010 Fourth of July

The Fourth of July in Cousins was always Julia's favorite time of the summer. All of the dad's would come up, well, that she didn't particularly have a liking in. Anyways, the dad's would come up and watch the fireworks with everyone, while the moms stressed over the holiday. It was a tradition.

Of course, every Fourth of July there was a time of dread for the blonde girl because the Conklin father would pay barely any attention to her like he did his other children, and it made her wonder if she was enough for him. Everyone knew of their damaged relationship that not even a bandaid could fix, but she always stuck to her ways, and he never tried fixing their relationship.

Julia was like a burden to John. She reminded him a lot of her mother, and he hated to have to carry that along, even though him and her mother only dated for a few weeks, he had still grown attached.

"Can I finish your milk?" Jeremiah questioned as he watched Julia take the last bite of her food. She sat next to him wearing jean shorts and a red and blue plaid crop top with spaghetti straps..

She chuckled with a grimace before passing him her bowl. "Feel free, you sicko."

"Yo, I'm gonna go wash the clams." Conrad stated as he walked into the kitchen. "Did you get thr lighter fluid?"

"Mm." Jeremiah nodded. "Yeah, it's already on the beach." Julia snorted a laugh as she looked at Jeremiah, pointing her finger at her own lips.

"You got a little something there?" Belly laughed from next to the two as he rolled his eyes at her mocking gesture.

"Are we done with the portraits yet?" Steven questioned, walking into the room with Susannah behind him.

"Yeah, for today. But you do look good in a dress shirt, Steven." Susannah smiled. She then turned to Julia who was laughing at Jeremiah. "Oh, and Julia, I have like, one last touch up for your portrait then it's about done." Julia looked away from Jeremiah, nodding at Susannah. Julia hated to be the first one to  be painted because then she would have to wait longer for thr result.

"Uh, which makes me think if Belly doesn't hurry up and ask Cam to that ball, you should take her." Susannah mentioned to Steven.

"Ew. No way." Belly argued.

"No, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm already going with Shayla." Steven shook his head.

"Jeez, nevermind me sitting right here." Julia held her hands up as if showing she had a presence in the room, signaling to them that she still didn't have a date.

"To the debutante ball?" Laurel questioned, walking into the room with furrowed brows.

"Yes."

"As an escort?" Laurel questioned, looking at her son in lack of belief.

"Um, I thought you said you didn't want to go to one of these things?" Julia turned around to look st her brother before she smiled. "Steven's shipped for Shayla." Julia chuckled as Jeremiah and Belly laughed at her joke.

"Wrap your head around it, Mom, all right?" Steven chuckled, ignoring his sister's comment. "Shayla's coming today with Nicole and Gigi, so you'll meet her." Julia turned her lips upside down in amusement, noticing how her brother was really trying after he messed up with Taylor.

"That's wonderful." Susannah chirped. "Oh, and don't forget, Ms. Covington's first dance rehearsal is tomorrow, so, uh, tick-tock." Susannah mentioned, pointing torwards the girls. Julia nodded with pursed lips, putting her under more stress with finding a date.

"I'm asking Cam today." Belly smirked in her spot.

"I don't know my kids anymore." Laurel sighed, looking down in anguish.

"Nothing is new over here, Mom." Julia sighed, standing up and putting her bowl in the dish washer. "As far as I know, I'll be dancing by myself." The girl joked, pursing her lips as Susannah ran a hand down her curled hair.

"You'll figure it out." She comforted her. "Wait, are you wearing makeup?" Susannah turned to Laurel realizing. "Yeah, she's wearing makeup.", Susannah said.

"Oh, my... She definitely is." Steven looked up in shock.

"Go, Mom!" Julia laughed, watching as her mother began blushing.

"Ooh!" Jeremiah set down the cereal box laughing.

"Mom!" Belly laughed, too, leaning up from her seat at the table.

"So what? We're having a party." Laurel died down the loudness as she reassured them it wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't everyday that the Conklin mother wore any form of makeup.

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with John coming to the clam bake." Susannah snickered, peeling an orange.

"Oh, please." Laurel shook her head. "The husband's always come for the Fourth."

"He's not your husband anymore." Belly and Julia spoke in annoyed unison as everyone silenced down, looking at the sisters.

"Oops. Yeah." Laurel chuckled, looking down. "Ex-husband."

"You know, I still don't understand why you invited Dad's girlfriend." Steven complained, looking down in discomfort. Julia looked up, having no clue of the arrangement.

"Her name is Victoria, and your father wanted us all to meet her." Laurel defended her ex-husband and his girlfriend. "Oh, Belly, I need you to make up the guest bed."

"Wait, Dad and Victoria are staying here?" Belly questioned with a disturbing look. When Laurel gave Belly a glance without saying anything, Julia groaned.

"What? That's right next to my room." Julia sighed, looking down as she fiddled with the table mat.

"Yeah. It's not a big deal, Julia. You know, it wouldn't hurt to you know, warm up to him more. Don't keep shutting him out because you're mad." Laurel suggested sternly. Julia clenched her jaw, the topic sour to her.

"He shut me out first. Besides, It's not gonna change, Mom. I don't want him to come, okay? I don't have any relationship that he does with Belly and Steven and I guess it's fine, I don't know." She shrugged, holding her hands up as she explained herself.

"Julia, that's not true. He loves you all just the same. Don't be like this torwards him on the Fourth of July. It ruins everyone's mood. Why don't you try talking to him?-"

"No. Why is it such a big deal anyway? Conrad doesn't talk to his dad?" Jeremiah looked over at her, noticing how worked up she was getting over this.

"Conrad isn't a brat like you." Steven commented, laughing.

"Shut up, Steven!" Julia looked over at her brother, her voice snapping as she yelled at him. "God, please just leave me alone about this. I dont wanna talk about it." Julia stood up angrily, her chair making a scratching noise as she pushed I back while standing up. She walked away, her concerse pounding at the stairs as she went to her room. Everyone watched the blonde girl leave, giving each other worried looks. They all knew how much she got worked up over talking about John, and they all knew even more that she hated talking about it.

"Steven, why do you do that?" Laurel looked over at her son with a scolding glare.

"What? It was a joke." He took another bite of his cereal before Susannah began talking about Conrad and Jeremiah's dad and how he wasn't able to make it to the Fourth of July party.

Julia slammed her door upstairs, sitting down on the floor against her bed, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them. Tears began slowly pouring out of her eyes, causing her to wipe them away quickly before it messed up her mascara. She cried in her room for only a few minutes before she quickly wiped her tears off of her cheeks and walking back downstairs. By the time she had returned, Conrad and Belly were making the guest bed and Jeremiah, Steven, Laurel and Susannah were still in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen, beginning to fill up a glass of water when the doorbell rang, grabbing everyone's attention.

Laurel called for Belly as everyone except for Jeremiah and Julia walked to the door, while the other two stayed back.

"Hey, you okay?" Jeremiah asked, walking up torwards her and holding her hands.

Julia nodded, looking up at him with a soft smile. "Yeah, I just don't like talking about it and I just don't want him here. It's what it is, I can't change that... I just wish everyone would stop hounding me." Jeremiah nodded as she spoke, understanding her.

"I get it." He smiled, hugging her quickly before pulling away. "Come on." He smiled at her before grabbing her wrist and dragging her torwards the door, where Belly, Conrad, and Steven were crowded.

Julia went on her tiptoes behind Conrad, her jaw dropping when she saw the woman standing next to her father. "The hell? What is she, 20?" Julia muttered, causing Conrad to chuckle.

"She's hot." Jeremiah gawked at the woman, earning a slap on the arm from Julia.

"Dude." Steven looked at his friend in disgust.

"What?" Jeremiah defended himself. "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking."

"I wasn't thinking that." Belly disagreed as she shook her head torwards Jeremiah. Julia scoffed, shaking her head as she stood next to Belly and Conrad.

"Dude, she's like, half his age." Julia stated to the group in disgust. "That's disgusting. He's gonna be banging that next door to my room?"  Julia questioned in an unbelieve tone, causing everyone to laugh and Belly to silence her.

"Yo, that could be there future stepmom." Conrad stated at her in awe.

"Dude, what the hell?" Steven shoved Conrad in the shoulder as the older Fisher brother smiled.

"Don't push me." Steven and Conrad began roughhousing as Belly and Julia quickly stepped back from the door.

"Guys, they're coming, they're coming. Ah!" Jeremiah shoved Conrad out the door as they left, the three Conklin children standing straight at the door. Julia sighed as she saw the four walking towards the door, already knowing that she would have to hug him.

"Be nice." Laurel whispered to her kids, aiming her eyes directly at Julia.

"Hey." John smiled brightly at his kids, the only one not to smile back at him was Julia as she stared at him in anger and fear, then over at the seriously young woman next to him. "Come give your old man a hug, huh?" Julia held back her eye roll as she was shoved by Belly, the youngest sister already knowing she wasn't going to go up willingly. John spread his arms out as all of his kids hugged him.

"Oh, my gosh! Um..." John stepped back before pointing torwards his girlfriend. "This is Victoria."

"Hi, guys. It's-Its really great to meet you. I've heard nothing but five-star reviews." She smiled, looking between the three teens.

"Here, lets put this in the kitchen." John finally said after the kids looked at the couple awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. As soon as they left, Julia sighed, grimacing as she turned torwards her siblings.

"'Nothing but five-star reviews?' What are we, a hotel?" Julia looked at his girlfriend in disgust as she walked away.

"There is no way she's 27." Belly stated. "We have to grab her wallet and check her ID." Julia quickly furrowed her brows at Belly, who was surprisingly good at finding people's info.

"Woah, slow down. Would you like to get in trouble?" The blonde sister looked over at Belly with a titled head.

"She's in grad school. Chill." Steven assured them.

"I can't chill. I mean, knock-off Dakota Johnson has her claws in our dad." Belly dropped her hand next to her thigh, sighing as she talked about Victoria. Julia had to admit, Belly was right. He was dating someone way younger than him and it creeped her out a lot more than she thought it would.

"Yeah." Steven nodded.

The three walked into the kitchen where Susannah was offering the woman some tea, which she gladly took. "Steven, can you get your dad's bags and put them upstairs, please?"

"Yeah, I-I just need your keys to pop the trunk, then." He said, pointing his thumb to the front door.

"Actually, Vick and I decided to stay in town this weekend." John told the family, earning a fake pout from Julia. But secretly, she was smiling. 'Thank God.'
She thought as Laurel's face fell. "Figured you guys had a packed house."

"Oh, that sounds fun." Belly said as nicely as possible, screaming with joy inside that they wouldn't be staying.

"Oh, yeah." Steven agreed.

"Well, are you sure?" Susannah questioned, also handing John some of the same tea.

"Whatever you think is best." Laurel smiled.

***

Once Nicole, Shayla and Gigi had gotten to the house, everyone moved out into the backyard. Jeremiah was talking to Victoria while Conrad was quite literally smelling Nicole while they were in the pool. Gigi was talking to Susannah, while John, Laurel, Belly, Steven and Shayla were all at the food table. Julia was sitting down on the back porch steps by herself, not wanting to join Jeremiah with Victoria, or Susannah with Gigi. She also didnt want to join her mom and siblings who were with John, nor Conrad who was smelling his girlfriend.

She had her elbow rested on her knees while he chin was in her hands. She clearly wasn't enjoying her time, and everyone seemed to be too occupied to join her.

Julia sighed, having enough of being alone before getting up and walking over to the food, grabbing a plate and some cheese for herself.

"I like her. She's confident, knows who she is." Laurel shrugged as the group continued talking about Shayla. "I'm surprised a girl like that would want to be deb."

"Um, hello?" Julia chuckled at her mother. "Me and Belly know who we are. So are you surprised that we want to be debs?" She raised a brow with a smirk, not wanting to look like she had an attitude. Laurel sighed, ignoring her daughters comment.

"You're a deb?" John asked Julia, having no idea.

"Yup. How would you know? You don't ever talk to me. There's not many things you do know." Julia raised her brows, earning looks from her family.

"Is there a place around here I can rent a tux for you?" John questioned, changing the subject of the conversation.

"Um..."

"Steven, come here." Shayla called for Steven, causing him to turn his head.

"No. No, no, no. I-Ive got it covered, Dad.", Steven reassured his father as he smiled at him before walking away to go to Shayla, who was smiling by Gigi, waiting for him. John turned back to his daughters, smiling as he began talking.

"So, tell me about this deb ball." Julia sighed before walking away and sitting next to Jeremiah and Susannah, who were looking up at her as she sat down with an annoyed glance.

"Everything alright, sweetie?" Susannah questioned with a smile.

"Yeah." She shrugged, looking over at her best friend then back as Susannah. "It's just, he didnt know I was a deb, but he knew that Belly was." She glanced in the distance at her dad as Jeremiah and Susannah's eyes trailed in the same direction. Julia sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she put her elbow on the table. "I don't get it." She mumbled.

"Oh, Jules. I know it's hard but maybe don't listen to your mom." Julia frowned at Susannah's words. "You don't have to talk to him, go your own way." She stated, twirling Julia's curled hair in her hands.

Julia smiled slightly before standing up. "Thanks. Come on, Jere. We're going inside."

He raised his brows before standing up with her willingly. They made their way into the kitchen to see Belly and Victoria mixing up pomegranate cocktails. Julia smiled mischievously, bouncing her brows. "Wow, who knew. Belly making alcoholic drinks?"

Victoria laughed as Jeremiah and Julia sat down at the stools. 

"Oh, no, no. The blame will fall on me." Victoria chuckled at the girl who smiled back. Then, the barely older woman started the blender, the content inside slowly mixing into a red substance.

"That's dope." Jeremiah smiled.

"How'd you learn to make these?" Belly asked.

"So I actually spent a summer in this desert town in Texas near the border called Marfa. And there was a bar there that that severed these, and I told the bartender that I would not leave until he showed me exactly how he made these." Julia laughed softly at her words, not taking Victoria to be this kind of person. She got a vibe from her, which wasn't too bad.

"Can I try a sip?" Belly's words caught Julia off guard as she raised a brow.

"Are your parents cool with that?" Victoria questioned as poured the cocktails into the fancy glasses. Julia watched her, thinking that it looked good, too, just like Belly.

"Yeah, yeah, no, they don't care." Belly lied, causing Julia and Jeremiah to look at each other mischievously.

"Oh, then, sure." Victoria shrugged. "I'm gonna take this out to your dad. Do you mind taking those out to Susannah and your mom?" She questioned Belly.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks, love." Victoria smiled before walking outside with the drinks. When she left, the three laughed at each other before Julia grabbed the drinks.

"I like her." Julia said to her own surprise considering she hated her just hours ago when she first saw her. "Okay. Don't start anything without me, I'll be back." Julia smiled as Jeremiah and Belly nodded at her before she took the drinks to Susannah and Laurel.