The Step Brother

20. Goodbye Summer.

Willow

They day after their fight, she kept to the promise she made both her mom and Jace. Sitting at the dining room table, they all held their breath as the teens opened their letters together. Jace got accepted to the University of California in Berkeley, which was his first choice. Jack cheered and hugged his son, letting him know how proud he was, how proud his own mother would be if she were here. When it came to opening the Columbia letter, Will was too anxious to read it herself and so Elena read it aloud.

It's official. She got accepted into Columbia University. The school of her dreams. Ever since she was in the 5th grade, she's aspired to be a lawyer. Every decision she's made from that point on was dedicated to making that dream a reality. And now she's one step closer.

The family of four celebrated the news that night by going out to eat at an Italian restaurant. Jace had to leave from there after promising Ryder to a guy's night. When her and the parents returned home, she said goodnight and hugged them both close. Because in only two months time, she would be almost 3,000 miles away from home. No more nights like this one. No more family dinners. No more falling asleep in Jace's arms every night. No more In N Out and all the other things she didn't realize she'd be missing.

She was relieved to return to her room alone. She let herself feel all the emotions that she'd been bottling up all this time, that only continued to snowball. She took a bath and sobbed into a wash cloth. And then she cried into her pillow once she was in bed. She cried so hard that eventually she passed out from exhaustion. She woke up briefly when she heard Jace come home. When he slid into her bed under the blanket, his arms pulled her into his chest and she pretended to be asleep. She didn't want him to know she'd been crying most the evening.

They spend almost every second of their summer together. Maybe it's clingy. Maybe it's too much. They don't care. As the days go on, they both know what lies ahead. Soon there will be days and weeks, probably months of not seeing each other in person. Their beds will be empty of the other. Goodbye to the late nights of exploring each other's bodies, desperate to get as close as two people can.

"Jace, wait, stop." She whispers in his dimly lit room one summer night.

His mouth stops and he lifts his head from between her thighs, pulling the blanket back from over his head. "What's wrong?"

"I-I think the fireworks are going off."

"That's a new way of telling me you're close." He smirks, dipping his head back down. His tongue is hot and wet on her skin.

"No, listen," She says, tugging gently at his dark waves. Outside his window, loud pops can be heard in the sky. It's the Fourth of July. Their first together. They decided not to go to the fair in town with the parents. This meant they had the house to themselves. They stole some wine from the parents liquor cabinet and Jace rolled a joint for them to share like he did on Halloween. And, well, one thing led to another. "Let's go watch them."

He sits up between her legs and wipes off his mouth. "Okay but I'm coming back to finish the job after."

She climbs out of his bed and pulls her shorts on. He grabs the joint and lighter and then goes to open his window. When he turns back to her, he offers his hand.

"Don't let me die." She says teasingly but also kind of serious. Even though if they fell from the roof, it would result in a broken bone or two at most.

"Shit, you caught on to my master plan." He jokes back.

They both manage to climb out his window and onto the roof. They've done it a few times since moving in, always after their parents go to bed. Sometimes they'll just lay there and look at the stars together and talk. Tonight, they have a perfect view of the firework show going on at the fair.