tidal wave

• chapter seventeen •

"How does it feel to win another boardwalk showdown?" Bre asked as looked across at Conrad who had slowed down to walk next to her.

"It doesn't feel too good, to be honest, I mean beating Belly is fun but something was missing" Conrad said looking down at the ground.

"That's the feeling I've had since coming back here, it's like a piece of the puzzle is missing or something," Bre said looking ahead at the group.

Conrad accidentally brushed his hands against Bre's as he was putting it into his pocket. Bre looked over at him and saw the light reflecting off his eyes and it was the same light she'd looked at last summer when she fell for him.

"When do you go back to school?" Conrad asked trying to distract the teens from their electric touch.

"Uh not sure yet, I'm moving into campus housing so was gonna go back this weekend but I've ended up here," Bre said with a sad undertone.

"Is Laurel gonna help you?" Conrad asked.

"That would require her not hating my guts" Bre laughed. For a second it felt like they were still together and nothing had happened between them.

"She doesn't hate your guts, Laurel does expect a lot from us" Conrad said seriously. The two continued to walk slowly not saying much.

"Can I ask you something?" Bre spat out without thinking of what she'd say next.

"Sure" He smiled.

"When you found out about the house, did you think about calling any of us or did you want us to be kept in the dark?" Bre asked if it had been a thought going around her mind because she wanted to feel needed.

"Uh honestly, since I got the call I've been trying to stop myself from calling you," He said stopping in his tracks.

"Why didn't you call me? I would've been here the moment I got the call" Bre said, standing before him.

"I didn't think you cared anymore, you have this life in California now with Finn," He said rolling his eyes at Finn's name.

"Okay, what is it with you and Finn?" She said laughing.

"I just can't stand him, I don't care if you've moved on but with Finn? Really?" Conrad questions and automatically Bre's walls go up.

"Me and Finn aren't together" Bre said starting to walk again.

"Bre! Can you ride with Conrad? We all want to Listen to this Album and then you two can go together" Belly said running up to her excitedly.

Bre looked back at Conrad who seemed to be in a deep thought.

"Uh yeah sure" Bre said standing by Conrad's car. When they both got into his car it had the same smell it had last year and the same air freshener of the pair that Bre had got Conrad for Christmas that year. She smiled knowing he'd kept it this whole time.

"I thought you would've thrown that out" Bre pointed at it, Corbad looked over and smiled.

"Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It still had a bit of the smell" He said laughing.

"I still have mine in my car too, I was sure Belly would've got rid of it but she didn't" Bre said turning to look out the window.

The pair of teenagers felt an awkward air suck out of the car the closer they got to the beach house. It was like they were slowly forgiving each other.

"So Surf lesson what got you so interested in teaching me? I have been on the team for the last year. I've gotten somewhat good" Bre said awkwardly.

"Maybe I just thought it would be nice, the waves have been good since I got back," Conrad said gulping. He missed her was the truth.

"Okay but Fisher, because you'll be teaching me that I'm going to take you through one of my days at the gym," Bre said smirking, it was like therapy going to the gym for her so it would be fun to torture him a little bit.

"Sure," He said laughing, they sat in silence for the rest of the journey. The house looked beautiful in the darkness with the right outside.

Everyone else had gone into the house by the time they'd pulled in and parked.

"Wait Bre, before we go in, I need to know something" Conrad asked taking her hand in his. Bre didn't know whether to pull her hand away or keep it there so she did what felt right. She held his hand in his and it felt like the hand she'd held a million times before.

Bre nodded and looked at him then back down at their interlocked hands.

"Us, when we broke up. You didn't get with Finn?" Conrad asked, Bres's heart sunk a little bit. Of course, she didn't, she loved Conrad more than anything and nothing in the world could let her forget that even though she'd tried to move on.

"He was there for me, for a second I thought maybe something could be there for us. But he's not who I want to be with" Bre said taking her hand out of his and walking into the house. Conrad watched as she walked in and stopped dead in her tracks before turning back to him with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Ana?" Conrad said rushing into the house.

He looked around to see the empty house. It was like every single one of the teens in that house was feeling a different type of heart break at the same time.

Susannah was gone. And so was the house. They had all realised that they were losing the house. There was no going back now.

All the summers, laughter, and memories were gone.

They all reacted in different ways at that moment. Bre ran upstairs to check the bedrooms, same with Jere. Belly started crying into Taylor's arms. Steven was standing in shock. And Conrad got angry.

For the others in the house, Finn, Skye and Cam. They didn't know what to do. The once-loved summer house was just a shell. It was blank. And they could feel the heartbreak in the air.

But it wasn't just heartbreak it was soul-crushing. The one thing they all relied on to be there was being taken away and they were left to grieve yet another part of their beloved Susannah.

"Everything is gone" Bre said coming back down stairs with tears in her eyes.

She gravitated to the same arms she'd been craving for months. Conrad. But all he could think was that had he stayed none of this would've happened.