Their Last Summer

Planning (2023)

Every time I think back to Maggie telling me to leave the investigation alone, I get more mad. Everyone is painting me in the wrong for wanting answers. I would think Maggie would want to find her as much as I do, but it's like she wants to forget about that night.

My head starts pounding. What am I supposed to do now? I'm interrupted by my mom's knock.

"Yeah?", I ask, sitting up on my bed and walking toward the door.

Once opened my mom responds, "I just got home from work and forgot the bread. I'm too tired to go back uptown, would you be a dear and go pick some up?"

"Well alright mama."

She rubs my back, "I don't deserve you."

I head out to my truck, and for a moment I see June in the passenger seat. I blink and she's gone. Memories from sophomore year flood my mind. Did she even know I loved her?

I pull up to the grocery store and put my truck in park. I've barely been out since I got home. It's been lonely, except for Debbie. Thinking about Debbie makes me regret lashing out at her. At the moment I could only think about June. I guess I should try and see her side of things. She sees me as looking for a girl who has been missing for two years, and when she speaks about her concern, I go off on her. I make a mental note to apologize to her sometime.

When inside the store I immediately head for the bread aisle, it doesn't take long to find it considering I've lived here my whole life. I'm so used to running in and getting little things for my mom that it's robotic, but I hear a voice that breaks me from this routine.

"Hey man! " Isaac says, walking over to me.

"Isssc? How have you been?" I haven't talked to him since the first month of college.

"Same ole, same ole. Just came here to pick up some diapers.", Isaac says, holding up a pack of pampers.

"You have a kid?", I can't help the surprise in my voice. How can we stop talking for nine months and so much change?

Isaac only laughs, "Yeah man, Bailey will be having him any day now."

I scratch the back of my head, "Why didn't you call?"

Isaac's eyebrows scrunch in confusion, "I did. Multiple times. You never picked up."

"What? I didn't get any calls from you.", I say, mirroring his confusion.

"I swear I tried to contact you. I just thought you moved on or something."

"No, I wouldn't do that.", I say.

"Ok, well I'd better go", Isaac looks down at his watch, "June's memorial planning starts in twenty minutes.

The words rush out before I can stop myself, "memorial planning?"

Issac looks up at me with pity, why does everyone do that? "Yeah, you should come. I'll text you the address."

I don't have time to respond before Isaac is gone. Why didn't I know about a memorial for June? I head to checkout. Once I grab the bag, my phone beeps. It's Isaac texting the address to their little meeting. I try not to be salty about this whole situation, but just can't. Why would Isaac, a person who June barely knew, be more involved in her memorial than me?

I notice I slam my truck door a little too hard. I'm getting worked up for nothing. This could all be a good thing. I mean everyone June was close to should be at the meeting, right? This could give me an opportunity to question more people about June's actions the last few days before she disappeared. I need to start looking at the bigger picture. Who wanted to hurt June?