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"I believe in the ocean curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves wiping away worries. I believe in seashells bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand grounding my soul." ~Unknown
The Summer I Turned Pretty
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"Cake time," Mom says walking out the back door, we all cheer. We kids were sitting around the poolside, dipping our legs into the refreshing water, cooling off. "That's the spirit." She smiles and begins walking down the stairs.
"Ooh, I want the piece with the strawberries!" Belly follows her down the stairs, she is still drunk.
Her foot missed the step and she tumbled down into my mom who fell forward with the cake. They both hit the floor, the glass platter shattering, the cake crumbling everywhere. I stand up rushing over.
Laurel gets to her daughter first, asking her if she's okay and helping her stand up. Whereas, none other than my father rushes to my mom's aid.
"Honey, are you okay?" He leans over her.
"Adam, I'm fine," She snaps.
"Come on please," He reaches for her hands.
"I got it. I got it. Stop it," My mom hisses at him, he stands up slowly. "Just go away." She chokes back a sob.
"I'm so sorry," Belly says to her, my mom turns around and shrugs at her before grunting and standing up. "Mom?"
"I'll deal with you later," Laurel follows my mom into the house.
"I think we should get going," Nicole says breaking the silence. Conrad nods at her, I stare through the door that my mom had left, why was she so upset? She normally would have got straight back up and forgave like she always taught us as children. Shayla gives me a quick hug, saying goodbye, and follows Cam, Gigi, and Nicole out the side gate.
"Think fast," Jere chucks a solo cup at the bag Steven is holding.
"Jesus." He says shocked.
"Ready?" Jere prepares to chuck another one but misses.
"Why's your aim so bad?"
"Hey listen it's not my fault you can't hold a garbage bag."
"Hey dumb and dumber," Conrad turns to them, I smile at the nicknames, "Can you guys go and set up the fireworks?"
"Yeah, sure."
Conrad comes to sit next to me, on one of the lounge chairs, where I had been watching them clean up the rubbish in silence, my knees pulled up to my chest. The door clicks open and we both glance up to see Dad, who doesn't seem to notice us as he walks out and pulls out a cigarette.
"Hey, Dad," Conrad greets him, letting him know we are here.
"Oh, hey," He put the cigarette back in his pocket, "did you get everything cleaned up?"
"Yeah, Belly's upstairs with her Dad." I nod.
"Why'd you let her get so drunk?" I looked up instantly, he can't be seriously blaming me. "You're lucky she and your mom didn't get hurt."
"I didn't know she was drinking that much," I said helplessly.
"It's not her fault that Belly got drunk," Conrad jumps in to defend me.
"And you, Conrad," He continues, "You're the oldest, you're supposed to be looking out for the younger kids."
"I don't know why but I thought I could talk to you, come on Amaya," He walks inside, and I follow him, not leaving too much of a gap.
"Hey, hold on... Conrad, Amaya. I'm sorry, I just got a lot going on now." He tries to backtrack.
"Just leave Dad" I advise him.
I left Conrad to go do his own thing and go up to my room, I climb out my bedroom window to watch the sunset. Not long after the sun had gone in, the fireworks started. I lie back on the roof, resting my head on my beach towel.
It's been a little tradition of mine every year since we started doing the fireworks. I love how fireworks brighten up the sky. It's the man-made version of stars. On a cloudy night, you are unlikely to see any, but when the sky is clear, a hundred stars smile back at you. Fireworks remind me that when your sky is cloudy you can always make your own stars, you can make your own happiness, I know it sounds cheesy but it's comforting.
I notice Belly join Conrad on the pier, watching the fireworks with him, I hope they can finally settle whatever is going on between them. I lay back on my beach towel on the roof as the first firework goes off, I can hear Jeremiah cheering, I smile, he's like a golden retriever.
I miss the old summers when the five of us kids never left each other's sides and we'd stay up till morning watching films, building forts, and getting high off sugar. Everything has changed and I have yet to decide whether it's for the better.
"You really like getting yourself in dangerous situations by yourself don't you?" A voice spoke from behind me. Steven. I turn around to see him leaning out the window of my room.
"Yeah, like me drowning on the beach is ever going to happen, and falling off the roof, sure, happens all the time." I joke, watching him as he climbs out the window.
"Are you okay? You seemed a bit down after the Belly-Cake incident."
"Yeah, I guess I just hate seeing my parents together."
"Wait, what? I thought you would have been happy your dad came up."
"Nope." I chuckle bitterly, turning to face him, "My dad cheated on my Mom, you know? When she was in hospital."
He whistles lowly, "I never knew."
"I'm not surprised," I look back up at the sparkling sky, "I found out first, I caught them and told him I would tell Mom. He guilt-tripped me into thinking it was a better idea not to tell her. Not with what she was going through."
"Shit," He took in a breath.
"When I would visit her in the hospital I would cry, knowing that I knew something that would break her heart, but keeping it a secret. Eventually, she found out, of course. And he told her I know the entire time."
"That dick," Steven huffs, angry for me.
"Yeah, it's fine though." I sighed, "Mom forgave me, at least after I told her what had happened. It just ended up worse for him."
"Who knows?"
"Beside from my parents? Conrad and you."
"That explains why my mom invited him then."
"Yeah, I presume she knows now, I heard her and my mom arguing."
"Why doesn't Jere know?"
"'Cause he still looks at Dad like the sun shines out of his ass, he thinks of him as a good Dad."
Suddenly a firework shoots straight passed Belly and Conrad on the pier.
"Oh shit, that was close," Steven exclaims.
I peer over the edge of the roof, to see an angry-looking Jeremiah glaring out at them with a lighter in his hand. Shit. It was him.
The air grew a chill and I unconsciously moved closer to Steven, seeking his warmth. His peaceful breathing soothed me as we looked up to the star-filled sky. It seemed they were granting me happiness tonight.
A/N I am unfortunately going back to school soon so I won't be uploading as often, I've caught up with all my editing so here's a new chapter, hope you enjoy it.
