That Summer (Completed)

Chapter 27: Last Chapter

A few weeks later, Miranda and I decided to take a trip to our favourite beach. School was over, she was almost done with her therapy program, and we decided it would be fun to go on a celebratory sister trip. We spent the morning talking and packing for the day. It seemed like that's all we ever did now, we talked all the time, it was like there was never enough. Guess we just had a lot to catch up on.

It definitely took time, but our relationship was finally changing. It wasn't uncomfortable to be together anymore. We both decided to try to openly talk about anything that was on our minds.

Mom and Dad were in the process of moving back in together and they planned on renewing their vows this summer. It was like all the pieces were finally falling into place.

Miranda was happy. Genuinely happy. The therapy, combined with a new healthy lifestyle and the support of her whole family, was helping nudge her towards a new life. She was excited about going to college to get her Early Childhood Education degree. She was planning out a future for herself. It wasn't always easy and the change was gradual. But whenever she got sad, she came to me. And we worked on it together.

Life was moving along great, it was like our family was finally a family again. This was the way it was always meant to be. It just took us a while to get there.

Miranda and I spent some time splashing around in the water before getting out. We laid out in the sun until we were both at least one shade darker and slightly burnt. Later, over dinner we talked about our family, plans for the summer, and new shows we wanted to watch.

Life was good. It was going.

Sometimes when I finally shut off my internal to-do list and I wasn't constantly thinking about what was next, I felt the loneliness seep in.

I missed Jake.

More than I thought possible. It was like my brain wasn't ready to accept that it was over. I hadn't seen him since he left for New York and that was over a month ago. I couldn't make myself go visit and I found myself leaving when I heard he was coming. It was like I was repeating history, knowing I was going no where. Space and time had helped me get over him that summer five years ago but they just seemed to enhance my feelings now. It hurt to even think about us.

"Where's your mind at Laur?" Miranda asked as we walked down the shore.

I didn't want to lie to her after we had worked so hard on fixing our communication. "I haven't seen Jake in a while."

She looked over. "He was over for dinner last weekend. Why didn't you stay?"

"I...I don't know. How is he?"

"He's good, just focusing on work. You know him."

Too well.

We stopped once we got to the boardwalk and took a seat on a bench. I tore up pieces of my left over bread from the dinner and threw it towards the seagulls. More birds flocked by and their squawks filled up the silence.

Miranda spoke up after a moment. "I want to be honest with you. I asked Jake about the two of you but he wouldn't tell me anything. I think he wanted to leave it up to you. What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said truthfully. "We went out for a bit but then I just decided I wasn't ready for a relationship."

She laughed. "It's funny because I always thought he would be the one saying that before he fell in love with you."

"He's not in love with me," I said automatically.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course he is. I knew it the moment he saw you at the airport. I tried talking to you about it weeks ago but you kept changing the subject. Why don't you want to be with him?"