Cruel Summer - Conrad Fisher

one

My family's been going to Susannah's beach house in Cousins for as long as I can remember. It was a tradition between mom and Susannah, one that they never stopped after having kids. I can distinctly remember learning to swim in the pool out back and teaching Belly how to ride her bike on the front driveway. The beach house isn't our home, but sometimes, it feels more like it than the one I live at during the rest of the year. Susannah told me once that it's not the physical house that makes it feel that way. It's the people. Susannah, mom, Belly, Steven Jeremiah and Conrad. These people are my home, and all year it felt like I was just waiting, counting down the days until we'd get to go back. Until we'd finally be home again.

    "You look like a puppy," I push Belly's shoulder as she leans her head out the window, a smile making its way onto her lips. She looked absolutely radiant, though, Belly has grown a lot this year. It was odd to see my little sister looking so mature. I've always thought she looked beautiful, whether she had braces and glasses or not, but Belly was finally figuring it out herself, I could see her confidence coming in, and I couldn't be more proud.

    She looked over at me, sticking her tongue out at me, "like you wouldn't be doing the same thing if you weren't driving." She remarked, leaning over to look out the window again. Cousins came into view, and excited butterflies erupted in my stomach.

     "She's got a point, Flo." Steven playfully kicks the back of my chair. He'd chosen to sit in the back solely because when Belly and I are in the car together, it's always a performance. No matter if it's the long drive to cousins or the short drive to the grocery store, her phone is always plugged in, and we're always singing.

    I'm a year older than Steven and two years older than Belly. Technically though, the two of them are my half-siblings. Mom had me with a different guy, a guy she'd slept with a few times before she met John, Belly and Stevens's dad. My father flaked as soon as she got pregnant, leaving her to care for me on her own. Before I was even a year old, she got pregnant with Steven. The two of them are my siblings. The word half never seemed applicable to them, and growing up, John never treated me like I wasn't his child. Still, sometimes, the differences between us are staggering. Mom and Susannah always liked to say that I grew up faster than Belly and the boys and that I was a mini adult by the time I was twelve.

    I pull into the driveway a few minutes later, pressing my hand against the horn to signal our arrival to Susannah and the boys. She and Jeremiah are both quick to run out of the house, my mom pulling her best friend into a tight hug. I've always loved their friendship. It was pure and strong, they've always had one another backs, and nothing could ever get in the way of that.

    I hoped Isla- my best friend, and I would be like that. She was coming up to the house for a few days this summer for the first time ever, and I was ecstatic for her to meet Susannah, the woman I considered my second mother. "Flo," Jeremiah greeted me as I stepped out of the car, placing Belly, who he'd been hugging, back on the ground before rushing over to me.

    Jeremiah's always reminded me of a golden retriever puppy. He's energetic, loyal and affectionate, with curly blonde hair that grows lighter in the sun, "Hey, Jere," I greet him, chuckling as she squeezes me tight, "how have you gotten taller?" I ask. He'd grown since I'd last seen him, not towering several feet over my short frame.

    "I think you've gotten shorter, Flo," He remarks, ruffling my hair with his hand.

     I laugh, swatting his hand away, "I am not that short."

"Are you kidding?" He asks, his bright blue eyes wide, "if you're not short, then why can I do this?" Before I can question what he means, Jeremiah scoops me up, pulling me over his shoulder with a single motion. I roll my eyes, punching my fist against the younger boy's back.