𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓, jeremiah fisher

four. the break up reveal

I WAKE UP with my head aching and my breathing heavy. I didn't even drink last night.

We all got into huge trouble once we got back last night. I hadn't really said anything to defend our actions because I was out of it. I had just wanted my bed.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I go downstairs for breakfast and some pills to stop this stupid headache. On my way into the kitchen, I spot Conrad laying down on the couch with his arm over his eyes. I sneak towards him and hit him with a pillow I grabbed from next to him. He jumps up and groans. When he sees me, he sends a death glare my way. I just smirk at him and shrug. He sticks out his tongue and then lies back down.

"She hasn't painted you since you were little," I hear Mom saying as I turn the corner.

"Who hasn't painted who since they were little?" I make my presence known when I speak and sit down next to Mom.

Almost instantly, Jeremiah turns his head to look at me. I see him out of the corner of my eye but don't look at him. I take out a cinnamon roll from the container in front of me and take a huge bite.

"Beck wants to paint a portrait of all of you kids," Mom explains.

My eyes widen. "Really? Aw, that's so much fun. She hasn't painted us in forever."

I remember the first time Susannah ever painted a portrait of me. I was sitting by the pool, and all I wanted was to swim but had to stay put since she wasn't done. She called me over after a while of just sitting there bored. She let me see my portrait, which she never let any of the others do before the final reveal.

I remember feeling so special in that moment. So loved and cared for. When I saw my face on that canvas, I was awestruck. It was the most beautiful I thought I had ever looked. Right away, I asked Susannah to teach me how to paint. And she gladly did.

That's the memory I think of first when someone asks me why I love painting so much. I think of Susannah and how I realized just how much she loved me when she showed me my portrait.

There's a small smile adorning my face when I think of that day so long ago. I make the mistake of looking up only to find Jeremiah staring at me intently. He looks away the second I catch him and pretends that he was saying something to Steven.

He takes the drink he made to Conrad before Steven complains about being late to work.

"Those old country club boomers are gonna tip me so hard, man, they won't know what hit'em," Steven says as he darts his pelvis forward.

I roll my eyes, while Mom says, "Steven, I swear."

"Come on, Laurel," Jeremiah jokes. "My boy's got to get that bread."

They laugh, and Belly comes in with a bruise forming on her face. Conrad had told me what happened last night after we had all gone up to our rooms. I know he feels bad about getting into that fight and about Belly getting hurt.

He also told me about this guy Belly apparently kissed before leaving the bonfire. I may be overthinking it, but Conrad looked pretty irritated at the fact that she kissed someone.

Jeremiah greets her, and Mom immediately starts asking questions about where she's been and what happened to her face.

"Um, I-I bumped into someone," Belly lies as she sits on the other side of Mom.

"You bumped into someone?"

Belly looks at Conrad who is now sitting up on the couch. "Doesn't look that bad."

I hold back the smile and laugh that's trying to get out, and then I don't have to try because Jeremiah walks towards Belly and offers to pour her cereal. I stop myself from rolling my eyes because she's fully capable of pouring in her own cereal. Slightly annoyed, more at myself than anyone else, I take another bite out of the cinnamon roll still in my hands.