That Summer

Chapter Twenty-Six

ONE YEAR LATER...

I step out of the airport, dragging my black-and-white polka dot suitcase behind me. I breathe in that familiar city air and look to my right at Evan with excitement. He stares at me for just one second before he starts to cheer, throwing his bag in the air and nearly hitting a woman in the face, which sends us both into laughter.

This is it. Within the week, my older brother, the one who made fun of me when I was little and actually beat up a stupid guy in grade school for me, will be getting married to the love of his life. The happiness that I feel for him can't even be expressed. I always knew this day would come, but I never thought it would arrive so quickly.

It feels like just yesterday that he was pushing me on the swing set when Mom was sick and Dad was busy taking care of her.

Right now, the two of us, plus our parents, plus all my cousins and aunts and uncles and my grandparents, are in London for Evan and Lily's wedding. Lily and her parents stayed back home in Cardiff for the day while her family flies in from Northern Ireland.

"Wow, everything is just so...wow," exclaims Evan, who has never been here before (he went with his gut when he let Lily pick out their wedding spot; he's only seen pictures).

"No words?" I question.

"None," he laughs.

Mum steps in front of us. "Well, come on now, let's get a move on. The hotel is probably ready!" I look behind us and see all my family grab their suitcases and bags and we catch a bus straight to the hotel.

I'm very excited for my brother, but I'm also nervous about being here in London. We pass so many different places that Niall and me and the lads went to hang out. The memories hurt.

Throughout my first year at Yale, Niall and I did keep in contact. The first couple of months, we texted each other almost everyday. He'd tell me what he and the guys were doing that day, and I'd let him know how boring each and every one of my classes was. As long as he wasn't trying to be "lovely dovey" with me, I was perfectly okay with talking to him.

However, as the year went on, as I became more comfortable over in America, and as Niall had to begin Take Me Home promotions and rehearsals for the tour, we began to grow apart. Nightly texts became every other day messages, and soon, I was lucky if I got one once a week.

I had to know that that was coming. I just didn't want it to come that quickly. The texts I got from him relieved my homesickness, which was very bad. I enjoyed knowing that he was thinking about me and wanted to make sure that I was doing all right. And as the texts slowly came to a stop, I accepted what that meant.

He had moved on. And it was time that I did, too.

"Hey, we're here," Evan says, shaking my shoulder and snapping me out of my thoughts. I look outside the bus windows and see the huge hotel towering over us. My family all piles out of the bus and heads straight inside the hotel to check in. It turns out that I'm going to share a room with Jean (my only girl cousin) and my cousins Charlie and Max, who happen to be identical twins.

The four of us were just barely getting settled in when there's a knock at the door.

"Nose goes!" Charlie shouts, putting his finger to his nose. Jean is close behind, and Max is able to beat me by a millisecond. "Aww, too bad, slowpoke!"

I stick my tongue out at him and head for the door. For being one year older than me, Charlie and Max sure are obnoxious; even Jean, who is two years younger, is more mature. I twist the doorknob and open the door to reveal a certain favroite uncle of mine.