Back To Where We Started

A/N It's been a while since I updated it was more like a month but I finally did and the chapter will switch up to POVS 

So this chapter will be on Belly's POV 

Summer used to mean something different

It used to mean tan lines and midnight swims, chasing fireflies and hearing the ocean in a seashell

It used to mean him 

Now, it just means memories I've spent years trying to bury

We pulled up to Cousins Beach just past noon

 The same house, the same porch, the same salty breeze that clung to my skin like a second memory

Only this time, it wasn't just a summer vacation

 It was Aunt Julia's wedding, and it felt like the universe's cruel way of forcing all of us back together

Mom parked the car, and Steven jumped out like he couldn't get away from us fast enough

"Smells like dead fish," he muttered, grabbing his bag

"Laurel!" a familiar voice called from the porch

There she was

Susannah Fisher

In her usual linen dress, barefoot like always, with that same light in her eyes

 She looked at us like we were her favorite painting come to life again

And then she saw me

"Oh my god," she gasped, practically rushing toward me "My special girl! Is that you?"

She hugged me so tight I could barely breathe

 Her hands cupped my face like I was porcelain

"Look at you No glasses, no braces—my god, you've changed The last time I saw you, you were still wearing that seashell necklace and eating Fruit Roll-Ups for breakfast."

I laughed, cheeks heating up from her compliment "Well, I still eat Fruit Roll-Ups."

She grinned "Of course you do."

It should have felt perfect

It should have felt like home

But then I looked up and saw him again 

Conrad Fisher 

Standing on the porch, one hand tucked in his pocket, the other running through his hair like he always did when he was nervous

Our eyes met for a second

 Just this once 

And in that second, it was like the air got sucked out of my lungs

He gave a small nod

Almost like a hello

But not quite

I nodded back, awkwardly, heart hammering

The last time I saw him, he was seventeen, breaking my heart with his silence

 Now he was older, broader

His jaw was sharpened 

 But the sadness in his eyes?

That hadn't changed

Before I could say anything or even think someone else appeared behind him, practically bounding down the porch steps

"Belly!"

Jeremiah

Sun-kissed and smiling like nothing had ever gone wrong