It Starts With Him

02

𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆<3

"Is that the last bag?" I call up to the balcony. 

There's one problem with this. No one's actually on the balcony. I'm waiting for Lucas to hear my desperate cries as the mosquitoes gnaw on my skin. So either he's getting the last bag, or he's gone inside and left me out here by myself.

"Lucas, if you don't answer me, I'm taking the front seat," I scream. Not like I want the front seat, anyway. I like having the room in the back. It makes it easier for naps.

I hear the door to the balcony open before I can even finish my sentence. 

"Hell no, you aren't," his disembodied voice calls. I stare upward, my baseball cap shielding my eyes from the blaring sun. Is he going to throw down the bag, or - 

I gasp as the huge suitcase comes flying off the balcony and heading right towards me. I spread my arms open and do a jig trying to see where the bag will land. The sun's blinding rays, however, have other plans.

They blind me as I give up trying to see where it's coming. I simply drop to my knees as my arms fly over my head, trying to protect me from the heavy luggage. I sigh in relief when I hear it fall a couple of feet to my left. I stand up and brush small rocks off my knees.

I roll my eyes as I toss the luggage into the back of the truck. I think that's everything.  The back of the truck is almost 3 feet high in all the luggage. My family has always been one to overpack. But what can I say? I'd rather have too much than too little.

"Are we ready?" Dad asks, stepping outside. Lucas follows after him, and I notice that he's holding my small black backpack.

"You almost forgot this, Dev," he says, tossing it to me. I sigh in relief. Thank God he saw that, otherwise this trip would be miserable. "You're a lifesaver," I sigh, and pull the strap over my right shoulder.

I open the door to the backseat and haul myself inside, dragging two fluffy blankets in after me. 

"You're aware that it's early June, right?" Lucas says snidely, and I roll my eyes, pulling my phone and earbuds out of the backpack. I also pull out To Kill a Mockingbird and let it rest on my chest while I fumble to plug in the earbuds.

"You're aware it gets cold when you turn the air conditioning on full blast, right?" I reply, putting my left earbud in, and nuzzling deep under the blanket. Dad hops in the front seat and starts the ignition. The familiar smell of exhaust makes my nose wrinkle. This truck has seen better days.

I cringe as my head hits the window as the car starts to roll down the extended driveway. 

Goodbye, house. See you in September.

I unlock my phone and text my closest friend here in Madison, Riley. Riley's been by my side ever since preschool. We've been inseparable ever since.

Me: I'll miss you, Ri. :( See you in a few months xo
Riley: I'll miss you more, meet a cute tan boy for me!

I laugh and shake my head.

As we leave the neighborhood, Dad fumbles to grab something from the center console. "I got it," Lucas says, and pushes dad's hand out of the way. He opens it and looks to dad for further instructions. 

"Grab the book there. The photo album," dad instructs. Lucas grabs it and hands it to him, and then dad passes it to me. "What is it?" I ask, rubbing my hand over the material front cover.

"It's your mothers, from high school. She put all her favorite pictures in there when she was your age. I thought the two of you might want to look through it," dad explains, and I feel my eyes well up. 

Lucas turns up the radio and I put my other earbud in, picking a random playlist that someone else made. I'm not focusing on music at the moment. I open the photo album and start flipping through.

Summer at the beach with her friends. Bonfires. Graduation. First boyfriend. All of these pictures just show how happy my mom was. How much life she lived in such a short time.

I also see some pictures she recently added in. Pictures of me and Lucas in South Carolina, doing whatever kids find to do. My eye gets caught on one in particular - an old photo of me and my childhood best friend, Elijah Brady. It's been ages since I've thought about him.

It's a picture of the two of us sitting on a park bench together, our mouths coated in ice cream. I wonder what he's like now. What are the odds he still lives in the same house?

I'm about to close the book when my finger gets caught on something. It looks like one of the pages, except its a different kind of paper, and is sticking out at an awkward angle. I cock my head in confusion and gently pull it out. 

At the top of the lined paper, in neat pencil, it reads "Summer of 1998 - By Amelia Banks". Banks - my mom's maiden name. My mom made this back when she was 18.

I look underneath the title and my eyes widen as I read the contents. It's a list and a long one at that. A list of everything she wanted to do that summer. I remember mom telling me about the summer after her senior year. She said she was so busy getting ready for college that she never got to have any fun.

I guess I never fully understood the depth of that statement. This whole long list? Only one thing is checked off. And that's "Fall In LOVE." That was the summer she met my dad. I wipe my eyes with the blanket before I continue on.

I reread everything on the list about twelve times before I can actually process what I've found. Since mom lived in South Carolina at the time this was made, everything on this list can be done there, and there only. So since she wasn't able to do these things, why shouldn't I?

I fold up the paper and gently tuck it into the interior pocket of my backpack. 

I'll finish the list for you, mom. Don't worry.

I close my eyes and turn my music up a few notches before letting my eyes drift closed. The thoughts of doing this for mom, the calming movement of the car, and the warmth of the blanket masking the chill of the AC eventually sways me into sleep.

"Carnival? No way," I say as we pull into the drive 15 hours later. I stare in awe at the beach house. It's so much bigger than I remember it being. Like much bigger. Mom's family had some serious coin back then.

"Come on, Dev, don't be a loser," Lucas protests, pulling my arm to drag me out of the truck.

"Lucas, it's the first day here and you already want to leave dad alone for a beach carnival?" I say quietly, and Lucas frowns and huffs at me. "You know he would want us to go. Don't you ever want to have fun?" he counters, and I roll my eyes.

I can't leave dad already. He'll feel lonely the first time back.

"It's true, I want you to go," dad says, and I gape at him. I didn't think he'd hear me. 

"See?" Lucas pesters like a five-year-old. 

I hop out of the truck and stretch, touching my toes with my fingers. The house looks beautiful against the setting sun, and I can already see the colorful lights from the carnival on the bach behind it.

I can't go. Even if dad wants me to, I know it would be wrong for me to do. But, wait. I pull mom's list out of my backpack and scan it, praying I won't see it on there. But to my dismay, there it is. In blue pen, towards the bottom of the page reads: "Carnival on the beach!" Like almost everything else on the list, it hasn't been crossed off.

I groan. I guess I am going. 

"Fine. But I'm staying for one hour and one hour only," I argue, and Lucas smiles and puts his arm around my shoulder. He plants a wet kiss on my cheek and I laugh, rubbing it off.

As I walk into the house carrying as many bags that I can handle, I get a glimpse of the beach. I freeze in my tracks as I catch sight of someone. A familiar face, his arm around a sun-kissed blonde.

Elijah?

Maybe this will be more interesting than I thought.