summer nights // jeremiah and conrad fisher

P R O L O G U E

Spring 2021

It wasn't often that Olivia Brown was left speechless; defenseless. But when she got the phone call that she had been anticipating for months, she was frozen. She had been preparing for this very moment since the day her father was diagnosed with brain cancer. But it made no difference.

She still felt like she'd been shot in the chest, leaning against the drivers seat in her car, head in her hands as tears soaked them. Her chest felt heavier than it ever had, and she could barely breathe, let alone form thoughts in her brain.

But even still, she felt the unbearable need to reach for her phone that she'd previously let drop into her cup holder. She didn't even know what she was doing until she heard the dial tone coming from her cellphone.

"Hey Liv," a familiar voice sounded from her hand, quiet because it wasn't on speaker phone.

"Hi," she croaked out, her mind now processing that she'd called Conrad. She brought her phone to her ear.

"Olivia are you alright? What's wrong?" Conrad questioned urgently, noticing the abnormal tone of her voice.

"Um," she sucked in a shaky breath, trying to keep her voice strong. "It happened," she said softly, praying that he'd know what she meant.

And he did. Of course he did. "Oh, Liv. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry," he breathed out, and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. "What can I do?"

She found her lips twitching ever so slightly into a smile, soothed by just the sound of his voice. "Can you just-" she took a beat, trying to build up the courage to say what she wanted to, "can you just talk? I just need to hear your voice," she practically whispered, hand fiddling with the string of her sweatshirt.

"Of course," Conrad didn't hesitate. "School's terrible, as usual. But I've been practicing football a lot with my dad. I think I could really go all the way, which is exciting but a little scary..." Olivia smiled as Conrad went on and on, her heartbeat slowing down with every word, body relaxing.

For the hours she sat there on the phone with Conrad, she'd nearly forgotten that her father was gone. She forgot that she was struggling at school. She forgot that she had no real friends anymore. It was just her and Conrad. She couldn't wait to see him in the summer.

June 2021

Olivia's leg shook against her floor as she sat on her bed, staring at her phone, lit up with Conrad's picture as the facetime call rang.

She wanted nothing more than to ignore the call, so she didn't have to tell him what she'd been dreading for so long. Finally, before the ringing stopped, she swiped her thumb across the answer button. "Hey," he spoke instantly, his face very close to the screen, "why aren't you here yet? You usually come like the first day of June."

She was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words, "I've been trying to find the right time to tell you, Conrad," she spoke softly, making eye contact with him through the screen.

"Tell me what?" she could hear the confusion in his voice, and she could see it on his face too.

"I can't come to Cousins this summer, Connie," she finally forced out, watching as his face fell. "I want to so bad," she added, feeling even more awful than she did before. "It's my aunt. She has custody of me now, and she says she needs me to stay in Denver and work. We're low on money, I guess," she added, fiddling with the hem of her shorts off camera. The thought of not being able to spend the summer with Conrad made her sick. Conrad, Jeremiah, Belly and Steven, she meant.

"That's ridiculous," he mumbled, eyes now torn from her and down at the ground. "I mean- you can't just come for awhile? Like a week?" He suggested, voice soft and full of desperate hope.

She shook your head, "I asked." She clenched her jaw at the memory of that conversation with her aunt. She was so unreasonable, it was insane. All Olivia asked for was just a little time in Cousins, her home away from home. But every time she asked for anything since her father died, her aunt just made her feel guilty about it.

"I'm still paying off expenses from your fathers funeral and you want to go on vacation? Sure, why not?" she'd say, knowing she'd take back her request out of guilt.

"I'm sorry Conrad. I really wish I could come, more than you know."

Conrad gave Olivia a small smile, the best one he could muster up, "I know. It just sucks."

She nods in agreement, leaning back against her pillow, feeling slightly better now that she'd at least told him. "We can still facetime," she tries to keep the conversation positive.

Conrad nods. "Of course. I'm just gonna miss you."

"You'll still have Jere, Steven and Belly. You guys can have loads of fun without me."

Conrad gave her a look, "I have more fun when you're there Liv, you know that."

Olivia's heart clenches at the look in Conrad's eye, one she swears she's not misreading. It's the same way she looks at him when she's one hundred percent sure he's not looking. "I'll be 18 next year," she diverts the conversation. "My aunt can't control me then. I'll be there next summer, I promise."

"You better be," he smiles.