Summer of first love

41

Samara lives a similar life to that of her older sister, Avery. Years later, she graduates high school and goes off to college to study nursing. The only difference with Samara is that she grows extremely close to her mom's assistant, Kiersten. They often talk through Skype, usually when Kiersten is home alone. One night, Samara logs into Skype and messages Kiersten:

"Hey Kiersten!"

"Oh, hey! What's up?"

"Not much, just bored. You?"

"Same. Your mom dragged me somewhere, and to be honest, it's kinda boring. But I can't leave her. While I know she'll be okay, I just can't leave her."

"I hear ya. Where are you guys anyway?"

"Well, Jinny's having a baby, and your mom wanted to be at the hospital, so..."

"What!!! OMG, I'm so happy right now! Do you guys have a name yet?"

"Not yet."

"So, who's all with you guys?"

"It's me, your mom, your aunt, and a friend of Jinny."

"Oh, I thought she would want her mom in the room. I know I would; I'd be terrified having a child."

"She didn't want to."

"I get it."

"Yeah, well, hey, I'm gonna go. Your mom and aunt are complaining, so I'm gonna run to the cafeteria, get them food and myself some coffee. I'll keep you in the loop."

"Thank you. I'll talk to you soon."

"Sounds good, bye."

After a few seconds, Samara messages her aunt:

"So, a little birdy told me Jinny's having a baby."

"Who told you?"

"Why?"

"I wanna know."

"Kiersten told me."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, she is. We're waiting on a name and everything else."

"I heard. How are you doing tonight, I mean?"

"I'm excited for her but nervous at the same time, 'cause I'm honestly terrified. What if something goes wrong?"

"She'll be fine... Anyway, how's everything been there?"

"Meh."

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you. I swore to Kiersten I wouldn't tell anyone."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a car accident, would it?"

"You know?"

"Yeah, wait, how do you know?"

"Well, I was getting ready to leave. Sera had run me to get my car from the airport. I ran back to your mom's for a few to get my things. While there, I asked your mom where Kiersten was, and she goes, 'Oh, she's not feeling well,' which seemed legit 'cause she'd left the tour a few gigs early for not feeling well. Once she went to the doctor, we found out it was a stomach bug, so she remained home for the last ten gigs of the tour. That upset your mom because she felt bad for Kiersten and wished she'd stayed so your mom could take care of her—which she sometimes likes to do if she wins the argument with Kiersten about it, if you didn't know."

"Yeah, I knew about that, but it's good she went home 'cause then Mom didn't get sick and wouldn't have had to cancel gigs or go on stage sick."

"True. So anyway, I assumed maybe she pretended to feel better 'cause she'd felt she'd been sick long enough, or that she'd been away from your mom too long and something was gonna happen. So, on my way home, I stopped by her place to see how she was feeling and if she needed anything. That's when she told me what was up and that I couldn't tell anyone. She never said you knew. When did you find out anyway?"

"The day you guys got home. I knew something was up because she'd said the day you guys were supposed to get back that she was too drained to stop by and see if Mom landed okay—which to me was odd 'cause no matter what time it is, she always checks to see if she's okay/landed safe, no matter the time, even if I'm home. She still pops over, but she didn't this time, so I basically busted her."

"You sure are smart, you know that?"

"Yeah, if I wasn't, would I have passed all seven wonders perfectly on day one?"

"Shut up! You're joking?"

"Nope."

"Congratulations! I can't believe you guys never told me you were going there, let alone completing your seven wonders."

"Yeah, I assumed Mom told you—bragging, of course. I had no idea she hadn't."

"It's alright."

"So, any news yet?"

"I just got a text saying the baby's name is Ryder and that's the name Jinny has chosen. The baby's not born yet—almost there."

"I love that name."

"Me too."

"I wish I could be there."

"I know, but you just need to focus on school."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Alright, I'm gonna go. I'll keep you updated."

"You don't have to. Kiersten already said she would."

"Oh, well, okay. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay, bye."

Not too long later, Kiersten messages Samara, giving her the baby's name, weight, and everything else. After that, Samara messages Jinny to congratulate her. Jinny sends her pictures with the message:

"Thank you. Hope you're well."

Samara replies:

"I am. Congrats again; you'll be a great mother."

"I hope so."

"I know so. You've got my mom and your mom for support 24/7."

"That's true."

"You get some rest. I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright, sounds good... It was good hearing from you."

Then Samara goes to bed.