Chapter 24
Summer
I’m a little concerned as Zander drives me to school on Monday morning. I didn’t hear from any of the guys last night, which is unusual. I hope I didn’t cause any issues between them.
After wishing Zander good luck at his new job, I hop out of his truck to see Seb and E waiting for me as usual.
I get two hugs before we go inside to my locker.
I greet the rest of the guys before walking to class with Alex.
“Would you be willing to speak with me after practice today, Summer?” Alex asks.
“Of course, Alex. What about?”
“I would like to clarify a few things we discussed yesterday.”
That sounds ominous. “Okay,” I agree.
The teacher comes over and hands me back my labs from yesterday. “Nice job, Summer.”
I flip through the sheets to see that I got high marks on all of my work. I smile at Alex. “Thanks again. You’re an outstanding teacher.”
“You are very welcome, Summer,” he smiles back. He seems off today, but closer to himself than yesterday.
We get our presentation scores in AP English for the group project. Half of our grade is for our individual work and half is for the quality of overall group work. My group got an A-, which Holly and I are both happy with.
There is a surprise quiz in AP History today. I’ve no idea how I did on that.
At lunch, tension fills the air between the guys, although they try to hide it.
Even weirder, E sits between Alex and me in AP Chemistry.
I’m usually the one in between. I did well in my labs again, with just a few silly math mistakes.
Nick joins me in walking to gym class, where I run with Jaxon.
We chat about prom and the championship coming this weekend.
Coach pushes us hard during practice today, and I feel like a wet noodle by the time it’s over.
E stays and watches my practice since he’s coming home with me.
We walk over to the pool to watch Alex and Bay dive, but they’re still off today.
Hopefully, they'll work out the kinks before Friday.
Alex offers to come to my house to talk, so I hug Bay goodbye before Alex follows us home.
“I’m grabbing a shower. I’ll be quick,” I tell the guys.
Once I’m clean, I grab water from the fridge and ask Alex to talk on the deck. E gives me a smile from the couch before I open the patio door. “Thank you for agreeing to talk with me, Summer,” Alex starts.
“No thanks needed, Alex. You’re my friend.”
“There was an intervention of sorts last evening at my home. Our friends were quite upset with me. I did not comprehend why until they gave me several explanations. Summer, you are always welcome at my house, regardless of who is there. I handled our conversation poorly yesterday, and I apologize.”
“Thanks for the apology, Alex. I guess I’m confused by your behavior.”
“How so?” his eyebrows furrow in confusion.
“Well, in the two brief interactions we had with Alicia, you seemed to have no problem putting her in her place, but you chose to avoid dealing with her regarding me. That seems contradictory.”
“Yes, I can see your point,” he replies. “The truth is, I dislike interacting with her, and I see her as little as possible. She will be an issue regarding you.”
“I can handle myself, Alex.”
“I realize that.” He gives me a rueful smile. “I stall when I know I have to handle her. I was selfish and took the simple route regarding your situation, and that was wrong of me. I hope you can forgive me for that misstep.”
“Forgiven. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, Alex.”
“Thank you. I know E is staying with you for this trip, but please know you are welcome to stay with me for the remaining trips Z has.”
“Okay. Thanks. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
“I purchased some astaxanthin and started taking it this morning.”
“I hope it helps. Let’s go back inside. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
He shakes his head. “No, thank you. I will go now.”
I nod and get up from the chair to head back inside. Alex says goodbye to E as I take a seat on the couch. “How did the talk go?” E asks.
I shrug. “Okay. He apologized and said I’m welcome there.”
“Something is still bothering you.”
“I’m having trouble reconciling the two versions of Alex I’ve discovered.”
“Tell me about the two versions.”
“Well, one is the person I’ve known all along. He’s kind, generous, smart, caring, formal, and a little distant. The other is abrupt, rude, treats his girlfriend like crap, and avoids dealing with things.”
“Wow. Those are two distinct personalities. Now that you’ve pointed them out, I can see both sides, but I think the rest of us have known him so long we don’t notice.
If it makes you feel better, the first one is the one I recognize as Alex.
His relationship with Reesa has always been strange.
When they first started dating, he told us it was a relationship of convenience for both of them.
Both sets of parents approved of the match, and they got along well, so they agreed to date. ”
“That doesn’t justify the way he treated her Sunday morning, though. He didn’t even acknowledge her existence, other than to tell Alicia that Reesa was aware he had plans. I told him I’d kick his ass if I were her.”
“As you should,” E smiles. “I dunno. Maybe he’s gotten complacent lately.”
“If you have a problem, you talk about it. If your girlfriend or friend has an undesirable quality, you work through it together, accept it, or break up. You don’t treat them poorly.”
“You are absolutely correct, Summer.” E takes my hand in his as he continues talking.
“I don’t know what to say about that. I know he cares a great deal about what his father thinks of him, so perhaps that plays some role.
He has a lot on his shoulders, too. I’m not making excuses for him, just giving you insight. ”
“I hear ya. So, what should we make for dinner?”
Elijah
Summer and I go out to her garden to harvest greens for a salad.
I’m excited to get the freshest vegetables from here during the summer.
I only have a few potted herbs at home, which I can’t access right now.
She cooks chicken while I create the salad dressing.
We eat at the island and talk about everything.
It’s so easy with Summer. As easy as with Seb.
I clean up while she bakes brownies for us.
While they're cooking, we do our homework at the table, and she calls to check in with Zander before getting the brownies out of the oven. He’s having dinner with her therapist tomorrow evening, and she seems happy they're meeting. Seb calls her, and she leaves him on speaker as we finish our homework. It’s really nice.
We retire to the couch, where she turns on a cooking show.
Putting my arm around her shoulders, we chat with Seb while watching a bake-off.
Seb has her giggling a lot, and it’s nice to see her smile so much.
She takes her sleeping pill at 11pm, and we take turns getting ready for bed.
I kiss her forehead and give her a hug before settling into the guest room.
Later that night I hear Summer getting up, so I check my phone and see it’s only 5am. I poke my head into the hallway and see her coming out of the bathroom. “Hey.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, E.”
“It’s okay. Want to snuggle? Maybe you can get a few more hours.”
She yawns and nods before shuffling towards me. I get back into bed, and she crawls under the covers and snuggles into my side, so I put my arm around her. She rests her head on my chest and quickly falls back asleep. She’s tiny compared to Seb, but still fits against me perfectly.
After a tiring week, where every teacher felt it was a good idea to throw a massive amount of material at us at the end of the year, it’s finally Friday.
I’m driving Summer home so she can shower before the diving championships.
I made Alex and Bay protein salads that they can eat after school, since their coach wanted them there earlier than usual.
I missed snuggling with Summer last night. She ended up in bed with me again Tuesday night and then just crashed in the guest room with me Wednesday. Staying with her was so nice. We made meals everyday together, and it was effortless.
I check on the garden while she showers. We planted a few more things this week that I’m excited to try. Summer joins me after 15 minutes, ready to go.
After helping her back into my truck, I drive us to the diner where we’re meeting everyone for dinner. “Have you heard from your mother or father yet?” Summer asks.
“Yeah, I got a text last night that said they're fine with me staying with Alex.”
“Well, that’s off your plate then,” she smiles.
When we enter the diner, Seb, Nick, and Gabs are already seated. The girls chat while we wait for our food. “Hey handsome,” Seb says.
“Hi. Are you coming over tonight?”
“Yeah. How was Alex last night?”
“I saw him for only a few minutes. He had a thing with Reesa and her family. I was in my room by the time he was back,” I shrug.
“I’m gonna meet with Beth for dinner on Sunday. We’ve been texting this week.”
“How’s that going?”
“Good, I think. It’s still weird, but she seems nice. She’s cooking dinner for me, and I’m meeting the boyfriend.”
Our food arrives, and the conversation changes to the meet tonight.
We eat quickly, then split up to drive back to school.
When we get inside, Olivia and David are already seated.
She excitedly starts calling Summer’s name and waving to her.
Summer and Gabby take seats on either side of her while she talks nonstop.
I greet David before sitting behind Summer, beside Nick.
Zander and Troy join us a few minutes later. “Hey Z, how was the job in Savannah?”
“Fantastic actually. I was in the air most of the time, which was nice. Thanks for staying with Summer this week. The fridge seems to be bursting with meals,” he smiles.
“Happy to,” I reply. “You had two cooks in the same house, so we made a lot of food. Summer was going to freeze a bunch tonight, I think.”
As they announce the pairs diving, we turn back to the pool. The championship is really only between Alex and Bay and the team from Charleston. I hope they've figured out their new dive.
Both pairs are diving incredibly well so far tonight.
Gabs brought her pom-poms, and Olivia is having a great time cheering for her big brother.
As the final round begins, there are only a few points separating the two teams. We stand as the Charleston team gets ready for their last dive.
They complete a really nice dive. They were a tiny bit off going into the water, but it was good.
We clap for them as Alex and Bay take their positions.
Seb has his arm around Summer’s shoulder, and she is holding Olivia’s hand.
I can hear her mumbling, “come on, come on,” under her breath.
As Alex and Bay spring off the platform, I hear several people suck in their breaths. Our section erupts in cheers and hollering as the guys nail their new dive. I’m so happy for them.
The judges take their time awarding scores. Bay and Alex are already out of the water and rinsed off as we wait. Finally, after several minutes, they post the scores, and our guys win. We clap and cheer again as they wave to the crowd, then leave to put on some clothes.
The awards ceremony takes place right beside the pool 10 minutes later. The winners receive medals, and the organizers award a trophy to the school with the most overall points. I notice David and Summer are both snapping photos with their phones.
Once the ceremony is over, the crowd disperses. Summer asks for a few photos of the guys with various combinations of people before we head outside. After goodbyes, Seb joins me in my truck as we drive to Alex’s house.