lemonade | ethan

seventeen

we'd all been really stressed at school for the last couple months. ethan and i finally finished our chemistry project after long nights at my place.

presenting to the class was a breeze. mr kim was super impressed and smacked an A right on our papers.

it's been a month since mrs miller's charity money was stolen. the case went cold, though, for no one could find out who had stolen it.

"if you tan with your sunglasses on, you're sure to get a tan line on your face." melanie says from beside me. the sun glare in our faces as we lay on beach chairs beside each other on the coast of brooklyn bay; a beach.

i look at her, furrowing my eyebrows before taking my sunglasses off. her baby bump was showing much better now, i see the change every time i see her. which is a lot. we hang around nick and his friends all the time, all the south siders. as far as i know, they've actually grown to liking me finally.

the boys play football and swim in the ocean as melanie and i sit and watch while we attempt to tan.

"what time is your appointment scheduled tomorrow?" i ask melanie, setting my sunglasses down on the table beside us.

i see her lip tug upward. "noon." she says. "i'm nervous."

"a good nervous, right? i promise the gender reveal party is going to be great." i say. a part of me wanted to convince her parents to show up. i know they still cared about melanie and her baby because if they didn't, they wouldn't have paid for her doctors appointment. the real question was, did melanie even want her parents there?

they neglected her for so long, acted like she didn't exist. i can't imagine how badly that must've hurt. to my knowledge, she's been living under nick's roof, welcomed warmly by his family.

she chuckles. "thank you." she says, relieved. "so... how're you and ethan doing?"

i furrow my eyebrows, looking over at him as he throws a football with sonny and nick.

"he's so good looking isn't he?" melanie says, loud enough for them to possibly hear as she teased me.

i laugh, slouching in my seat of embarrassment. "i'm gonna get a smoothie. you want one?" i ask, quickly getting up from my chair.

melanie chuckles, "sure. i'll catch up with you."

just up the hill of the beach, there were a strip of stores. i catch a glimpse of the smoothie store and make my way over. as i look over the menu, i remember melanie's favorite flavor in which i could order for her.

the bell rings, and a group of middle school girls walk in. they're south siders. they stand in line, examining the menu and counting their money in their hands. i take notice that they're counting change.

i watch as the girls go up and pay, one of them standing still. "you guys go ahead. i don't have enough." she says, a frown on her face.

i glance down at my wallet, filled with money. i slip out a twenty and hand it over to the middle school girl. she needed it way more than i did.

"here." i smile. "buy a smoothie."

she hesitantly takes it, looking up at me with genuinely happy eyes. "thank you."

"not a problem." i chuckle. "what's your name?"

"alexandra." she says, smiling.

"pretty name. i'm devon." i introduce myself.

"i know who you are." she says, her smile never leaving. "you're the one who stood up for the south siders at that charity event a couple months ago." she explains.

"oh yeah? you were there?" i chuckled, happy that's what she knows me by.

she shakes her head, "no. my brother wouldn't let me go but i heard a lot about it."

"why wouldn't he let you go? the entire town was invited." i question.

she shrugged. "i don't know, really. all i know is that he came home with a busted face. i had to clean it up." she sighs, "boys."

i stay silent, a confused look on my face. she mirrors it, wondering why i was suddenly shut down. "ethan?"

she slowly nods, her eyebrows furrowed. "yes?"

"huh." i say. "he's never told me he had a sister." i chuckled.

she shrugged once more. "i guess he doesn't really mention me. the only friend of his i know is sonny."

"figured." i chuckle. "he's the closest to him."

i see her clutch the twenty dollar bill in her hand. "you gonna buy something?" i ask.

she shakes her head. "thanks for the money, devon. but i'm saving up for culinary school, if you don't mind. a smoothie can wait."

my heart warms. that is so pure. i smile, "it sure can, huh?" i say. "i hope you make it into culinary school."

"me too." she says, looking down at the money she held. "ethan works extra hours at the garage just to get extra money so i could go to college. he thinks i don't know, but it's obvious."

"that's sweet of him." it really was. he was so focused on his little sister than himself. it was selfless, and it only made me feel more.

alexandra rambles on about her life, spilling a little too much information about them. she mentions her mom and how she's an alcoholic. that she's jobless and the only one keeping the roof over their heads was ethan. she talks about her father and how she's never met him, that he left after she was born.

and that she in a way, was grateful that she doesn't know him so she won't be as hurt as ethan was.

that made my heart ache.

their life was torn, and now i'm starting to realize why ethan doesn't let anyone into his home.

i didn't want alexandra spilling her entire life story to me. it was definitely private, but i couldn't help myself. i was in too deep, and it was impossible to turn back now.

before alexandra could say anymore, however, her friends call her over to leave. we say goodbye and before they walk out, i notice one of her friends offering to share her smoothie with her.

i hated knowing too much about them. it didn't feel right.

it forces my brain to pity him. and i know the one thing he hates the most is feeling like he was less.

END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

cute, huh ?

FUCK school like honestly this weekend is going by WAY too fast !!