𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 // (𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

Part 42

Conrad, Jeremiah and me are stood in a line waiting for Skye to tell us her news.

"So, my Mom made an arrangement, and since the new family is only gonna use this as a summer home,  they've agreed to let us rent it for one week every summer!"

"This is amazing!" Jere yells and hugs me. "I can't believe we get to come back."

"Not it's not amazing," Conrad speaks. "Tell your Mom thanks, but no."

"Conrad, why don't we try to hear them out?" I suggest.

"It's over."

"Why are you the only one who gets to make this decision?" Jeremiah raises his voice.

"Jere, we're not gonna pay another family, to rent our house." 

"It's not our house anymore."

"Exactly, let it go."

"Cause you're so great at that."

"Jeremiah." I say.

"No this is the shit he does, when things aren't perfect instead of just trying, you throw it away, and it's not just the house, you did it to Y/N too, remember that?" He pauses. "You came to me, you fucking begged me for my blessing so that you could be with her."

"That's true?" I ask Conrad.

"Yeah it's fucking true, you know when shit got tough, he couldn't handle it and he threw you away."

"Don't you dare use me to get at him."

"Jere, stop." Conrad tells him.

"Y/N, come on, he's a baby."

"And what are you being right now?"

"Shut up, y/n."

"Jere." Conrad says.

"I don't want to be part of this, sorry guys."

I storm off.

~~

Conrad's POV

I slowly clap.

"Way to go, Jere. Real classy." I say sarcastically.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"Grow up."

"I did grow up! I watched Mom slip away a little bit every single day, while you were at college or with
y/n or moping around after you screwed it all up."

"Jere, you know for a fact that I came home as much as I could."

"But it wasn't every day."

"Okay, okay! What do you want me to say?"

"I looked up to you, every day of my life and when people said you were better than me I wouldn't mind because I thought you were, but you're not. Now I finally see you for who you really are."

"What's that?" I ask quietly.

"A coward," Jere pauses. "You're not someone to look up to, you're not even someone I wanna know, you are the worst human being I've ever known."

I nod as he walks away.

~~

Y/N's POV

I stumble through the loud house, and since the end of the party is nearing, everything is getting to its peak of chaos.

A girl vomits on the floor in front of me, and I grab a bottle of gin and head slowly to the beach, drinking the entire bottle on the way there.

I go into the water up to my knees, but then I hear a yell.

"Y/N! Come back inside!" He walks closer. "I'm not dragging your dead body in from the ocean."

"Leave me alone."

"I can't."

After a few more seconds of not moving, I hear him come up behind me and I feel his arms wrap around my waist and hoist me over his shoulder.

"Conrad, I can walk."

"You're drunk, y/n."

"Put me down, please." I say, quietly, because I know that'll convince him.

He places me down on the sand but stands in front of me.

"I'm not leaving you, y/n."

"You already did," I sob lightly. "Why didn't you tell me you went to Jeremiah, why?"

"I don't know, I tried, but I."

"If I knew, that you had done that, that you loved and cared about me that much, I would've fought for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I would've fought for us, at prom, the funeral, that time outside of Brown, I would've stayed, and been there through absolutely everything."

"I thought you knew, I thought you knew, from the second we kissed on this beach I thought you knew."

"Then why did you throw it all away? Why, why, why?" I cry.

"Because I'm me."

"No, that wasn't you, you are a loving, kind gentle man, that wasn't you."

He sighs softly.

"I thought, we loved each other."

"I do, and I hate the fact that you think I don't."

"It's hard to believe someone loves you when they act like you're chore 90% of the time," I take a deep breath. "And I know, that you didn't mean to make me feel that way but you did."

"I didn't want to be a burden to you."

"Conrad, you have never, and will never be a burden to me." I wipe the tears from under my eyes but they carry on rolling.

He stays silent.

"I'm sorry." I tell him before stumbling back to the party, hearing the distant intro of Snow On The Beach, by Taylor Swift.

I make my way into the middle of the old living room, and we Jeremiah, he smiles at me, but turns around and heads off after a second, so I turn my head the other way, and see Conrad, before he too walks off.

I walk up to my old bedroom and lay on the floor, grabbing my phone and dialling my mothers number.

'This is Laurel Park, please leave a message'

I start to uncontrollably sob.

"I need you, Mommy. I'm at Susannah's house but it's not her house anymore and she's gone and the boys may never speak again and it's all my fault, please come and fix it, please." I tap send and turn off my phone, crying until I drift off to sleep,

'One night a few moons ago, I saw flecks of what could've been lights, but it might just have been you, passing by unbeknownst to me.'