𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗠 ᐅ𝙟𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 [ 𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 ]

𝟬𝟯

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩ TODAY ✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

The drive to Cousins this year was silent.

The Conklin's did not even visit the nearest supermarket, or bicker in the car, and the girls certainly didn't pester Steven for driving lessons like they had last year—an eerie quietness had possessed the family. It was a void that was created by grief, by the loss of family that could not easily be healed.

The loss of Susannah Fisher was akin to that of losing the sun. The world stopped functioning. Joy died. The atmosphere was frozen, preying on any soul fortunate enough to have seen the sunshine while it had the time.

Rose's mother had said she died peacefully, which Rose and Belly both heavily doubted the truth of. They could only hope. There was something in the way her mother said it, perhaps in the slight shifting of eyes or the shivering of her palms...Or perhaps Rose was overthinking. It wouldn't be the first time.

Jeremiah stood outside the porch, staring at the drive with an unreadable expression.

She sat up in her seat. One of the last time's she'd seen him had been that night; when summer switched to winter in a singular, transient blink.

Conrad stood by the door, hidden in the shadow of the house. Jeremiah was out in the sun. And as the blissful beams of light rained down on him, it was almost as if this was Susannah's way of being with him. Like she was holding his hand. Jeremiah had always done that in public—he'd never once been embarrassed. His hand flexed at his side.

This time, instead of holding back, Rose flung open the door and raced across the drive. Jeremy looked exactly the same. His eyes weren't sunken in, his lips weren't downturned, in fact, he looked brighter than ever.

Rose practically flew into his arms, and once they were hugging again, she completely relaxed. A laugh bubbled up in her throat when Jeremiah spun her around, her hair flying around the two of them like a halo. Jeremiah buried his head in the crook of her neck, and his breath tickled her skin so much that she pushed him off with a giggle.

Jeremiah grinned down at her—that was one thing that had changed. He was taller. "Roe."

"No Rose Petal this time?"

"I've grown out of it," he said curtly before ruffling her hair. "Rose Petal."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Knew it was too good to be true."

"Couldn't help it, could I? Don't blame me."

At his words, Rose began to hum 'Don't Blame Me' by Taylor Swift as Conrad and Steven hugged. Jeremiah's head tilted a little. His eyes trailed to her outfit, up to her hair before focusing in on her face again.

"What?"

"You changed your style," he said softly. He reached out to touch the multicoloured beads in her hair with a confused smile. "I like the beads."

She flicked down his cap with a snicker. "I like the cap."

"Get off," he laughed.

"No, seriously. You look like a tennis player."

He put the cap on her head with a lopsided smile. "Not anymore."