{Cold Water - Damien Rice}
...Cold, cold water surrounds me now, and all I've got is your hand...
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June 28th
They say you can't choose your family. I disagree. Sure there's the parents and the siblings you dwell with from the time you can walk to the moment you realise there's a great big world out there and you are within touching distance of it as you breathe in the sweet smell of freedom and decide to break free of the shackles.
Family is a word I've always associated with love. A family is those around you who you love and who love you. Family is the bond of love that holds you together. That can be the people you meet along the way when the sweet smell of freedom becomes mixed with the fumes of the real world. They can be the people you cling to and know that they will hold you together. They can be the siblings and family members, because why the hell not? They can be one person that makes that space in your life less of a gaping void. Families are glued together by love. Without it, they're just people.
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Night after night, the lights of the dining room in the main building had shone down on the Bennett's and the Beaumont's as we dined in elegance. Night after night, I would sneak away to find Elliot and unleash the power my body felt as it surged through my veins when I was with him, dancing with him, in another world.
The dance competition was a week away, and the impending doom of leaving was beginning to set in. What was to happen when my family and I left? They were intent on me leaving for college, the choice of which I had no input, and I was to wander into the world still tied to their leash.
What did I want? Bodhi and Cady were already somewhat free of Mom and Dad, and they were living in the world as it energised and invigorated them. I wanted to move to the city and hear the noise of the streets, play piano in a jazz bar and learn to be strong and independent.
What did I want? I wanted to leave and know that I didn't have to sever the ties to a boy who had coloured in every grey thing in my life until it was so bright I could barely stand it. For now, I was happy in our world of perfect solidarity.
The waiters whizzed past us, their arms holding up trays of drinks and plates of food as they reached their destination. In our corner table, the tension was thick. Bodhi sat beside me, his head hanging low as he picked at his food while Dad, with his healing wounds that he passed off as the result of a drunken fall, glared at him like Bodhi was the devil himself. It had taken much deliberation and persuasion to get both Dad and Bodhi together, but it all came down to keeping up appearances.
Cady was texting under the table, her smile subtle and welcome in my mind. Seeing Cady smile was a rare sight, and anyone who could make her smile was accepted in my book.
"I am absolutely thrilled about the dance competition coming up!" Clara chimed into the dull hum of conversation as she stared at one of the posters hanging on the wall near our table. "It's the highlight of the entire summer."
"It should be a fantastic evening, and I'm not just saying that as the head judge!" Tim laughed heartily at himself, pressuring the rest of the table to join him. As we all chuckled, I felt the pressure in my chest at the thought of me dancing in the competition. Elliot and I had made real progress with the routine and the excitement in his eyes whenever we finished the dance, with the music lulling to silence as we breathed tiredly in one another's arms, told me that we were almost ready.
YOU ARE READING
Summer Rain
Teen Fiction"Together we were like summer rain. Rare and indescribable until you feel it for yourself..." When Avalina Bennett and her family spent the summer at the Beaumont Country Club, she was sure her summer had been ruined before it even started. Her br...
