The group of teenagers had been driven back home by the police, which was not a good thing.
Once they got home, Jackie glared at the teenagers, who were all huddled together in the hall while Laurel was talking to the police officers.
Sarah sat on the floor at Liam's feet while he stood beside Jeremiah. She anxiously picked at her fingernails, knowing they were in deep trouble this time.
"Officers, thank you. It won't happen again; I can promise you that much." Laurel said politely.
"Tell Mr Fisher the chief wants to set up a tee time when he gets back in town." One of the officers responded.
"Absolutely. Sorry again for the trouble." Laurel apologized, leading the police officers out of the house. "Have a good night, officers."
When the police were out of the Summer House, both Laurel and Jackie turned to face the teenagers, their nice demeanour instantly gone.
"How could you guys be so irresponsible?" Jackie demanded, throwing her hands up.
Liam sighed. "Mum, it wasn't a big deal. All right? Seriously. The cops were just looking to break up the bonfire."
"Not a big deal?" She asked.
"Yes."
"I would say getting picked up by the cops for underage drinking is a pretty big deal, Liam."
Steven sniffed and scoffed. "Were-were you guys... smoking tonight?"
"What?" The two mums questioned quickly, confirming their answer.
Sarah's eyes widened as she exchanged glances with her older brother before staring at their mother in disbelief.
"Keep your voice down. Susannah's asleep on the couch." Laurel told her son.
"Well, I wasn't yelling. Well, you-you-you were." Steven stuttered.
Jeremiah stepped forward. "Just so you know, Laurel, I-I didn't drink tonight. I was the DD, I swear."
Laurel then pointed towards Conrad. "You're the oldest. What the hell's gotten into you?" She then turned to her daughter. "And when did you leave the house without telling anybody? And what in the world are you wearing?"
"It's Taylor's. And why am I the only one who's not allowed to go out?" Belly questioned.
"It's not that you're not allowed, it's that you should have told us you were going. How did you even get there?"
"I walked." Belly whispered.
"Jesus." Laurel muttered in disbelief. "You know better than to walk that far down the beach alone at night."
"Can you stop treating me like a kid?!"
"If you want to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one."
"Then maybe you guys should, too." Conrad spoke, making Sarah whip her head around to look at him.
Jackie looked at him in confusion. "What does that mean?"
Conrad only shrugged his shoulders.
"I hope you realize this night could have ended a lot differently if your family wasn't your family." Laurel said, glancing between the teenagers.
"We're sorry, Laur." Jeremiah apologized on behalf of all of them.
Jackie sighed. "Just... go to bed, guys."
Sarah let out a heavy sigh as she stood up and followed everyone up the stairs. She gave her brother a small side hug before going into her bedroom.
••••
Sarah was brushing her teeth in the upstairs bathroom when Jeremiah came in, shutting the door behind him.
"What's going on with you and Con? Why are you guys so mad at each other?" Jeremiah asked as he reached for his toothbrush. He hopped up onto the sink.
Jeremiah hated it when people fought. It was part of why he always played the clown. He took it upon himself to bring levity to any situation. It was sweet but also kind of annoying.
"Um, because he's a self-righteous neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie?" Sarah responded through a mouthful of toothpaste.
They both laughed at that. It was one of their little inside jokes, a line from The Breakfast Club that they spent repeating to each other the summer she was nine and he was eight.
Jeremiah cleared his throat. "Seriously, though, don't be so hard on him. He's going through some stuff."
This was news to Sarah.
"What? What stuff?" She demanded.
Jeremiah hesitated. "It's not up to me to tell you."
"Come on. We tell each other everything, Jere. No secrets, remember?"
He smiled. "I remember. But I still can't tell you. It's not my secret."
Sarah frowned and turned the faucet on. "You always take his side."
"I'm not taking his side. I'm just telling his side."
"Same thing."
Jeremiah reached out and turned the corners of Sarah's mouth up. It was one of his oldest tricks; no matter what, it made her smile.
"No pouting, Sar, remember?" He teased.
No Pouting was a rule Conrad and Liam had made up one summer. It was when Sarah was eight or nine. The thing was it only applied to her. They even put a sign up on her bedroom door. She tore it down, of course, and she ran and told Susannah and her mother. That night she got seconds on dessert, she remembered.
Anytime Sarah acted the slightest bit sad or unhappy, one of the boys would start yelling, 'No pouting. No pouting'. And, okay, maybe she did pout a lot, but it was the only way she could ever get her way.
••••
It was early in the morning and the sky was still dim.
Sarah sat up straight in her bed to see the dim sky shining through the blinds on her window. She used both of her hands to rub the sleep out of her eyes before letting out a heavy sigh.
She got out of bed and went to change. When she was dressed in a white button up shirt, rolling up the sleeves with some jean shorts, pairing it off with flip-flops. She tied her hair up, pieces of hair were falling down framing her face.
Sarah went to find a jumper she had thrown somewhere in the corner of the room. Once she found it, she put on the jumper and exited her bedroom, and out of the house.
The beautiful beach was quiet besides a flock of seagulls pecking at leftover food wrappers.
The sky turned from dark blue to a bright shimmery blue. Soft, fluffy big clouds were covering the sky, as it started to split away. As it split away, the sun restored and shined on the waves and the cold water started boiling.
As Sarah walked along the blanket of sand, along the shore, her footprints show her path and were quickly washed away by the waves, turning the shore into a blank canvas. The crashing waves splashed her skin, feeling as refreshing as an ice-cold drink on a summer day.
The howling wind whistled along the beach like an arriving train as she returned to the main area. The rhythmically pounding waves sounded peaceful.
Sarah then stopped in her place when she saw Conrad ahead sitting on the sand alone, staring out towards the ocean. She exhaled a deep breath and strolled over to him.
"Hey." Sarah greeted as she sat down beside him. The two of them sat in silence. "Last night was fun."
"A shit show." Conrad corrected. His gaze travelled across her face. The bruise on her face began to form. He clenched his jaw tightly. "You know you're gonna have a bruised lip tomorrow, right?"
"It's already tomorrow." Sarah pointed out with a smirk. Conrad only rolled his eyes. "Hey, do you... do you remember anything that happened last night? I mean, you were pretty wasted."
"I always remember everything when I drink." He responded.
The two teenagers sat in silence once more.
Sarah could feel the fresh smell of the beach like she was an air freshener, but it also smelled that gave her a tingle in her nose and feel the light breeze coming against her.
The fresh air felt warm as if she was sleeping in a comfortable bed. It felt like an escape to all her problems and her stress.
Conrad pulled a joint out from behind his ear and used his small, silver lighter to try to light it.
"Let's make a pact." Sarah spoke.
Conrad laughed. "No."
"You didn't even hear me out."
"Still no."
Sarah smirked. "From now on. For the rest of the summer. We don't smoke. If you don't smoke, then I won't smoke."
The bright shining sun went through Sarah's cold skin and give her a feeling of excitement. She could see the birds roaming around the sky like a pack of wolves making irritating squeaky noises as it is hungry and trying to find its prey as these waves dashed, the noises soothed her every time.
Conrad couldn't help but laugh. He took the joint from his mouth and placed it in his back pocket.
"Same old, Sar." Conrad chuckled before noticing the jumper she was wearing. "You're also wearing my hoodie."
"You just noticed? It's been in my room for ages. You know, I was thinking that I want to keep it. But I don't expect to get it for free. I'll race you for it." Sarah told him.
"But if we race, you can't be mad if I beat you." He said, raising an eyebrow at her. "It's my favourite hoodie, and if I win, I'm taking it."
"Race you to the boardwalk?" She asked.
"Sure." He spoke. "You want a head start?"
Sarah snorted. "Do you want a head start?"
"Touché." He said, grinning.
Sarah had never heard a boy say 'touché' before. Or anyone else, for that matter. Maybe her mother. But on him it looked good. It was different.
Without a word, Sarah quickly got up and began sprinting up the beach. She heard Conrad shouting after her. Her feet were making marks on the beach as she took every sprint.
The bright shining sun went through her cold skin and gave her a feeling of excitement.
As she kept running, she looked over her shoulder to see Conrad catching up to her. She couldn't help but laugh. At this moment nothing in the world mattered beside the two of them.
Sarah knew this summer was going to be different.
________________
PUBLISHED: 8.06.23
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Votes and comments are very much appreciated!