TEDDY HAD NEVER drove as quick as she did to get to Cousins. When she got the news that the Summer House was at a chance of being sold, her heart dropped. And on top of that, Conrad was losing his mind. It was like every little piece of her life was falling apart and she didn't know how to stop it.

After a long two hours, she had finally arrived to the house. She was almost terrified to walk in. But, there was no time to think.

Her footsteps sped up at the sound of arguing, rushing into the living room. Seeing everyone together since the funeral was almost surreal and she looked around sending a confused look to Belly.

Jeremiah felt his knees almost buckle under him at the sight of her. He didn't even recognize her at first. She looked so tired. He didn't even notice he was staring until she looked back at him.

Teddy couldn't believe the sight infront of her. There he was. Her eyes were filled with hatred, yet you could tell every inch of her body fought to rush to him in that moment. Her breathing slowed as she brought her hand down to lightly pinch her thigh.

"What's going on?" Trey finally spoke up, looking around the two. Jeremiah scoffed, looking at Conrad. "He'll tell you."

Teddy was just about to speak before he angrily stormed away. She couldn't help but follow him with her eyes in a longing manner. Their bodies seemed to be magnets, pulling on to the other. It was torture.

"Conrad." Teddy spoke up softly, waiting for his next words. He looked at her with a familiar sadness before speaking, "I got a call two days ago. From Liam. He was asking me about a "for
sale" sign in our front yard. I thought it was a misunderstanding, so I drove straight here. I pulled the stupid sign out of the ground, and I
threw it in the garbage."

His words were calm but filled with so much emotion. Teddy could see it from a mile away— they all could. "It was like losing her all over again."

It was so empty here. The house that was always filled with laughter and love was replaced with a cold and sad feeling. It was almost to much to bear.

She couldn't believe they ended up like this. So angry at one another. But one thing that never changed was the sunset's at Cousins Beach. Teddy sat on the steps, holding her legs to her chest. Her heart seemed to begin to jump as she stared at a familiar spot by the pool. She remembered the night her and Jeremiah had confessed their love for eachother. It was in a constant loop in her head.

She often wondered where she went wrong. Why things ended up the way they did. Because if she would have it her way, Jeremiah never would have chosen her. Belly was supposed to be her bestfriend and not the women her boyfriend seemed to want more.

She wondered what she did wrong. She did everything she could to help him. Everything she could to love him. But, it wasn't enough.

Teddy grazed his skin with her thumb, sitting on top of him on the bed. His blue eyes stared into hers, a look that he seemed to recognize as love. But his eyes suddenly fell.

Her face furrowed, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "You okay?" Teddy chuckled slightly, letting him grab her hand. He sighed, looking at the message on his phone. "Yeah. Stuff about my mom."

Teddy's face fell aswell, letting him lift up and her legs wrapped around his waist. "It's getting bad, Teds. I've never seen her like this." Jeremiah was carrying the weight many couldn't handle on top of his shoulders. And his father or brother were not there to help him. It felt as if he only had Teddy.

He felt her hands graze his cheek, pulling up his chin to get him to look at her. "Hey. You are so strong for this. I'm proud of you. Susannah is to, I know she is. She is so lucky to have you." Her words were so soft and loving, he could've physically melted into her touch. Truth was, he was lucky to have Teddy. He had never met anyone like her before. She was such a unique soul that even being by her was like a breathe of fresh air.

Jeremiah picked up both her hands, kissing them softly. She smiled at this, ignoring the aching feeling in her heart. Jeremiah always knew how to make her forget. Every day, they played house; escaping reality. Leaving the bad one, and coming together to be happy, something they weren't when they were away.

Her heart jumped at the feeling of his lips press against hers.

Her heart fell at the sight of him walking out his bedroom that next morning, quickly looking away. She was the first person down the stairs, completely avoiding the two of them.

She won't even look at me, Jeremiah thought to himself. He can't even think properly with her in his presence. Sometimes he hated her for it. But, Teddy hated him every day. Jeremiah deserved it. He deserved every bit of it.

"But you're sure there's no way to access my trust without him?" Conrad's voice echoed the kitchen from his phone. He mumbled a couple more words to the man on the phone, before hanging up. Teddy noticed the worry laced on his face and her shoulders dropped slightly.

Jeremiah stared at her but she still wouldn't look at him. It hurt to see her like this. He missed her smile or her stupid little comments. But, he obviously didn't get the privilege of seeing that anymore.

Trey came out of the dining room, holding his phone. He had been researching law suits all morning that was similar to theres. But, Conrad wanted to take a calm approach. "Morning." Belly said.

"Wanna talk about a Plan B?" Jeremiah spoke up, making Conrad shake his head in disapproval, "There's not time for plan B." He stated. "There's no time? Come on, dude. Is your ego really that big?" Teddy looked at Jeremiah in disbelief, "Come on." Teddy mumbled, shaking her head. "Aunt Julia is already here."

Their faces all dropped at his words and you could feel the switch in emotion to worried. "She got in yesterday. She's at Ocean Harbor."

"You saw her?" We were all trying to come up with ideas whilst Trey came up beside me, "I mean, we talked on the phone for about five seconds. She couldn't be bothered to come to Mom's funeral, but she'll hop on the first flight
to come sell this place."

"I don't get it. Why? What's the big rush?" His voice was making her angrier by the second as she finally spoke up, "It doesn't matter why." Teddy said, "It does." Jeremiah argued back. Teddy gave him a look before she spoke up, but Conrad interrupted once again, "This isn't a game, okay? This is serious shit. So just go back to bed and let me deal with it." The sound of the door slamming made Teddy sigh as she looked back at her brother.

"That went well." Trey sighed, rubbing his hand on his chin with anxiety. "You know, he keeps saying he's going to figure things out. He hasn't figured out shit. Can you talk some sense into him? You are the only person that can get through to Conrad." It almost seemed like he sounded jealous at his own words.

"Conrad may have listened to me at one point, but I don't think he cares what I think anymore." Teddy gave Belly a small tight lipped smile, nodding at her. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?" Belly asked the three nervously. "I'm always hungry." Trey tried to smile and lighten the mood. Teddy noticed this action and returned a small grin.

"Man, Susannah used to have this place filled to the brim before we got here." Belly sighed. Teddy nervously played with her fingers whilst the two spoke. "There's an um, a grocery store by Ocean Harbor." Teddy spoke up, locking eyes with Jeremiah. He suddenly smiled which made her look away to Belly, trying to fight one of her own, "We're going to find Aunt Julia?"

Trey nodded with a grin, putting an arm on one of Jeremiahs shoulders, "We're going to find Aunt Julia." Once again, he looked at her with that stupid smile. She tried so hard but eventually, she broke, a smile forming on her face.

Teddy had spent the weekend over at Jeremiah's house. She woke up to an empty bed like usual. But what she didn't expect to hear was Conrad's voice coming from downstairs.

She rubbed her eyes, pulling on a hoodie . She softly made her way down the stairs but stopped in her tracks almost immediately at their words. "You and I never really talked about what happened with you and Belly." Conrad spoke with emotion laced in his voice. "Jere, what happened last summer was fucked up."

"I didn't even know that you two had kissed until after," Teddy's eyebrows furrowed at his words, listening closely. "It doesn't matter. I'm with Teddy." Jeremiah shrugged, the sound of ruffling papers filled the room. "I know. I was just hoping that you could," he was cut off by Jeremiah's aggressive tone, "What?"

"Give you my blessing?" The tension in the room was almost shattering to Teddy. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I can't believe you came here like this. You know, just do what you want you always do anyways."

"Jere, I want to be with her. And I really think that's what she wants to. But she's afraid of hurting you, Jere." Afraid of hurting him? "Is that right?"

"Yeah. It's tearing her up that you haven't responded to her texts since last summer." Conrad was speaking so insincere that she almost couldn't hear anymore, debating on walking away. "Yeah, well, I've been busy."

"Jere, I don't want you to hate us. But, I think about her all the time. And it hurts— like my chest physically hurts to not be able to tell her that I'm in love with her." That wasn't a shocker to Teddy, though. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

"I'm not gonna be the one to keep you guys apart. So, go for it." He sounded sad. Like he still longed for Isabel. Teddy heard the chair move and she hurried up the stairs, thoughts tracing through her mind.

Jeremiah closed the car door, watching Teddy do the same. Her hair blew a little in the wind and it felt comforting almost to see her usual messy curls. Her white summer dress with pink flowers reminded him of last summer. His thoughts of her were quickly clouded with one's of Aunt Julia.

"You ready?" Jeremiah asked the two girls. Teddy took a quick glance at him before locking eyes with Belly, "We got this, right?" Belly was shocked to see her acting like this. She knew it was just an act. She knew deep down Teddy hated her for what she had done to the two brothers. And to her.

Belly gave a small smile, "Yeah."

The door opened and Aunt Julia didn't recognize her own nephew which didn't surprise them. "Can I help you?" She kindly asked with a hand on her hip. "Aunt Julia! Oh, my God!" Jeremiah chuckled softly, taking her in his arms with a quick hug.

"Conrad told us you would be here." He smiled. Teddy looked at Jeremiah and to see his happy expression, she felt like she had hope. Teddy turned her head to Julia and did the same thing, a warm smile placed on her face. "Jeremiah. And," she spoke, looking at the two girls.

"Belly Conklin. Isabel. I'm Laurel Park's daughter,
Susannah's best friend." Belly rambled. "Im Teddy Kreese. Sam's daughter." Julia nodded her head, remembering them at the names. "Right. Sorry. Wow. It's been so long."

"You've got my dads eyes." Julia said with a smile, making Jeremiah slightly nod. He quickly changed the subject, grabbing the flowers from Belly, "Uh, I got these hydrangeas for you from my mom's garden. I was just wondering if we could have a second to talk." Julia immediately knew what this was about, her eyes shooting from the flowers and back to him. "Is this about the house?"

Jeremiah chuckled nervously, "Yeah."

"I'm sorry, but I've decided to move ahead with the sale. Actually, we're gonna have an open house tomorrow." All of their faces went serious, Belly looking between Teddy and Jeremiah. Teddy felt as if she could feel her blood begin to pump inside of her with anger, her eyes locked on Aunt Julia.

"Um, uh, you have to know how much the house
means to Jeremiah and Conrad and me and my family. I mean, you spent summers there as a kid, right?" Belly spoke with concern, her eyes soft and inviting. "A few, yeah."

"I mean, then, you know, why would you want
to let go of such a magical place?" At her words, Teddy's head shot to look at her, remembering that was what Susannah referred to it as. "You know, I don't understand how you can just get rid of something your sister loved so much."

"It's not personal." Teddy let out a scoff, shaking her head. "Are you sure?" Jeremiah could see all the signs in her. All these years and he could still tell exactly what she was feeling. She was about to break. "Are you suggesting that I gift the house to you?" She sounded so arrogant it made Jeremiah sick.

"No, no, of course not." Belly said, trying to keep the peace. "Then I-I think you and your brother
should sort this out with your dad. I'm certain that you have the resources, but I can't put off a sale while I wait for you to get your ducks in a row." The three kids were speechless at her words, feeling so many things. "I have to be back at work in a week. I barely got the time off as it is."

"Is that why you didn't make it to the funeral?" Teddy bowed her head at Jeremiah's words, unsure of what to think as her anger risen higher. "Mom?" A feminine voice said from inside the motel, poking their head out. "Jeremiah?"

Teddy and Belly were just as confused to who the girl was, giving each other a glare. "Skye? I didn't know you were here." Jeremiah stuttered, "This is Belly and Teddy. My moms best friends kids." They waved kindly at them, unsure of what to say.

Teddy rolled her eyes when the two began to have a conversation none of them gave a damn about, looking away. "Thanks for stopping by." Teddy gave a mean glare, biting her tongue as she stormed away, her feet hitting the ground of the stairs.

Jeremiah's expression winced when she bumped his shoulder unknowingly from her own angry,, trying to keep a steady track on what was happening.

Teddy had been upstairs in Jeremiah's room all day since the conversation, unsure of what to say to him. Her bags were packed and she was supposed to stay another night but, she just couldn't.

His soft footsteps made their way to his room, his facial expression softening as he saw her sitting there, staring at her hands on his bed. "Hey? What's up?" He asked, taking a seat. But as soon as he sat, she got up, turning her back to him which her hands in her hair.

"You love her, don't you?" Jeremiah shook his head knowingly, standing up. "You heard?"

"Yes, I heard!" Teddy yelled, before sighing, trying to relax her body. "And don't lie to me. Because you have been lying this whole time, apparently."

"That's not what he meant." Jeremiah inches closer to her, "It isn't? She doesn't wanna hurt you— why would that hurt you, Jere? Unless you have feelings for her." Her heart broke watching him stand there like he was clueless. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes when he spoke again, "I love you. I already told you this the day we got together— you know, this!"

"But, do you? Do you really? You can't love us both! You just can't." Teddy hiccuped, a single tear falling from her eyes. "This is to much." Jeremiah stated, tears welling in his eyes as he licked his lips nervously.

"So, that's it? Your not even gonna deny it?" Teddy shrugged, feeling like she was nothing but a rebound at this point. "Teddy, I have always loved you! Belly, is just— I had feelings for Belly, but I'm over it. Your making a big deal out of nothing." Jeremiah spoke with a sharp tone that was enough to cut.

Teddy shrugged, "Then I should just go."

His heart broke at her words, tensing up. He couldn't believe it. "Teds," he was cut off by the voice he loved but it was filled with something else. Hatred? "Don't call me that."

Jeremiah was taken aback at her words, taking a step back as well. He shook his head, "Maybe you should." Teddy nodded, wiping her tears quickly, grabbing her bag with aggression and roughly slamming his door behind her.

Teddy slammed the car door, not even giving them a second to discuss before she was storming off. Her feet hit the concrete as she rushed to the beach, desperate to catch her breath.

Jeremiah watched her storm off, about to run after her. Belly saw this and gave him a little shove, nodding to him. Jeremiah was scared. He hadn't talked to her sincerely in months, but this isn't what was supposed to happen.

They were supposed to be happy. Maybe even find their way back to each other. But, not like this. This wasn't right.

Teddy rushed to the beach, aware of the footsteps behind her. She let out a small gasp when her arm pulled, forcing her to turn around. "Calm down." Jeremiah spoke calmly, letting go of her wrist when she faced him.

So many words ran through her head and when she opened up her mouth to speak, nothing came out. Jeremiah noticed this and the tears in her eyes and he couldn't do anything. "Teds," he was cut off quickly, Deja Vu punching him in the gut, "Do not call me that."

Teddy was shocked at her own memorable words, her eyes widening as she looked away. It was silent before she spoke up, "What did I do wrong?"

Jeremiah shook his head, not even able to look her in the eye, "What?"

"I was there for you. I helped you with everything you needed. I comforted you— we were there for eachother!" There was a sudden change in her tone and he looked up at her with a broken gaze. "While Belly was out with Conrad, and Conrad was doing god knows what, I was there for you. Me! And when Susannah died, you pushed me away!" Teddy shook her head, tears now streaming down her face, "You didn't want me to help you, because you wanted h-her!"

When her voice cracked, he took big a step closer, a single tear falling from his eyes, "Look at me." Jeremiah almost demanded, "I would choose you in every universe, don't you understand?"

Teddy was shocked at his words, completely breaking as she cried, sucking in her bottom lip, "It was always you. I know you might think something different, but for once, can't you believe me?"

Teddy leaned into his touch, when his hand rubbed against her cheek, "So, why wasn't I enough?" Jeremiah had lost it at that, immediately pulling her into him. He held her head in his hand, "I'm sorry. About everything." Teddy cried.

"Sh," Jeremiah coed, letting a tears fall from his own eyes. He was ashamed. He had hurt the only girl he had ever loved. And now he was paying the horrible price of it all. And without Susannah to hold him, all he had was her.

He squeezed her tighter, letting his own tears fall out as they both let out their own problems in each others arms. It had been months since Teddy felt his embrace, gripping his shirt like her life depended on his touch.