"wtf happened between conrad and cali?" -literally everyone.
The question on everyone's mind once the two went from constantly to never talking.
The truth was only one person knew what truly happened, and it isn't either of them.
It was enough for...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"A FIREWORK KISS?" --------------- aka what the chapter name says
The evening had taken a turn, and Calista found herself guiding a very drunk Belly back inside the house.
As they walked, Belly continued to ramble on, her speech slurred by the alcohol."I'm so sorry, Cali," she hiccupped, her eyes watery. "I didn't mean to mess everything up. I just... I wanted everyone to be happy you know?"
Belly, who got a little too excited for 'Cake Time' ended up knocking over Susannah while she was holding everyone's dessert, breaking the cake stand and ruining the cake.
Calista's hand rested briefly on Belly's shoulder, she hesitated, not knowing what to say. She couldn't decide if she should comfort Belly or tell her not to say anything else. Cali ended up settling on, "I know."
As they entered the house, Calista spotted Conrad standing a little distance away, his expression pensive as he looked at the pair. Realistically, he had little patience for Belly lately.
Cali hesitated once again, unsure of whether to guide the girl past him, and putting them all at risk for another slip up. She started to steer Belly away but the girl had other plans.
Spotting Conrad, Belly suddenly lurched forward, grabbing his arm, which he jerked his arm back immediately. "Conrad! I'm soooosorry, I'm literally the worst." Belly looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "You and Cali were so good to each other," Belly frowned, I shouldn't have—
Conrad's brow furrowed as he made eye contact with Cali, then flickered his eyesight down at Belly, interrupting her, "yeah." His gaze then shifted to Calista again, a hint of unspoken emotion flickering in his eyes.
As far as Cali could tell, It wasn't ok to him, to her he seemed to be holding back his anger, but to Belly he seemed genuine. Calista stepped forward, placing a hand back on Belly's arm. "Why don't you go lay down for a bit?"
Belly nodded reluctantly, her shoulders slumping with guilt, lifting up her hands to say that she's alright. She turned to Conrad but didn't say a word before dragging herself up the stairs.
"Hey, "Calista turned to Conrad, her expression softening as she followed him back outside. He grabbed an empty trash bag to clean up the mess, "you okay?"
Conrad just let out a heavy sigh, his gaze fixed on the ground. "Yeah, I... I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that Calista knew all too well. "I just feel like everything's a mess, you know?"
Calista nodded, understanding the sentiment all too well. "Yeah," she sighed, plopping herself down beside the pool and dipped her feet in, "I know."
On autopilot, he mirrored her actions, scooting closer than usual. They both sat in silence, letting the cool water act as a relief against the July heat.
