"are you sure you want to do this, honey?"

wren looked over to her father from across the kitchen, popping grapes into her mouth as he went on and on about how going to another town for summer vacation was a bad idea.

"yes, i'm sure, and weren't you the one that suggested we go somewhere for the summer before leaving for college?" she reminds him.

"yeah, well i didn't think 'somewhere' would be four towns over. i was thinking six flags or something." bryan scratches the back of his neck guilty, realizing the flaws in his idea.

"dad, i'm eighteen, and about to go to college in two months, this is just the first crack in the glass. how are you gonna act when i actually leave?"

her father hadn't thought that far ahead in all honesty. wren had always been his little girl, and now that she was leaving for college in a few months, it was hitting him harder than he'd like to admit.

"i'm just worried. what if you get trafficked on the way there, what about wrecks, what about tsunamis." the man started rambling, eyes going wide at all the possibilities.

wren laughs at her dad's distress, walking over to him.

"dad, i'll be fine. plus didn't you say uncle ethan would be there to supervise us?"

bryan nods, remembering his childhood friend. when he called ethan ross to ask if his daughter and her two friends could live at his beach house for the summer, he didn't hesitate to say yes, excited to see his niece he hadn't seen in years due to his constant traveling.

"just chill out. everything's gonna be fine." she reassures him, pulling the man into a hug, which he reciprocates.

when wren's ten year old brother, daniel rounds the corner and sees her and her father hugging, he runs over, joining the hug.

they pull away, and wren puts her attention on the little boy.

"have fun with your friends." the little boy says, making wren smile.

"i will, just for you." she says, knowing how badly he wishes he could go.

the rest of her family, including her mom, georgia, her sixteen year old brother sean, and daniels twin sister jayla came into the kitchen, sean holding wren's bags with a bored look on his face.

"could you hurry up, so i can have our bathroom to myself for once." he says, tightening his grip on her things.

"well don't look so sad." she teases him, giving everyone hugs.

"have fun, honey, don't get into too much trouble, and if you meet any cute boys, call me." her mother says, her father's eyebrows raising at the last part.

"what? it's about time she had a little love in her life, plus i want some grandkids."

wren's eyes widen at her mother, earning a laugh.

there's a honk heard from outside, and a smile grows on her face, as she runs to open the door.

when the door is opened, she's met with her best friends, kailea, who's opening up the trunk of her silver jeep, and angeli who's hopping out of the driver's seat.

these three were kind of like as the holy trinity. wren and kailea had known each other since 1st grade when wren pushed their bully tommy off of the monkey bars when he was making fun of kailea's jelly sandals, then those two met angeli the next year when she was the new girl and they thought she was really smart, and they planned to have her do all of their homework, until they realized she was actually a really cool girl, and they'd all been inseparable ever since.

"hey brown's, mind if we kidnap your daughter for the next two months and force her to do all sorts of bad things like drugs and skinny dipping." kailea says casually, smiling innocently at the family she'd known all her life, while wrens parents eyes widen.

"i don't care what you do, just take her." sean walks past wren at the doorway, going to put her things in the trunk.

wren laughs at her friend, while angeli rolls her eyes at her antics.

"what she means is, we're going to be completely responsible adults and have very safe fun." she corrects the girl, even though she knew that wasn't the case.

"yeah yeah, that stuff too." kailea waves her off, as wren joins the pair at the car.

she walks to the trunk where sean is standing, as he's finished loading the car.

she looks up at his tall figure, a knowing look on her face. "so how much longer are you gonna pretend to hate my existence before i get a hug?"

the boys stoic express softens slightly as he pulls his big sister into a hug. the two often acted like they hated each other, always at each other's throats, but that's just how they were. they knew they loved each other to the moon and back.

"if you tell anyone i said this, i'll deny it, but i'll miss you." he says, pulling away from their hug.

"my lips are sealed." she says, pretending to zip her mouth and throw away the key, making sean laugh.

he slings his arm around her shoulder, leading her to the side of the car her friends were on.

"you guys ready?"

"ready as we'll ever be."

the girls all load into the car, taking one last look at wren's family.

"angeli, you're in charge!" bryan yells as the car pulls off.

the girls laugh at the man, before turning around, their attention finally on each other.

"so, i have a driving pattern planned, kai look in the dashboard and get it." angeli starts.

the girls already knew this was coming. angeli was a very organized person, and if there was chaos, it often overwhelmed her.

"so, i'll do first round, then we'll make a bathroom stop about 3 hours from now, then get food afterwards, then wren will take the next round, same thing, but she'll only do two hours, because we all know she sucks at driving."

wren's jaw drops at her best friend, looking at her from the backseat. "hey! that mailbox was in my way."

"and the three trash cans?" kailea adds, making angeli laugh as they high five.

"i hate you guys." wren mutters, sitting back in her seat, folding her arms.

angeli goes over the rest of the plan, and they all agree.

"this is gonna be the best summer ever." kailea smiles.

"a summer for the history books."

wren didn't know it at the time, but she was right. it was a summer they'd talk about for the rest of their lives.

ʟᴇʏ's ᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴀʟᴋ
i have so much fun stuff planned for this book lolll i can't wait.

also i love the holy trinity that is kai, ang, and wrennie😩🤞🏽 they're truly queens and they're about to slay the summer so hard.

get ready for new characters for the first chapter i can't wait!!