Saved By Summer

Chapter One

Chapter One

Monday June, 19

"Hurry up Ari! If we don't leave in less than 10 minutes we're not gonna make it to Dunkin Donuts before it closes and you know I won't make it through this drive without my Coffee!" My big sister hollered as I tried, and failed, at lifting my duffel bag once again.

"You seriously need to chill. I'm moving as fast as I can, Brit, and you know there's a 24 hour Dunkins like 20 miles down the highway if we don't make it. No matter how much you yell it's not gonna change the fact that it takes a while to move heavy bags," I replied in an annoyed tone.

"You should have thought of that when I told you to be ready in 20 minutes 45 minutes ago," she mumbled under her breath as she went to wait in the car, leaving the door open behind her.

"This would go a lot faster if you helped me," I shouted after her in a huff.

"Unlikely," came her swift reply. Rolling my eyes I continued struggling to get my luggage out to the car.

For as long as I can remember my family and I have been going on an annual summer trip to somewhere either tropical or super touristy. That all changed when my parents separated this past October.  When that happened it seemed like there was no hope for me getting away from my boring New England hometown this summer. At the time it didn't really seem like a big deal, then I realized how much of a nightmare it was going to be living alone with my mother. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom as much as the next girl, but she is extremely high maintenance especially since the separation and dealing with her by myself is anything but easy. Needless to say, by the time school let out last week I desperately needed a break.

Growing up I was always closer to my dad. When my parents told us they were getting a divorce I just about lost my mind, not because they were getting divorced necessarily because we all saw that coming, but because my dad was the one who was leaving and I wasn't allowed to leave with him. In the beginning I called him almost every day begging him to come get me and take me to live with him. At some point, I'm not sure when, he slowly stopped answering. At first I thought he was just busy, but eventually, when it got to the point where the calls were no longer answered at all, I realized he was done picking up. The realization that our relationship may not have been all I thought it was was pretty heartbreaking.

As for Britney and I, we have always had an decent relationship. When we were younger I could always go to her if I had a problem, she usually lent me clothes on request, and didn't pick on me too much. In return, I never annoyed her when she was with her friends, rarely bugged her to hang-out with me, or play with me when I was little unless she initiated it, and didn't pry into her life. Although I looked up to her, I was never the type to follow people around, so I never did that with her either. She was six when I was born and I give the age difference a lot of the credit for us getting along so well. After she graduated college an old family friend offered her a job at his law practice in North Carolina while she's in grad school. She says she can't picture herself living so far away from home for the rest of her life but for now it makes her happy.

At the end of May she came home to visit for Memorial Day because it was a long weekend. On the Sunday that she was here we went for dinner and I think after talking to me she realized I needed to get away for a while because before she left the next day she invited me to spend the summer with her in North Carolina. It took a little convincing but my mom agreed that time away would be good for me. Three weeks later here we are packing the car to go.

Once I finally got all of my luggage in the car I ran back into the house to say bye to my mother. "Mom! We're about to head out don't you want to say good-bye to your favorite daughter before she leaves," I shouted directionlessly into the house from the doorway. My mother came rushing out of the kitchen looking slightly frazzled with her medium length, brown hair a bit messy despite being clipped up.

"I already said bye to Britney," my mother said to me with a playful wink. Rolling my eyes I waited for her to continue. "You sure I can't convince you to spend the summer hanging out with your momma?"

"I need to get away mom, I'm sorry. Plus I think she would kill me if she took this time off to come all the way back up here to bring me back with her and I changed my mind last minute. Hell, she's already going to kill me over the coffee situation!" I replied, trying to lighten the mood a bit. I already felt guilty for leaving her but I also know this is what's best for my own sanity. She gripped my shoulders from arm's length away and looked sadly at me with her striking green eyes that look exactly like mine.

"I know kid, I'm just gonna miss you is all. Have fun, be safe, and call me every day okay? I love you so much, don't forget about me."

"I couldn't possibly. I love you too mom, I'll text you when we get there." I said while allowing her to pull me into a bone crushing hug. She kissed me quickly on the cheek before we parted ways, me heading to the car and her back to the kitchen. "Let's get this show on the road!" I exclaimed to Britney as I hooked my phone up to the AUX cord and selected our road trip playlist.

**

It took about six hours to get to Britney's house. Once there she (thankfully) helped me unpack my luggage, showed me to my room, and I passed out within minutes.

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Hi! Giving this another go after giving up on it for a couple years. I deleted all chapters and I am doing a fairly significant edit (more like a rewrite with only the general bones of the story staying the same). This is the rewritten first chapter and the second should be up within a day or 2.

Thanks to anyone reading! Please feel free to leave any feedback or criticisms in the comments and feel free to vote if you like it!

XO,

'til next time, Jules♥