"Home Movies"

The salty breeze brushed against Belly's skin as she stood at the edge of the shore, her toes sinking into the wet sand. The summer sky was a mixture of soft pinks and faded blues, a reminder that the day was coming to an end, like so many summers before it. She felt the familiar weight of nostalgia settle into her chest. Every time she returned to Cousins, it was like stepping back into a reel of old memories—warm, faded snapshots she couldn't help but replay.

"Do you ever feel like you're watching your life happen, like it's not really you in the picture?" she asked softly, her voice almost swallowed by the crashing waves.

Jeremiah stood a few feet behind her, hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie. He was watching the sunset too, but his gaze kept flickering toward her, like he was more interested in the way her hair caught the light than the fading sun. "All the time," he replied. "Especially with you."

Belly turned to face him, her heart squeezing in that way it always did when Jeremiah said something that felt too close to the truth. They'd spent so many summers together, shared so many moments that it was impossible to think of her life without him in it. And yet, sometimes it felt like they were caught in the same loop—always together but never quite in sync.

He walked over to stand next to her, his shoulder brushing hers. "I don't think we'll ever stop coming back here," he said. "Even when we're old and have our own lives. This place will always pull us back."

"I hope so," she murmured, but there was an uncertainty in her voice.

Jeremiah noticed, of course. He always did. "What's going on in that head of yours, Bells?"

Belly sighed, her eyes tracing the horizon. "It's just...sometimes I feel like we're stuck in a home movie. You know, like those old tapes we used to watch in the living room? Everything's grainy and warm, and you can see it, you can feel it, but you can't reach out and touch it. It's there, but it's not real."

Jeremiah's face softened. He stepped in front of her, gently tilting her chin so she had to look at him. "This is real," he said, his voice steady, grounded. "Right now. Us, here. I'm real. You're real."

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to feel the solidity of his words, but there was something inside her that couldn't shake the feeling that they were just characters in a story they couldn't control. A story that always brought them back to this beach, these sunsets, these almost moments.

"You've always been my favorite part of this place," Jeremiah said, his thumb brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know that, right?"

Belly nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She knew. Jeremiah had always been the constant, the one who made her feel safe, even when everything else felt like it was slipping away.

But as she looked up at him, she couldn't help but wonder if that was enough. If they were enough. Or if they were just chasing the past, trying to recreate something that was never meant to be anything more than a beautiful memory.

The sun dipped lower into the horizon, casting a golden glow over everything. It was the kind of light that made everything look soft, magical, like they were standing in a dream. And maybe they were.

"Let's make a promise," Jeremiah said suddenly, his voice a little lighter, trying to lift the weight of the moment. "No matter where we go, no matter what happens, we'll always come back here. Even if it's just to watch the sunset."

Belly swallowed the lump in her throat, her smile bittersweet. "Okay," she agreed. "We'll always come back."

But as they stood there, side by side, watching the waves roll in, Belly couldn't shake the feeling that the end of the summer would bring more than just the close of another season. It would bring changes neither of them could stop.