevery summer since kaia fisher was born, her mothers best friend laurel and her two kids would join them at the beach house. fortunately for kaia, she looked especially forward to seeing laurel's son, steven conklin, who she's been in love with sinc...
