01| BACK TO COUSINS

[ Chapter One ]

❝I don't want to do this right now, Conrad, please.❞

[Summer House]

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"I really don't get why I have to go this year? Can't I just stay with Dad and then join you for the Fourth or something?"

Samantha was lying on her parents' bed as she watched her mom finish her packing before they had to head to the summer house in Cousins Beach.

"We always go and it's important you're there, Sam." Her mother, Anna, looked at her daughter, "Besides if you didn't go, then your brother wouldn't want to go either and I am not going to try and explain away you and your brother's absence."

"Luke would go no matter what." Samantha protested, which was true. Luke, Conrad, Jeremiah and Steven had been the inseparable four while Belly and Samantha had been two peas in a pod since they had been old enough to speak. The boys usually excluded the girls in everything they did. That is until last year when Samantha and Conrad had gotten together. That summer she had hung around the boys a lot more than she ever had. But now, she expected to be excluded again, shoved to the sidelines like she had been for so many years before.

"You're coming, end of story." Anna said and then sat down next to her daughter, "I don't know what really happened between you and Conrad but you know that I am here for you. No matter what."

Samantha nodded. Even though it had been almost an entire year since she and Conrad had broken up, she still hadn't told her mom all of the details because frankly, she barely knew what happened. She doubted she ever will.

"I know Mom." Samantha said and slid off the bed, "Since I guess I have to come, I should go finish packing."

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An hour later, Samantha was all packed up and sitting in the backseat of the car, on the way to Cousins Beach. It was a fairly long drive so Samantha and Luke had made a roadtrip playlist as well as brought several things to do so they wouldn't be bored.

Samantha and Luke sang along at the top of their lungs for some of the drive, until Julia told them that she would be turning it off if they didn't quiet down.

"Both of you are going to help out this summer." Anna said, looking at her two kids in the rearview mirror.

Luke looked back at Samantha and Samantha shrugged, "Mom, we always help."

"I know but I want you to put things away without asking and maybe even do the dishes and clean up the kitchen after meals." Anna added, "I know Laurel is telling her kids the same thing."

Samantha narrowed her eyes at her mom. She and Luke might not have been the perfect kids but they definitely tried to help out at home, especially since both of their parents spent a lot of time working and the two were often left to their own devices. She just didn't know why her mom was making a big deal out of it this year.

"Okay mom, we will." Luke answered.

"Good." Anna nodded, "Do you two have any special plans for the summer?"

"No, same as always. Swimming with Belly, surfing and doing my homework for my summer class that is thankfully fully online." Samantha stated, "I might get a job at the bookstore but I haven't decided yet. I mean I have a lot of money saved from working during the year but it would be nice to have something else to do."

"You forgot ignoring Conrad. That's going to be like a full time job." Luke said, as he stuffed half a bag of chips into his mouth.

Samantha shot him a glare even though he couldn't see it.

"Honey, you can't ignore him the entire summer. You two are going to be living in the same house." Anna said.

"I can do my best." Samantha muttered.

"You need to talk to him." Anna said.

"Trust me Mom, I've tried. I think he actually blocked my number." Samantha said, "Actually, Luke have you taked to him recently?"

Luke was silent for a minute which gave Samantha everything she needed to know.

"Yeah whatever, you're basically Conrad's best friend." Samantha muttered.

"He's a douchebag okay?" Luke said, but Samantha knew he was just saying that to make her feel better. She was silent as she slumped back in her seat, and stared at the window. She was glad that neither of them pushed her more on the subject. Even though it had been almost a year, Samantha still wasn't ready to talk about it, even to her family.

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Many hours later, when they had almost arrived at Cousins Beach, they stopped to get gas and Luke and Samantha ran into the shop to buy some snacks before they made the final stretch to Cousins.

Their mom stayed in the car and called Laurel to check in on them and when they came back out, they had their arms full of snacks and drinks.

"Are they almost there?" Luke asked, sliding into the driver's seat to trade places with Anna for the last leg of the journey.

"Yeah they'll get there probably right when we get there." Anna answered.

Samantha fell silent as she slumped down in her seat and opened one of the sour cream and onion chip bags, stuffing a few of them into her mouth.

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In no time at all she could tell they were approaching Cousins Beach. As she rolled down the window she could smell the salt air and hear the familiar sounds of birds. She rested her chin on her arm as she watched the scenery go by. Everything smelled the same. Tasted the same. It was as if it hadn't changed since she'd last been there.

She felt the salty breeze on her face as they drove past the familiar beach houses and shops. As they turned onto the street where the Fisher's beach house was located, the familiar buzz of excitement came over her, but her stomach also clenched with nerves.

Luke pulled into the driveway and Samantha sucked in a breath. The house looked like it always had. Nothing had changed.

"Well should I honk to let them know we're here?" Luke asked.

The sound of another car pulling into the driveway stopped whatever response Anna was going to give and the three of them turned to see Steven Conklin in the driver's seat of the car with Belly in the passenger seat and their mom, Laurel in the backseat.

The second their car came to a halt, Steven honked the horn and Samantha waited until Belly and Steven got out before Samantha barreled towards their car and launched herself at Belly.

"Bells!" Samantha grinned, burying her face in Belly's shoulder.

"Sam!" Belly grinned, hugging her back, tightly.

Samantha and Belly facetimed pretty frequently throughout the year, so neither was too surprised by the other's new appearance but it was still a little jarring. Samantha had two new piercings in her ears, having gotten them with a friend during the Christmas holidays, and she no longer wore glasses all the time, opting for contacts. She also was taller than she was last summer, though not by much. Belly was also a little bit taller and no longer wore glasses.

Samantha could see Steven and Luke doing their bro-hug reunion behind the two girls and Samantha could tell that Belly was eyeing Luke. Samantha had known that Belly had had a crush on Luke for awhile but Luke had never seemed to show any interest in her except as a friend though Samantha honestly didn't know how he felt. Belly had always been interested in Luke while Samantha had always been interested in Conrad.

"Belly let her breathe." Steven's voice sounded from behind Samantha as he waited for his turn to hug her.

Belly released Samantha but shot a glare at her brother all the same.

"Steven!" Samantha smiled at him, "Good to see you." She gave him a hug, giggling as he lifted her off the ground for a brief second before setting her down.

Just then, Jeremiah raced out of the house with Susannah, Jeremiah and Conrad's mother, on his heels.

"Hi, Jere!" Laurel said, wrapping the youngest Fisher in a hug, before letting him go and going to hug her best friend.

"Oh my god Sam!" Jeremiah stared at her, looking her up and down as if he couldn't believe what she looked like, "Wow. You look different. I mean just different from last year."

"I mean, I feel like I look pretty similar. I just got contacts and a few more piercings." Samantha shrugged, laughing as Jeremiah grabbed her hand and twirled her around under his arm.

Jeremiah shook his head, "You have a different vibe going, I guess."

Samantha raised an eyebrow at her friend, "A different vibe?"

"Yeah I don't know what it is." Jeremiah shrugged, "Like you seem more confident."

Samantha snorted at that but quickly covered her mouth with her hand when she realized what she did, "You're ridiculous."

Jeremiah rolled his eyes at her and shoved her shoulder gently before turning to Belly and leaving Samantha in Susannah's line of vision.

Susannah rushed over to her and immediately wrapped Samantha in a tight hug. Susannah was like another mom to Samantha and sometimes she felt closer to Susannah then she did her own mom.

"Samantha, how are you?" Susannah squeezed her tightly.

"Good Susannah." Samantha smiled into her neck, "How about you?"

Susannah didn't have a chance to respond because just then he rounded the corner and Susannah let her go, giving her a knowing look before turning away.

Conrad Fisher. The boy she had been in love with since she was eleven. The boy who last summer had finally told her he loved her back. The boy who had thrown that all away when he broke her heart. The boy who she desperately didn't want to see, immediately after she arrived.

Conrad immediately locked eyes on her and a small smile appeared on his lips. A smile threatened to cross Samantha's lips, almost as if last summer hadn't happened. But she quickly caught herself when Conrad stopped in front of her.

He lifted a brow as he gave her a teasing smile, "I liked you better with glasses, Sammy."

His nickname for her almost brought another smile to her face but instead Samantha narrowed her eyes at him, "Well, I don't do things based on what you like."

Another soft smile spread across his face and he reached out a hand to gently push a loose strand of hair behind her ear as Samantha held his gaze.

The moment, however, was quickly interrupted by Steven, Luke and Jeremiah who loudly exclaimed, "Um I don't know about you guys but I think it's time for a Belly flop!" They cheered.

"Oh no. No. Please." Belly shrieked, sending a panicked look in Samantha's direction but Samantha backed away from her, because usually she was also grabbed and tossed in the pool alongside Belly.

Conrad rolled his eyes at first but as soon as Belly took off running, he ran after the other boys to intercept her. The four boys hollered as Luke grabbed her around the torso, keeping her in place. Jeremiah and Steven grabbed Belly's legs and Conrad grabbed her other arm before they carried her over to the pool.

Samantha followed behind them, stepping away from the pool, but smiling slightly.

"One. Two. Three." The four boys chanted as they swung Belly back and forth before tossing her in the pool on 'three'. Belly's screams of help were drowned out as she hit the water and the boys all laughed.

Samantha grinned at her friend in the water but her eyes widened as the boys turned towards her, "Oh no. No guys. No, I'm too old for this."

The boys ignored her as they grabbed her and lifted her up.

"Guys. Put me down right now." Samantha yelled.

A smirk crossed Conrad's face as he looked at the other boys.

"Oh no. That's not what I meant." Samantha shrieked as the boys dropped her in the pool. Her eyes stung as she fought her way back up to the top. Her hair was plastered to her cheeks as she reached and tried to move it back behind her ears. Her clothes felt like they weighed a ton, and she glared in annoyance at the boys.

"How's the water?" Jeremiah teased, as the other boys all laughed in unison.

Belly grabbed her ankle and pretended to be hurt, "Guys. Guys I think I twisted my ankle. Seriously?"

Samantha pretended to wince in pain, "Yeah I definitely twisted something. Why the hell did you drop me like that? I could have broken my head open."

"Just help us." Belly said, reaching out her hand, and passing Samantha a sly smile.

Samantha immediately knew what she was up to and she also stuck her hand out for help.

"Alright. Alright." Both Luke and Conrad leaned forward to grab the girls' hands and when they did, Belly and Samantha pulled them into the water, quickly diving down and out of the way so that they wouldn't be crushed.

Conrad's arms grabbed her waist underwater, pulling them both to the surface and they both gasped for air. Conrad kept his eyes locked on Samantha's for a moment before the two remembered that they weren't alone and both hurriedly broke their gaze.

"Get off me." Samantha pushed Conrad's arms, that were still around her waist, off of her.

"Sam-" Conrad started but Samantha interrupted him.

"Don't. Please."

"I didn't." Conrad said quietly.

Samantha shook her head, "I don't want to do this right now, Conrad, please."

"Okay." Conrad nodded.

Samantha moved away from him, not even letting herself look back to see if Conrad was watching her. 

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Word Count: 2278

Hey everyone! This chapter is kind of a long time coming cause I kept rewriting it and changing what I wanted to include but it is here now. (I might take it down in a bit and edit it a bit more but we'll see)

(The gif at the top was made by me. Please do not steal it.)

What did you think? What do you think about my favorite exes to lovers: Conrad and Sam?

I love you all and will see you soon for chapter 2!

POSTED ON:

8. 18. 22