A little concerned, I extended my arm to help the girl out, but rather than pulling herself out, Belly, with a jerk, just pulled me in. Due to the suddenness of this move, I instinctively grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be Conrad's dumb leg, and into the water we went.
Stunned by the coolness, I let my tensed body relax a little underwater, allowing it to wash all my worries away, transferring me to a different world altogether. Unfortunately, for me, that feeling didn't seem to last for too long, for I was snapped out of it instantly by someone's arms wrapping firmly around my waist, pulling me back to the warm surface.
Taking in a deep breath, I shoved the boy away. "Let go." I scoff, swimming to the edge now, pulled up by a soaked Belly, who still couldn't take her chocolate brown eyes off the older Fisher, the one who couldn't stop staring at me, hints of confusion and sadness in his eyes.
Ugh, I'm probably over-analyzing things again. God, I really need to stop doing that. Besides, how is it my problem even if he is sad? I've got enough to worry about already. Conrad Fisher is certainly not gonna be one of those.
But then why is it that I cannot stop thinking about the way his skin felt against mine?
"Oh my god, Laurel, how many boxes did you bring?" I hear the blonde chuckle softly the moment we entered the kitchen to help the moms unpack. Joking a little as our drenched clothes began flooding the place with the water she was soaked in, we quickly took a seat by Susannah, who just smiled in return, making us some of her special iced-tea.
"I told you not to bother." She tells her friend, squeezing another lime into the drink. "Your fancy little market doesn't even carry diet coke, Beck." Laurel rolls her eyes, unpacking her groceries, and organizing things around here a little.
"And it comes with a certified creep too." I add, recalling that guy who was so shamelessly checking me out earlier as I was buying some lemons to squeeze into people's eyes. Just kidding, it was a lemon-flavored freezer pop.
"Hi!" Belly just greets the mothers as we both began serving ourselves some of the drink. "You're dripping water all over the place." Laurel complains, walking away to get another box, and perhaps a towel too. "You girls have always been lovely..." Susannah starts, changing the topic.
"But oh my GOD, just look at you two princesses!" She gushes, holding our hands with both of hers. "y/n's stunning, but I still feel like I look the same." Belly chuckles. "The secret is a week of sleeplessness." I smile, making Susannah laugh, and then sigh when she realized it wasn't good.
"You both don't look the same at all." She changes the topic. "My little princesses are growing up to be marvelous queens." She hugs us both, making me chuckle a little. "My perfect flowers are now in bloom." She places her hand on my cheek, smiling kindly, then walking away.
Susannah sure did have her way with words. Always managed to convince me into believing even the most unrealistic things. Even when she said that my mom was gonna be fine, and everything will go back to being normal soon after her course.
I sure hope so too, but I know my mother. And I also know what addictions may work like. I wouldn't really wanna get my hopes up that high. But at the same time, a part of me really does believe in her. In Susannah.
But unfortunately, the same cannot be said regarding my trust in my own mother...
"You both look exactly like how your mothers did when we all first met." Susannah gets back to chopping some more limes, as Laurel approaches her daughter with a couple of towels, drying her hair. "People always say I look like my dad." Belly shrugs, and I just remain silent.
"Nah, your mom looked exactly like you." Susannah assures. "Except I had no boobs at all." Laurel admits, making us laugh a little as Belly expressed her disgust. "You should call your father, tell him we got in safely." Laurel then instructs Belly.
And that, folks, was most certainly my cue to leave.
I smile and excuse myself, chugging down the rest of my tea, and made my way upstairs, and to my room, which was opposite to Belly's room, and between Steven's and Conrad's... I grabbed just my suitcase, as I didn't carry much, and entered the room I didn't realize I missed so much.
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I let my bags drop to the ground the moment I set foot in the room, and boy, was it as cozy as ever. I drew in a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of flowers, and a little bit of air-freshener too, and slowly opened my eyes, admiring the beauty.
I inched closer to my bed, and saw a couple of flowers.
Since I'm dumb, I assumed they were just lilies, but judging by their sweet perfume, I'm certain it's gotta be something fancy. Maybe orchids or something. I smile to myself, and place them in a vase that lied next to my bed.
I arranged them, and began reminiscing about what life in the Summer House used to be like.
"I knew you'd like them." I hear the familiar, husky voice of Jeremiah from the door. "I could've been allergic." I shrug, turning back to smile at the boy. "Wouldn't really stop you from liking them now, would it?" He grins, flopping on my bed as I began unpacking slowly.
"Where's y/m/n, by the way? It's been a while since I've heard from her." He then questions, missing her a little considering how well they got along. But then again, we're talking about Jeremiah here. Bro gets along with literally everyone.
Perhaps a bit too well, for he's the family's certified golden retriever.
"Oh uh, she couldn't make it..." I sigh, not wanting to talk about it much. "Oh damn, is she alright?" He asks. "Mhm..." I just nod. "She will be here for the 4th though, won't she?" He asks a little hopefully. "I doubt it. She won't really be discharged any time before fall." I mumble, organizing my clothes.
"She's at the hospital?!" He asks, shocked. "...Rehab." I correct softly, turning away from him, staring into my empty closet, trying to think of something else. "So, uh... You wanna join Belly and I for a swim before dinner?" He then asks a minute later, changing the topic.
"I don't know... It's been a long day." I sigh, wanting to be left alone again.
"Aw man, I've been wanting to go to the ocean ALL DAY, but I've been waiting for you and Belly to get here." He confesses. "Well, Belly's there. Take her with you." I shrug. "It's still not the same without you..." He pouts slightly, making me roll my eyes at the goof.
"Please." He requests, making me think about it. "Pleeease, pretty pleaseeee." He whines, his oceanic puppy eyes bearing into mine. "Oh what the hell." I sigh, unable to say no to those adorably playful eyes. "Fine, let's go for a swim." I roll my eyes again, finally giving in.
"Hah, knew you couldn't resist the thought of seeing me shirtless."
