That Summer

5. Don't You Worry Child

5. Don’t You Worry Child

“How’s Key West? Are the beaches as beautiful as they look in pictures? Is everyone getting along? Are you having fun?”

“Mom, one question at a time,” I groan.

“Well you haven’t called me in three days. I was starting to get worried.”

“Everything is fine. No, everyone isn’t getting along but that was to be expected when you put five people in a house for an entire summer.”

“Is it Gage? I bet it’s Gage that’s causing all the problems.” Her voice darkens at the mention of his name.

Mom hates anything to do with Gage’s family, mainly because my mom found out that my dad was screwing Gage’s mom. So, that added a teensy bit of stress to mine and Gage’s lives.

I never ever hated Gage for it. It was our parents’ stupid actions that got us in this mess.

My mother, on the other hand, can’t stand to be within the vicinity of someone who’s last name is Hendrix.

She also thinks Gage is a pothead.

Which he was but not anymore.

“No, Gage has had nothing to do with it,” I sigh. Gage looks towards me and raises his eyebrows in question. I mouth Mom and he rolls his eyes and looks back toward the ocean.

Maggie is laying on a float in the water trying to get some sort of tan. Max and Sebastian are burying each other in the sand and giving each other sand boobs, making them laugh like boys who just discovered pubes.

Gage and I are being the only calm ones and staying under the umbrella. Gage was chatting it up with the girls under the umbrella next to us, but once all of their boyfriends appeared, he quickly turned back to me.

“Well, he’s always up to no good,” Mom snaps. I can’t even argue with that one.

We chat for a little while longer, her trying to convince me to come home earlier than I planned, even though I’ve already paid my share of rent for the entire summer. That gets shot down quickly. I eventually hang up and lean back against the chair.

“Why does your mom still hate me so much? Our parents didn’t even stay together,” Gage wonders aloud.

I sigh. “I don’t know. My mom can hold a grudge like nobody’s business. She still refuses to talk to my dad after all of this. It’s been, what? Five years? She won’t even let him see me.”

“Isn’t that a bit overdramatic?” he asks, turning his head to look at me.

“Oh, yeah. Most definitely. I’ve tried to see him but she always figures out and goes on this whole rampage about how he destroyed the only family I’ll ever have and all of this shit. And yeah, he did destroy my family. I get that. But obviously something was wrong in their marriage if he went and slept with some other woman.”

“Both of my parents were cheating on each other, so they didn’t really seem to care about anything.”

“That’s so fucked up.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Nell! Come over here!” Sebastian calls out, waving me over excitedly.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to stop all serious conversations,” I mumble as I stand up, hitting my head on the umbrella in the process.

I make my way over to Max and Sebastian, both of which are covered in sand from head to toe. Sebastian stands up and places his sandy hands on my shoulders.