CHAPTER ONE
( perfectly picturesque )
NEVER HAD THERE BEEN A DAY BLUER THAN THIS ONE.
I had opened my eyes this morning to instantly discover an electric sky blue had engulfed everything around me. It was fresh, and thrilling, and lively, and—
"Magnolia? Are you listening?"
My head jolts up from where my wandering eyes had strayed absentmindedly to the worn patterned rug resting beneath my feet.
"What? Yeah, sorry." I apologize, eliciting a sweet smile from the woman sitting before me; resisting the urge to let my eyes flicker to the grand father clock ticking in the corner of the room I'd come to know so intimately over the last six months.
"I was telling you that our time is officially up."
This time, I don't resist.
My eyes flash eagerly to the clock, a feeling of excitement bubbling in the pit of my belly, my leg beginning to bounce along with it.
"You know," I looked back over the woman sitting across the desk from me, eyes kind and gentle. "Therapy isn't as bad as everyone claims it's gonna be. I was pleasantly surprised."
She blinks, clearly taken aback by my words— the most positive ones she's likely ever heard from me. I'll admit that I tend to fall on the pessimistic side of things, so it was probably a refreshing way to end our very last session together.
"That's good to hear. You should be proud of the progress you've made. I hope you have a fantastic summer."
Ah, the fantastic summer— that is precisely why I'm in a rather good mood today.
Today, I leave for Cousins, bound for the beach house I've only ever heard about in the dreamiest of conversations.
I rise to leave, but I'm stopped one final time.
"However..."
I internally sigh at her words— there's always a however.
"I can't in good conscience recommend you stop the group sessions and the private ones. While you have done excellent work here, I think there is still things to cover. I know you'll be out of town, but we can zoom you in every tues—"
"Ms. Michelle." I politely, or at least what I hope is politely, interrupt with a small chuckle. "Thank you for everything, really. But... I'm good. I'm doing good.
"I know you feel that way now, but spending an entire summer with Susannah might be more taxing than you realize."
I scoff, furrowing my brows and extending my arms to the side. "Spending an entire summer with Susannah sounds like a dream come true! I can't wait!"
I bite the inside of my cheek, still where I stand, watching her scrutinize me. I know she's a therapist and all, and that she's trained for this, but I think I can beat her at her own game... she can't deny this is the happiest I've been since the moment she met me.
She releases a small sigh, making me smile; closing her binder with a shrug and returning the warm look. "Okay. Have a great summer, Magnolia."
"Yeah, yeah." I smile, waving to her while I walk backwards, stumbling slowly out the door. "You too!"
The second I reach the hallway my rapid footsteps are echoing behind me, bouncing from wall to wall as I sprint in freedom towards the front office and and straight to the exit. I let out a resounding holler of glee, which, in retrospect, was probably not the most appropriate way to bid adieu to a building where each room contained a person ripping apart their soul to clean it out then stitch it up again, but I couldn't help it. I'm too damn excited.
I tear my phone from the back pocket of my jeans as I race out onto the street, lifting it to my lips, short of breath. "Call Jeremiah Fisher!"
"Calling Jeremiah F—"
Siri doesn't have time to finish before I twist my ankle and fall off the curb.
༻✧༺
"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ACTUALLY BROKE YOUR WRIST."
"What a way to kick off the summer, right?" I roll my eyes with a smile he can't see, letting my head lull lazily against the padded seat I slouched comfortably in, my body moving along with the slight bounce of the bus' big tires speeding along the pavement.
"MOM!" I wince at the volume, pulling my phone temporarily from my ear as he continued to shout; clearly not realizing how loudly he was screaming into the speakers. "MAGGIE BROKE HER WRIST!!"
I hear Susannah give a light gasp in the background, only a few seconds of silence passing before it's her voice (much more soothing than Jeremiahs, might I add) on the phone instead.
"Oh, sweetie! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Susannah." I chuckle, pinching the bridge of my nose momentarily. "Got chic black cast."
"Oh! I call dibs on signing it first!" Jeremiah, again— obviously.
"No." I scoff. "Casts with signatures all over them are tacky, I'm not doing that."
"What?! Casts with signatures all over them are cool!" he argues. "Remember when I got Clara to sign mine?"
Clara— that nurse's name would echo my head until the day that I died.
"Oh my God, Jeremiah, Clara was a grown adult woman who signed your cast because you were a thirteen year old with a broken elbow and a mom with cancer. No offense, Susannah."
"None taken! Head out of the clouds, Jere Bear."
"You say that like you didn't also have a massive crush on her." he pointed out.
"Whatever." I dismiss, knowing he's not wrong.
Once I heard the soft tapping of wedges against polished wood floors, I knew it was just the two of us again. My gaze moved to the window beside me, watching in reverie as the world passed by in a blur of fast-moving colors; the scenery slowly changing from the small, insignificant town of Hartly Delaware to the great city of Boston Massachusetts. There was a moment of comfortable silence, a moment of just being, before Jeremiah spoke up again, voice a little softer this time.
"How far are you from Boston? Has the trip been bad?"
"Not at all. Unless you consider six hours on a bus with a screaming baby bad." he chuckled from the other end of the phone. "No, it hasn't been bad. I think I'm like an hour out now." There was a beat, Jeremiah unaware of how wide my grin grew during that time. "I'm so excited." I whisper.
There was another pause, presumably one filled with him stopping for the same moment of happy reflection.
"Me too."
"See you soon, Jere."
"See you soon, Maggie."
༻✧༺
JEREMIAH WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE SIDEWALK, JUMPING UP AND DOWN SO FERVENTLY THAT HIS FEET were lifting constantly off the concrete as I stepped off the bus.
In his arms, held high in the sky, was a sign with my name (clearly in Susannah's beautiful handwriting... his penmanship is trash). Susannah herself was standing beside him in a bonny sundress, chin resting on her excitedly clasped hands, the same sparkling smile she always had gracing her features. Still— it held no candle to the look of elation that came with the blonde-headed boy's bursting grin and his inability to even keep his feet on the ground in my presence.
"Oh my God." I chuckle lowly, dipping my head down and hoping the black shades resting on the tip of my nose were mostly masking the blush rising to my cheeks; equal parts embarrassment (many were staring) as it was delight.
"MAGGIE!!" he yells in glee, still jumping like a little kid and waving the sign around in pride.
"I-I don't know him." I give a nervous chuckle to the others brushing past me, dragging all my suitcases along with; duffle bags weighing down both my shoulders.
I pretend not to enjoy stuff like this, but I definitely do. And Jeremiah definitely knows this, in spite of my lifelong endeavors to keep it concealed.
I can't keep the grin off my face much longer as I near the pair, and he can't seem to stay still for one more second; the boy heedlessly tossing the sign somewhere behind him and taking off towards me with open arms. I quickly drop all my luggage, shimmying the bags from my shoulders to free up my own arms just in time for him to come barreling into me like a freight train, nearly knocking me from my feet.
His hugs had always been wildly zealous. He squeezes people way too hard, and tugs them helplessly around in his embrace like they're rag dolls incapable of being injured. I don't think he realizes how aggressive his love can actually be, but that's okay. I like that about him.
"Gahhh, I'm so glad you're here!" he exclaims, the sound of my laughter lost within his chest as he pulls me around; the full weight of his head leaning into the top of mine.
"Jeremiah, be careful with her! She just broke her arm!" Susannah's warning as she approaches (having recovered the sign he threw) causes him to recoil with a small gasp.
"Oh, shit! Sorry, I totally forgot about that!" he apologizes, gently grabbing ahold of my hard cast and lifting my arm closer to his eyes; scrutinizing it before meeting my gaze again. "Does it hurt?"
"Only a little." I shake my head with a smile and shrug, far less interested in talking to him about my arm than hugging Susannah.
With a quiet squeal, I wrap my arms wholeheartedly around her; our cheeks pressed together.
"My sweet girl, it's been too long!" she sighs happily, closing her eyes contently and not yet letting me go— I have no objection to this.
I've never met another human being quite like Susannah. She was warmth if warmth was a woman.
"Truly." I agree with a nod, only then parting from her; looking down to see Jeremiah already retrieving my luggage piled at our feet.
"You two, get together." she instructs, placing the sign into my hands before taking a large step back and pulling out her phone.
"I don't have eyeliner on yet." I scrunch my nose. My inability to function without thick cat eyes and frequent sparkles should be known to the Fishers by now... I've been mastering the craft since I was first allowed to buy makeup when I turned 13.
"Oh, you look great!" she waved her hand at me, Jeremiah already placing an arm over my shoulders and grabbing one side of the sign with his free hand. "You two need to get used to this now, because I want lots of pictures from this summer."
I run the palm of my hand over my head, making sure my hair was smoothed out before I leaned into the boy's side and smiled. It felt so nice to be within his company again— living far away from your dearest friend is not ideal. A groan escaped my lips when he plucked the sunglasses from my face and stuck them in his own unruly curls as decoration, but I knew better than to try and steal them back.
Susannah tells us to smile and holds up her phone, Jeremiah's eyes flickering down to me for a split second. "You do, by the way. Look great."
"Oh, how I've missed your constant flirting." I smile sardonically up at him.
"Oh, how I've missed your never-ending sarcasm." he counters, earning a real smile from me this time.
My brown eyes linger momentarily in the blue of his. I hummed in amusement— their color matches the day. A softness tugs at my chest from this minute detail, and I almost mention it to him, but soon Susannah has snapped the picture and our adventure has officially begun.
"Where is weird Conrad?" I ask, Jeremiah traveling by my side as the two of us follow Susannah into the parking lot. I turn to the blonde boy next to me. "He's still weird, right?"
"Still weird." he confirms with a nod.
"He's in the car." she says.
It's been months since I've seen the Fisher family, but that doesn't mean I'm not in the know. Jeremiah told me a while ago that it was like some sort of flip had switched within in his brother, Conrad, and he'd been acting peculiarly since.
It didn't surprise me then and it doesn't surprise me now. Conrad wasn't Edgar Allan Poe by any means, but he's always been much more like me in that way— darker on the inside than he cares to admit. Maybe this small part of him was amplified since he had a literal human golden retriever for a brother, and the most optimistic, happy-go-lucky mother. But still, it wasn't a shocker when I'd learned he'd fallen down some sort of gloomy rabbit hole.
The only thing that did surprise me was when he didn't even bother to look up from his phone upon my arrival.
"Hey." I shrugged expectantly through the rolled down window, his shoulders hunched and hoodie tugged over his head; scrolling mindlessly on the little screen.
Nothing.
"Conrad! Say hello!" Susannah furrowed her brows.
"Hey." he muttered an obligatory response, still not glancing my way.
I frowned, exchanging a look with Jeremiah. It was no secret I was closest to the youngest Fisher brother, everyone knew it. But Conrad and I still had been through a lot together, and had (at least what I considered to be) a close bond. Maybe I was wrong.
I walked around to the back of the car where Jeremiah was loading my luggage into the already packed vehicle brimming with bags.
"You didn't tell me he was this bad." I whispered.
"He's usually not." the boy shook his head.
We closed the trunk, hopped in the back seats, and started off towards our destination.
The roughly two hour long road trip was filled with Susannah idolizing a radio station that never played any songs we knew, Conrad staying silent, and Jeremiah and I chattering endlessly.
"Could you hold it still, for like, two seconds please?" I huffed, grabbing his hand and repositioning the compact mirror in it to face me.
"Maggie, look out the window! Take in the views!" he encouraged.
"I'll take in the views when my eyes look pretty enough to." I informed, keeping focused with the liquid liner in my hand.
I nearly lost my shit when we hit a bump and the makeup went smearing across half my face, like a long a scar over my eye. I nearly lost my shit again when Jeremiah laughed and laughed at me for it, and again when he 'fixed' it (I use the word fix loosely) by licking his finger and wiping it off my face. But still, I reveled in moments like this one. Jeremiah, Susannah, and Conrad (omitting his weird phase where he apparently hates me) were my home.
Jeremiah was out of the car before it had even been put into park as we rolled into the driveway, racing excitedly to open my door for me. "Come on, let's go!" he urged, offering a hand.
But I couldn't move, I was too busy staring at the scene before me. Before today, it was a place that only existed in stories, in pictures, aided by my active imagination. But now, here it was, a thing of the flesh.
The house was perfectly picturesque— spotless with not a single element out of place. It was bright and vivid and... blue! The shingles were a gentle pastel, the hydrangeas lining the cobblestone pathway leading to the front porch drenched a much darker shade, the friendly rocking chairs and door proudly supporting the shade too.
My eyes finally fell to Jeremiah, still offering me his hand with a warm smile; clearly delighted by the happiness on my face. "Let's go." he said again, softer this time.
I grabbed ahold of his hand and was pulled further onto the driveway, breathing in the salt-infused air as he began another wave of energetic bouncing on his heels. The two of us had been plotting and scheming for me to accompany them to one of their magical Cousins summers since we were kids.
He grinned over at me, yet to let go of my hand.
"Ready for the best summer of your life, Maggie?"
Like I mentioned earlier, I am a pessimist. I don't assume things are going to be grand the way Jeremiah does, and I most certainly don't decide before a season of life comes that it will be the best or the greatest.
But standing here with him now, I felt an unusual tug at my heart— urging me to buy into these joyful delusions. And so for once, just for a second, I did.
Maybe they weren't delusions.
Maybe this would be the best summer of my life.
Spoiler alert— I was wrong.
cam speaks!
so it turns out i hate writing in first person💀
i feel like i suck at writing first person and it makes it feel so much more, like, cliche, i guess? idk. what do y'all think?
regardless, thank you for reading! <3
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