Last Summer

Martha Patterson climbed out of her parents' black Ford Expedition and stretched her arms and legs and took in the sunshine and cool breeze. She could hear her parents and little brother bustling behind her getting out of the car and gathering some of their belongings. It had been at least three years since they had been here but here they were: California.

The Patterson family looked up when they heard a screen door close with a loud pop sound. They saw two little blonde haired kids and the eldest Patterson-McCoy daughter running towards them.

"You're here! You're finally here!" Olivia exclaimed excitedly. She ran to her parents and hugged them before hugging Martha and Bryant. "I was starting to wonder when you guys would be getting here. You must be tired. Let's get you inside and get you settled in." She ushered them into the two story house she and her husband lived in with their kids. She showed everyone to their rooms and then took her kids downstairs so they would let their family get unpacked and settled in.

After half an hour, everyone met up again downstairs in the dining room. Olivia sent Rose, Dustyn, and Bryant outside to play so she could catch up with her parents and little sister. She pulled her cup of coffee towards her and looked at her parents. "So, how is everyone doing?"

"Considering the circumstances, things are going as well as can be expected," Alyson, their mother, said and mirrored Olivia's action with the cup of coffee.

"That's good. Martha, how are you feeling? Are you tired at all? Do you want to go rest before dinner?" Olivia asked.

"Liv, I'm fine. I'll be fine," Martha assured her older sister and took a sip of her Black Cherry flavored Faygo. Then right on cue, her nose started to bleed.

"Martha, your nose," Alyson said quietly and in a calm voice.

Martha grabbed a napkin off the table and held it up to her nose. "Sorry," she said as she got up and walked away.

"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" Olivia asked. She stared in the direction Martha had just taken.

"Yes, Olivia, she's going to be all right," Gary told his concerned daughter.

Alyson stood up and said, "I should go check on her, you know, make sure she's all right." She walked out of the dining room and found Martha in the half-bathroom. She pulled Martha's hand away from her face to check the bleeding. It had stopped. The skin beneath Martha's nose was tinted red from the blood.

"I'm fine, Mom," Martha said before her mother could ask the most asked question of the past month.

Alyson sighed, "I'm sure you're fine, honey, but you can't fault me for wanting to make sure."

"I know," Martha responded and ran the cold tap water. She gathered some water in her hand and attempted to wash away the stained blood. It lightened up but it was still evident that her nose had been bleeding. Satisfied with the best she could do, Martha and Alyson walked out of the bathroom.

* * *

Kevin Jonas watched as Melissa, his now ex-girlfriend, packed the last of her stuff into her overnight bag. If she hadn't put an end to their relationship when she had, Kevin surely would have ended their tempestuous relationship. It wasn't good for either of them and they knew it but he couldn't figure out why either of them had stayed for so long. The final straw broke when he discovered she was interested in one of his best friends and they fought for the last time.

Melissa picked up her bag and slid her knockoff designer Coach purse up to her shoulder. She looked at Kevin, placed her hand on the doorknob and said, "Goodbye, Kevin." She was out the door a beat later.

"God love her," Kevin quietly said to himself and shut the front door behind her.

"Oh my god, the wicked witch is gone!" Addison, Joe's fiancé, blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry Kevin."

"Addison, that wasn't very nice," Joe commented and held back his laughter.

"Joe, you know you thought the same exact thing. Don't hate on the fact that I said it first."

"Either way, I'm glad she's gone too," Kevin responded.

"You know what, Kevin? Tonight, keep your schedule clear. Joe and I are going to take you out for dinner to celebrate your new marital status," Addison said.

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" Kevin looked to Joe for support.

Joe just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what's going on up there half the time," he said while pointing at Addison's head.

"Nice," Kevin said and slowly started to walk out of the living room with a fake scared look on his face.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Martha excused herself from the table to go use the bathroom. Rose then decided that she had to go too so she tagged along with Martha. They carefully and quickly navigated their way through the crowded diner to the other side where the bathrooms were located. Luckily the bathrooms were fairly empty so they were able to get in and get out within minutes.

Martha walked out ahead of Rose a little too quickly.

"Martha, wait!" Rose shouted in her tiny voice and scurried to catch up.

Martha turned around while still walking and bumped into someone. She quickly turned back around to apologize to them.

Kevin's face showed annoyance before it turned to confusion as he and Martha stared at each other for a moment. Then it turned to recognition.

"Martha?" he asked.

"Yep, that's me," she responded as she played with the sleeves of her black Alkaline Trio hoody.

"No way! I haven't seen you since graduation," Kevin told her.

"Yeah, I know, we actually moved to Vegas about a month after graduation."

"Oh, hey," Kevin said, turning to his family. "You guys remember Martha, right?"

They nodded their heads and said hello to her.

"How long are you going to be in town?" Kevin asked. "Maybe we can hang out sometime."

"It's pretty much open-ended. We're going back whenever we feel like it basically. That would be awesome though. I would definitely like to hang out with you sometime."

Kevin and Martha traded cell phone numbers and said their goodbyes. He watched as she and Rose walked back to their table.

"Uh oh, Kevin's got that goofy look in his eyes," Nick said out loud.

"No, I don't. Shut up," Kevin responded. But he really did.

* * *

"Who was that?" Olivia questioned Martha as she and her daughter sat back down.

"Kevin Jonas. We went to high school together. We're going to hang out sometime," she responded and drank some of her Sprite.

Olivia cocked her head and said, "Are you sure you're up for that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Martha asked. "What are you expecting me to do? Sit back and watch life pass by? Yeah, I don't think so!"

"Okay girls!" Alyson said before they could start fighting. First of all, they were in public. Second of all, family business wasn't public business.

Martha and Olivia sat back in their chairs and looked away from each other. Martha huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Olivia rolled her eyes. In that moment, Olivia's two children were momentarily older than her. Alyson shook her head and their food finally arrived.

Most of the dinner was spent in silence. The kids were the ones mainly doing all the talking. Martha didn't have much to say since it would probably only start a fight between her and her sister. Olivia just doesn't seem to understand like everyone else does.

After half an hour, Martha felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She quickly checked it to see a text from her friend Hope, who's her best friend from back home in Vegas.

Hey, are you busy?

Martha texted back: Nope, just got done with dinner with the family.

Oh okay. How are things going so far?

Olivia's acting like I'm supposed to be bed bound or something. It's actually really annoying.

Sorry to hear that. Tell her to fuck off.

Trust me, I would but we both know I can't.

Boo!

No need to tell me.

The girls texted until the family got back to Olivia's house. Olivia's husband, Tyler, had arrived home and was working in his office. He greeted everyone in the living room.

"Sorry I couldn't be here earlier. I've been in court all day."

Gary said, "Oh no, that's all right. When you have to work, you have to work." They shook hands. Tyler quickly hugged everyone else and then kissed his wife. He then retreated back to his office to finish what little paperwork he had left.

Feeling a little tired, Martha took herself upstairs to the room she was staying in. She lied on the bed and stared up at the ceiling in thought. It had been an interesting month so far. There were the highs and lows but when it came down to it, she wouldn't change a thing. Even with her life coming to an end, she wouldn't change it for the world.