lemonade | ethan

thirty eight

"hey, honey!" my mom comes rushing down the stairs as i struggled to carry my things through the front door. "how was new york? was it as amazing as the last time we went?"

i shrugged. "it was fun. we even went to the korean restaurant we always went to." well, ethan and i went.

she gasps. "how fun! how's the owners doing nowadays?" she asks, "awh, how lovely of you to spend your time in new york doing things we did." she smiles, completely blowing off her question.

from behind me, i hear sonny's car honk. i turn around to see ethan peaking his head out the window. he grins, waving goodbye at me before they speed off.

i smile to myself before looking back over to my mom. she has a clear face of angst, as she probably didn't want me spending so much time with the southsiders.

"are you and the girls getting prepared for the winter formal? you know i won queen my senior year." she smiled, reminiscing the moments she spent as a seventeen year old.

"i know, i know. how could i forget?" she never jumps at an opportunity to always remind me. "anyways, i'm going to go dress shopping with melanie this evening, so don't wait up for me. i'll probably be gone awhile."

i was lying through my teeth. melanie and i would go dress shopping someday, but tonight, i was spending time with ethan. i just thought my mom didn't need to know that.

my mom squeals excitedly. "fun! you want to make sure you get the perfect one!" she smiles.

she sends me upstairs to unpack my clothes, so i do just that. as i'm opening my bags to take out the clothes, my dad knocks on the frame of my door. he holds up an envelope, waving it. "for you." he simply says, handing me the letter.

i set my clothes down on my bed, walking over and scanning the return address. my eyes widen. "is this..."

my dad shrugged. "read it." he simply says, before leaving the room. i sighed, opening the letter and sitting myself on my bed.

Devon,

I miss you, a lot. I miss mom and dad too. I wish I could say the same about Brooklyn Bay, but I really can't bring myself to. I'll bet you're wondering why write now of all times. I'll bet you probably don't even want to hear from me ever since I made the decision to completely ignore you guys. But even if you don't, just know that I miss my little sister with all my heart. I'm sorry for erasing my past with everyone. It was a hard thing to do, but it made me feel so much better. If you'll write back, I want to know everything you've experienced since I left. I want to know how your senior year is going, if you've made new friends, new enemies, new lovers. Just because I left, doesn't mean I'm truly gone. I don't want this to seem like a coming back letter, because I definitely don't plan on returning to Brooklyn Bay anytime soon. But, if I could, I would. Just so I could see you. You mean everything to me. I love you, buba. Take care.

Love, Dillon

dillon... i miss you too.

LEMONADE

"you okay?" ethan asks from beside me. "you seem out of it." he stops us from walking in order to allow me to speak, a look of concern in his eyes.

i nod. "i'm good."

he chuckles. "you've been stirring your coffee for ten minutes now." he explains. i look down at my coffee before looking back up at him.

"i just like a stirred coffee." i shrugged.

he smiles, adjusting my hat and pulling it down more so it'd shield my ears from the cold. "you can tell me." he says, knowing i was feeling uneasy. he holds my head in his hands so i'd look up at him instead of my feet.

i sighed, a warm breath escaping my lips. i slide my hand into his, pulling him so we could continue walking down the pier at a slow pace. "my brother finally wrote me after an entire year." i explain.

"you have a brother?" he asks, surprised.

i chuckle. "right. i didn't tell you." i recall telling his sister, alexandra, despite not really wanting to talk about him. "i have an older brother, dillon. when he left, he didn't speak to us for a long time but he finally did today and even though he wants me to write back, i don't know if i should." i sighed.

ethan's grip on my hand tightens in a reassuring manner. "you should do it. life's too short for grudges."

i shake my head. "i just don't know what'd i say." i tell him. "i don't blame him for leaving, but i also don't forgive him for leaving either." i explain. "it would've been really nice to have an older brother when things were getting hard around here, you know?"

"but at least i had you." i add, looking up at ethan. he smiles, his cheeks becoming a cute pink.

suddenly, his phone rings from in his pocket, indicating someone was calling him. after checking the caller ID, he excuses himself.

ethan walks a small distance from me so i wouldn't hear the majority of the call, and tells me he'll be right back. i couldn't hear any of the call.

i hope it's nothing bad.

after about a minute, ethan comes back to me, smiling like nothing had happened. "who was that?" i asked.

he shook his head. "no one to worry about."

before our new york trip, i would've overthought this entire situation, thinking it was another girl and whatnot. but i trust him with my whole heart. something in me knew he'd never do that.

"okay." i smiled, simply letting it go.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

this ones kinda short but i wanna write in ethans pov next! maybe you'll figure out who called him!