All The Summers Between Us | TSITP

Getting Ready To Say Goodbye.

Lydia's bedroom was glowing with the soft amber light of the late evening, the window cracked open just enough to let in the humid scent of the sea. On the bed were clothes, makeup brushes, curling irons, and an explosion of jewellery—the kind of glorious chaos that always came before a party at Cousins.

Taylor was standing behind Lydia, fussing with the straps of her top while Belly sat cross-legged on the floor, applying lip gloss in a tiny round mirror.

"Okay," Taylor declared, stepping back to admire her work. "You look hot."

Lydia glanced at herself in the mirror, adjusting the hem of her skirt. "Damn right I do."

Belly tilted her head, frowning slightly. "Really? It's not too much?"

Taylor gave her an incredulous look. "No. Conrad is gonna love it."

Lydia froze mid-adjustment and turned around slowly, eyes narrowing. "What did you just say?"

Belly burst out laughing, hiding her face behind her hands.

"What?" Taylor shrugged innocently. "You two have been looking at each other all day. And not just looking. You're looking at him like he's this ice cream cone you're dying to lick."

"Oh my god, Taylor!" Belly screamed, collapsing sideways onto the bed in a fit of laughter.

Lydia, grinning mischievously, stuck her tongue out and swirled it around in the air like she was licking something invisible.

Taylor doubled over with laughter, nearly falling off the bed. "Oh my god, stop!"

Belly was on her back now, wheezing. "I can't—I literally can't—"

The room was loud and ridiculous and perfect, the kind of laughter that made your ribs ache and your cheeks sore.

Finally, when the giggles started to die down, Lydia turned back to the mirror and smoothed her hair. "It's just..."

"Complicated," Belly and Taylor said in perfect unison.

Lydia let out a long breath. "Yeah. Complicated."

Belly propped her chin on her hand. "Wanna talk about it?"

Lydia hesitated, staring at her reflection. "I don't even know how to talk about it. Today, when we were at the party store—he told me we're always going to be us. And I believed him. And when we were playing games, it felt like nothing had changed. Like we were right back where we started. Before things got messy. Before everything fell apart."

Taylor perched on the edge of the dresser. "Maybe that's because you are right back where you started. You and Conrad have always had this... thing. It doesn't matter how much time passes, it's still there."

Lydia sighed and fiddled with the ring on her finger. "I don't know what this is supposed to be. I don't know if we're falling back into old patterns or if it's something new. I just know that when I'm around him, it's easier to breathe."

Belly's smile was soft, understanding. "Maybe that's all you need to know right now."

"Or," Taylor said, leaning forward with a grin, "maybe you're just about to make out at midnight."

"Taylor!" Belly smacked her with a pillow.

"What? I'm just saying!" Taylor laughed, catching the pillow before it hit her face.

Lydia shook her head, but the smile tugging at her lips gave her away. "You two are ridiculous."

"And you love us," Taylor said.

"I tolerate you," Lydia corrected, fighting a smile.

The three of them fell into an easy rhythm after that—Taylor curling Lydia's hair into soft waves, Belly fastening a delicate necklace around her neck. Lydia slipped into her heeled sandals and checked herself in the mirror one last time.

The girl staring back at her wasn't the same Lydia who had arrived at Cousins at the beginning of the summer—she was a little kinder, a little stronger, and a little more willing to let herself feel.

"Okay," Belly said, clapping her hands together. "You're perfect."

Lydia took a deep breath. "Let's go throw the last party this house will ever see."

Taylor grabbed her purse, Belly tucked her phone into her pocket, and together they walked out of the room—three girls, linked by friendship and family, heading into a night that none of them would ever forget.