Hoppla! Dieses Bild entspricht nicht unseren inhaltlichen Richtlinien. Um mit dem Veröffentlichen fortfahren zu können, entferne es bitte oder lade ein anderes Bild hoch.
Hoppla! Dieses Bild entspricht nicht unseren inhaltlichen Richtlinien. Um mit dem Veröffentlichen fortfahren zu können, entferne es bitte oder lade ein anderes Bild hoch.
FOURTH OF JULY had always been a big thing in Cousins. There was a huge bonfire by the beach, and the sky was illuminated by fireworks in all colours, no matter where you looked.
Fourth of July was also the time that Adam Fisher and John Conklin came to visit their families. A time that Julie should look forward to, but never did.
Truth was, Julie had never been very close to her father. He had always favoured the boys over her; he came to all their football games and always brought them big, expensive gifts every time he had an occasion, while she couldn't remember him doing anything special for her since she had been a little girl.
When she found out he wasn't visiting that year, she actually found herself feeling happy about it. She knew, she shouldn't be, especially considering how much it meant to her twin brother, and she felt bad when she saw the defeated look on his face.
Jeremiah had been extraordinarily excited for the party this year. He wanted to show his father how he had grown. That he wasn't this little, immature boy anymore. That dream got crushed, though, when Adam called and said he couldn't make it.
Somehow, he did make it though, because suddenly he was there, standing at the front door, and Jeremiah was all over him.
Adam Fisher smiled as always brightly at his sons, seemingly surprised when Conrad didn't reciprocate the hug he gave him and instead joined his sister in sulking behind his back.
Another surprise of the night was John Conklin's girlfriend, who showed up along with Laurel's ex-husband and acted like she was invited by making cocktails in their blender and feeding them to Belly—a sixteen-year-old girl who wasn't allowed to drink.
And as they had seen on more than one—which was already more than enough—occasions, Belly was terrible when she was drunk. Before they had even moved down to the beach to watch the fireworks, she had scared all her friends away.
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
STEVEN WATCHED FROM afar as Julie laughed loudly at something Drew had said. The girl was squeezed between her two best friends, for once not third-wheeling the couple.
His eyes continued to follow her as Jeremiah joined them, watching his favourite pair of twins as they for once didn't fight and instead sat side by side while talking to their friends.
He was so occupied with watching the blonde beauty, that he didn't notice the presence of Conrad Fisher, as the older boy sunk down into the sand beside him.
They didn't say anything at first, the two boys both preoccupied with their own thoughts, but after a little while of silence, Conrad spoke.
"Are you alright?" His question caught Steven off-guard.
He turned to him, a bit surprise covering his features. He couldn't recall the last time he and Conrad had talked about feelings.
"Yeah," he spoke, a lump forming in his throat as he said the words, "why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you keep looking at my sister like you want to kiss her real bad." Conrad tried to make a joke of the situation.
"What? Why? No?" Steven looked like a deer in headlights, quickly trying to deny it by shaking his head, but giving up when Conrad sent him a knowing look.
"I've known the three of you since you were babies," he smiled fondly at the thought, "I can clearly tell when you're lying." He patted Steven's back gently.
"Well, I don't know how to talk to her." His eyes subconsciously found the back of her head again. "I'm scared of making things worse,"
"I honestly don't know how to talk about things like that either, but please don't give up. You guys deserve each other," Conrad looked in the same direction as the other boy, smiling when he caught side of his two younger siblings dancing together while making fun of the couples surrounding them.
"I could never give up on her. Not even in my wildest dreams could my life be better without her in it."
"Good," Conrad tried to smile, but failed. He wanted tell him what he knew. He wanted tell him that he just wanted him to be there for Julie. He wanted to insure that she was going to have someone who cared about her enough to help her through what was to come. He couldn't tell him the real reason he so desperately wanted the boy to fight for her.
"Why are you even listening to this?" Steven frowned.
"I just—" he faltered for just a second of a moment, "—think you're getting a little pathetic, man."
"Shut up, will you?" Steven quickly threw back a snarky remark.
✸ edited ✸ i wanted to publish this yesterday, but i forgot so you'll just have to enjoy it a bit late
