Summer Days, Oh, Our Wasted Ways

Catherine’s face was warm from the fire in front of her. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around her, trying to keep warm despite the air that made it obvious it was almost Autumn. She leaned into Matthew’s chest and rested her head on his shoulder.

It was her last night here. Tomorrow, she’ll be leaving. In a few weeks she’ll be in London. She didn’t know if she’ll still be together with Matthew by that time. They haven’t talked about it and she didn’t mind but she knew they would have to eventually.

“TO THE BEST WEEK EVER!” Nathan yelled joyfully as he raised his cup in the air.

Everyone else did the same and downed the rest of what was left in the cup.

It really was the best week ever. They bloated themselves with ice cream, gone cliff jumping again, biked around the whole town, created mayhem in the park, swam in the beach, baked cookies, made silly videos, joined the summer-ending festival, camping in the park, and now ending it the way they started it, with a bonfire.

They sat in silence, all of them reminiscing about the week they just had. No one wanted it to end but it was too late for that.

A bell rang in the distance, catching everyone’s attention. The church’s bell was ringing, meaning it was midnight already.

They stood up and gathered their things and put out the fire. They all left without another word, saving what they had to say for tomorrow, the day Catherine leaves.

Dark circles were under Catherine’s eyes as she stood out her grandparents’ house. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night and was wide awake when her parents and brother arrived. Leaving was the only thing on her mind, that and how much she wished she didn’t have to.

She wrapped her cardigan closer around her as a breeze passed her. She wasn’t really one for the cold which made quite a number of people wonder how she was going to last in London. She has thought about it once or twice but never really dwelled on it. She’ll just have to be wrapped in many layers.

Her eyes watched her father and grandfather put the things in the trunk of the car. Her mother and brother were inside with her grandmother having a snack. Nobody else was there, not a single one of her friends. It hurt. They said they would be there but not even Matthew was next door.

She sighed and sat down on the porch steps. She fiddled around with the hem of her skirt, running her fingertips over the detailed design. The sun was suddenly blocked, leaving her under the shade of someone or something. She looked up and was met by five sad smiles.

She quickly got up to her feet and was trapped in a group hug. No one said a word as they hugged. They stood there, on the White’s front lawn, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Catherine?” Her mom said, breaking the moment.

They disentangled themselves from one another, letting Catherine walk up the steps and to her mom who was standing on the porch.

“We have to go honey,” her mom said sweetly.

Catherine nodded before going back to her friends.

She hugged Nathan first and kissed his cheek. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have gotten in as much trouble as they did this summer. She was glad they had met or else she would have most probably wouldn’t have done half of the things she did.

Mitchel was next. He wrapped his tanned arms around her and squeezed her. He was the older brother she never had. She would always have little bonding moments with him and she didn’t mind. They would talk about pointless things and it was nice, no need to be serious or anything.

Taylor stole her from her brother’s arms. She wrapped her toned arms around Catherine tightly and didn’t let go. Catherine could not deny the fact that she had gotten muscles this summer, thanks to Ms. Sporty herself. Sure, it kind of hurt but honestly, she could have cared less. She had so much fun.

She eventually got away from Taylor’s grasp and into Elouise’s waiting arms. They bumped into each other which caused everyone to laugh. They righted themselves and hugged each other tightly. No doubt, Elouise was her best friend here. She helped her and Matthew with the few problems they had. She was always like a sister. They talked late at night and had the most personal conversations. They were both going to miss it.

She slowly walked up to Matthew and hugged him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, as if he was never going to let her go. She snuggled into his chest and let the tears she was holding in roll down her face. His face was buried in her hair and she could feel it getting wet.

She hasn’t been in many relationships but she knew the one they had was a great one. Without words, they decided not to continue dating. Because let’s face it, it really wouldn’t have worked out if they continued to date. It was unrealistic and it was nice to end it on good terms.

She buried her face in his shirt and let her tears soak it. Something suddenly popped up in her head, making run out of his arms and up the stairs to the second floor of the house. She came back down, out of breath and flushed. She was holding onto something thick in her right hand, clutching it tightly as she tried to control her breathing.

She walked up to Matthew and handed him his hoodie. He just shook his head and pushed it towards her. She looked at him with a questioning glance but he just shook his head. He leaned forward and positioned his head close to his ear.

“Don’t forget me,” he said softly before kissing her on the lips one last time.

Any other time she would have been completely embarrassed. Her parents and grandparents were right there watching but for some reason it didn’t matter to her. This was going to be her last, why not make it worthwhile?

She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer. They broke apart a few moments later. They were both breathing hard and had swollen lips but they didn’t care.

She slowly pulled away from him and glanced at the car behind him. There her whole family was waiting for her, including her grandparents. They were going back with her and her family. They were going to stay with them until she left for London.

She gave one last hug to each of them and started walking towards the car that was idly waiting for her. A beanie suddenly appeared on her head and she looked up at Matthew he was wearing a small smile. It was the first hat she had ever seen on him. She gave snapped of the necklace from her neck and placed it on his palm. It was a simple dog tag with her name on it.

She closed his hand around it and ran to the car. She hoped into the backseat and waved a last goodbye as her father started to drive away.

It was the best summer of her life.