Soundtrack of my Summer

1. Trip Down Memory Lane

I laughed lightly. 'That summed it up pretty well. I just don't see the point. Do you have any idea how hard it was to choose that many clothes, then trying fit them all in a tiny case?! It was a bloody mission I tell you.'

'I managed.'

'Like I said; perfectionist.'

I tucked into my plate, a rich and buttery smell seeping into my nostrils. I craved their warmth in my mouth and was mesmerized by the sweetness of the syrup unfolding on my tongue, followed by the delicate, buttery flavour of the cake itself. It was mouth-watering, with the subtle hint of honey trickling down my throat. It was so good.

'Mmmmm.....,' I swallowed hard, savouring every moment of it. 'These are amazing!'

'Always the tone of surprise,' she said, a smile in her voice as she took her seat opposite me.

At that moment, rays of gold shone through the glass panelling while the sun took its place in the pale blue morning sky. The kitchen instantly glowed as the rays reflected off the fuchsia walls and silver tabletop. The first day of July was certainly living up to its promise. British weather hardly allowed any days of sunny pleasure; I hoped the rest of the summer would hold up.

'Lena would have a fit and a half if she heard all your complaining and judging by what you've told me, I'm pretty sure your suitcase is a tip,' my mum commented, continuing our conversation.

'Lena knows where her loyalties lie. She should be happy I'm going to her wedding at all,' I exclaimed. My extremely lovely, yet highly irritating cousin was making it increasingly difficult to sympathise with her.

'She's your favourite cousin,' my mum said gently. 'She needs you there, now more than ever.'

'Why? Coz she thinks she's going to be fourth time lucky?' I sighed. 'I just don't get it. She's been there, done that three times already. What makes her think this one will be THE guy. She's walked down the aisle in Rome, with Tony; Hawaii with Michael and then France with Ashton.' I ticked them off my fingers as I went along.

'Now she brings this wedding to Bridgewood, and I'm thinking to myself whether or not it's worth it. She deserves better,' I finished quietly.

'I know she does but you know Lena. She finds a guy, thinks she's fallen in love and the following year she's getting married. But this time, I dunno, it seems different. It genuinely seems like she's found the right person.'

'But doesn't she feel like she's torturing herself? After three times, you'd have thought she would have, you know, quit on the whole marriage thing but she's just as determined as ever.'

I was honestly curious why she hadn't given up on love. I didn't understand how she had the courage to let herself love again or be loved. Three times being screwed over is enough to make any person cringe from the word 'love'.

'Maybe this guy's different, makes her feel completely different to before. If he's able to keep her smiling and make her feel that this is the right decision, who are we to question it?'

So true. Once was enough for me to turn away from guys, permanently detach myself from them, but Lena's always been stronger than me. She has something in her I'll never be able to explain or understand.

I carried on eating, thinking of Lena and what she must be going through. How was it that she had the strength to carry on going, to stop herself from holding back from her past and moving on in search of happiness? If what my mum had said was anything to go by, then she must have found it.

'Brooke, are you going to be ok?'

I looked up to see her looking at me tenderly. See, that's what I love so much about my mum. She's not my mum; she's my sister and friend. She's wild and crazy and we'll hang out and do all the insane things that friends do. But looking back, I realise how much I'd taken away from her. After my dad died, she didn't slip into her own world, blocking the whole world out. She was the opposite. She moved forward by thinking of him in all the good things she did and even though she stayed who she was, she'd lost him. And this past year, I guess she lost a little part of me too.