𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓, jeremiah fisher

one. back in cousins

I can't help the way my heart drops at the way he's smiling at her. Like even though there are billions of people in the world, she's the only one he cares about. I bite the inside of my cheek because I start to feel sick and feel as though the ground is shaking.

He hasn't seen me yet, and for once I'm grateful for the fact that I'm shorter than average. I turn my head and see Conrad coming from the back of the house, and I grin at him. He beams back at me, and we both meet in the middle. He pulls me into a bear hug, and I laugh at him.

"Dani!" he drags out. "God, I've missed you so much."

"Well, that's too bad for you 'cause I didn't miss you at all," I tell him even though we both know that it's a lie.

Conrad has been there for me in times of my life when no one else was. He is the only person who knows how I truly feel toward Jeremiah, and he's the only one I know who would understand why I did what I did two summers ago. We're alike, him and I, in more ways than one. He's the older brother I never had because Steven doesn't like any of the things I do and Conrad talks to me about things I can't talk to anyone else about.

He crosses his arms. "Oh, really? Well then, that's too bad for you 'cause you're not getting any of the neapolitan ice cream I bought."

I gasp dramatically with my mouth wide open. I quickly wrap my arms around his neck again and pull him down. "Okay, I'm sorry! Please let me have the ice cream."

He chuckles and gives me another hug before he pulls away. He touches my nose with his finger lightly. "Only if you make me one of those milkshakes you make with that ice cream. That's literally the only reason I bought it."

I roll my eyes and shove him. "Fine."

We start laughing again, and then I hear someone clearing their throat. Belly. I look back and see her staring at us. I think Belly has always been a little bit jealous of the relationship Conrad and I have. It's just easier for me to hang out with him because I don't love him in the way Belly does. He's her first love after all, and he will always just be my brother.

I notice Conrad's expression as he takes in Belly, and I internally smile to myself. Conrad and I are close, meaning that he knows about my feelings. It also means I know about his.

The two walk over to each other and I move in the opposite direction so as to not get in the way of their moment. I'm smiling when I turn around, but my face drops just as quickly.

Standing in front of me, in all his flawless nature, is Jeremiah Fisher. The boy I wish I could forget about. The boy I can't forget about because he is tattooed on my heart, imprinted onto my skin. Forgetting him would be like looking into the mirror and not being able to recognize whose face is staring back.

He looks into my eyes for a brief moment, and I savor it because it ends too soon. Steven is calling him over, and he walks away without sparing another glance back at me.

I see Mom and Susannah looking at me with sympathetic eyes, and I force a smile.

No one knows what happened between us except for Conrad. Mom has tried to force it out of me through bribes of agreeing to watch Love, Rosie however many times I want, while Susannah has tried to sweetly coax it out of me with loving words and praise. I haven't faltered though. I don't want them to know.

Before The Summer, we were inseparable. We did absolutely everything together because it hurt to even go a minute without the other. While I considered Conrad the cool older brother I could talk to about anything, Jeremiah was the one person who knew how to make me smile even when I was having the absolute worst day.

Steven still thinks we're somehow pranking him and everyone's involved in it, but we're not. Jeremiah is good at many things, but acting isn't one of them. There's no way he could ever act as if he hates me if he doesn't. He acts as though he hates me because he does.

Susannah starts to walk over to me with Mom trailing close behind, and my smile soon becomes genuine because Susannah is like that. She's the sunshine that falls onto the earth on the cloudiest day. She smiles at me widely, and I run into her arms like I'm a little kid again and I want her to save me because I just got in trouble with my mom.

"Oh, sweet child," she mumbles as she kisses my hair. "You're a dream, you know that?"

I laugh because I know I'm the complete opposite. Susannah hugs me again, and I relish this feeling because hugging her is like that first breath of air you get when you surface after spending way too long underwater.

"Well, I think it's time for a... belly flop!" I hear Steven's voice shouting eagerly.

I look over at them and laugh. They do this every year. Mom and Susannah chuckle lightly and head back inside while I walk over to the others. They're all chasing Belly around and trying to catch her.

"Dani, help!" she pants, out of breath.

I let out a soft chuckle, and shrug. "There's nothing I can do, Bells."

She glares at me in betrayal as if I've just revealed her biggest secret in front of the whole world after she told me in confidence.

The boys catch her and pick her up. I follow them to the back of the house to the pool.

"One, two, three!"

We all crack up once Belly is thrown into the pool. While I'm distracted, Conrad and Steven sneak up from behind me. I feel arms around my waist and let out a scream which gets cut off when I'm also thrown into the water.

I come up coughing water just in time to see Belly pull Conrad into the pool. Even though I'm all wet now, I laugh because I'm finally home.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jeremiah staring at the side of my face. By the time I turn my head, he's talking and laughing with Steven.

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

first chapter! let me know what you think of it!!