holy ground ★ conrad fisher (1)

talk to you ★ ricky montgomery

twenty nine | 1x06

A WEEK HAD PASSED SINCE THE DAY after the Fourth of July party, and to say things in the summer house were tense would be an understatement. Rory had spent two full days in her room, completely cut off from everyone, Marie blaming her impromptu quarantine on a stomach bug.

Then, bright and early on Monday morning, Rory was back. Or so it seemed. She had woken up before everyone else, gone into town to grab breakfast pastries, muffins, and coffee, and had eggs and bacon ready to go by the time the boys woke up for work and Belly came downstairs to eat.

Conrad had walked into the kitchen, not expecting to hear her laugh alongside his brother. In an attempt to keep things from getting too awkward, he grabbed his coffee mug and went into the living room instead. The entire time, Rory forced herself not to look in his direction.

That's when everyone else picked up on something going on between them. Belly frowned, sharing a look across the table with Theo, who only shrugged. They hadn't talked yet either. She needed to tell him she had broken up with Cameron. She wasn't sure what it would lead to, but she wouldn't know unless they had a conversation.

Which they did.

And it did not end well.

At all.

By Wednesday, the house had turned into an unofficial war zone: Conrad vs. Rory, Theo vs. Belly.

It wasn't as bad between Conrad and Rory since the Cooper girl was keeping herself busy at the country club, helping Susannah with the charity tournament for the Debs, while Conrad distracted himself with surfing. They rarely crossed paths for the rest of the week.

But it was definitely worse for Belly and Theo. Belly was even more hostile than before. Rory noticed immediately, and the girls had promised to talk, but with Rory caught up in planning the tournament and Belly spending her time with the debs, they never got the chance.

The morning of the tournament arrived faster than expected.

Like every day for the past week, Rory was up before sunrise. She took her time in the shower, letting her hair air dry while she painted her nails to match her shirt—a dark navy half-sleeve fitted t-shirt that she planned to pair with a flowy white skirt and sandals for the tournament. But for now, she dressed in a baby blue tube top and cream-colored shorts, something comfortable for running errands.

Once she was satisfied with her reflection, she bounded down the stairs into the kitchen and got to work on breakfast. As she plated her pancakes and fruit, she could hear the other residents of the beach house starting to wake up. She pulled up a stool at the kitchen counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, and opened her tablet to watch something while she ate.

Just as she went to put her headphones in, Theo walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," he mumbled, heading straight for the fridge to grab some milk for his coffee.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing." His defensive tone didn't throw her off. She set her headphones next to her plate and raised an eyebrow.

Theo noticed. "What? Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Rory knew better than to push her brother. She turned back to her breakfast, but then Theo spoke again.

"What's up with you?"

"Hm?"

"Don't do that." He gave her a look that reminded her of their father's knowing stare. "You didn't come out of your room for the rest of the weekend, and then Monday came, and you've just been working like a robot all week for the tournament."