─── SUMMER PLANS (⌗ ♥︎! ) 一 the summer i turned pretty ❜
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Avery was frozen, trying to process the words that left Susannah Fisher's mouth mere seconds ago. The older woman was smiling brightly at her, waiting for an answer. Avery had to force herself to look away from the woman who had practically raised her as her own, suddenly feeling too overwhelmed. Susannah looked so young. So hopeful. So strong. She looked younger than she did the day Avery met her for the first time. At that moment, Avery couldn't see the pain and scars she knew cancer had left her with instead, she saw a woman smiling at the girl she loved like her own.
Avery took a deep breath, hoping she was strong enough to stop herself from bursting into tears, as her eyes landed on the tall boy by the woman's side. Messy dark blonde hair and deep blue eyes were staring back at her. Jeremiah Fisher. The same boy who had hated her for years because he was convinced she wanted to steal his mother and brother from him was now looking at her with a smile that matched his mom's, "Say yes," he mouthed.
Lastly, her eyes wandered to the third and last person there. Brown hair perfectly parted in the middle, blue eyes looking at her so intensively she could have drowned in them. Her best friend. Conrad Fisher. She knew him well enough to know he was trying to read her. She noticed the corners beginning to curl upwards. She arched a brow lightly. She knew he would notice. He did. A smile appeared on his face for less than a second. It was barely visible. It was just for them, like a secret he wanted her to keep. Avery liked that.
She looked back at the woman, worried that she might have misheard her, and was freaking out over nothing. The part of her that had gotten her hopes up over nothing many times before wanted to check if she wasn't dreaming, while the other was so happy, yet afraid of doing so. Avery took a deep breath, gaining courage, before weakly saying, "What?"
The girl watched Susannah's smile banish as a frown took over its previous place, and just like that was ready to turn around, run out of the house and dig her own grave, hoping to avoid feeling embarrassed. She misheard Susannah once when she was 10, and Avery wasn't ready for it to happen again seven years later.
"I asked what your plans for the summer were," Susannah repeated, "because we would love it if you could spend it with us at Cousins..." she finished as the smile showed back.
"You want to take me to Cousins?" Avery repeated, trying to assure herself that she wasn't about to wake up and learn that it was all a dream.
"Yes, you! Who else would it be?" Susannah laughed softly, making Avery feel like she was floating, "I know it is your last summer after college and all, but we were hoping you would like to come with us."
