A Summer Goes Quiet
1329 Words
Jake woke up before everyone else.
The house was still.
Sunlight streamed softly through the wide vacation house windows, golden and calm. For a moment, he lay there, listening to nothing but birds outside and the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Then he heard plates clinking downstairs.
He got up.
When he reached the living room, he saw the nanny already cleaning up the mess from last night, empty cups, snack wrappers, balloons drifting lazily across the floor.
“You’re up early,” she said, surprised.
Jake stretched. “You don’t have to clean all that.”
She laughed lightly. “That’s my job.”
“I’ll do it.”
She stopped and looked at him.
“You?” she teased.
“I’m twenty now,” he said seriously. “You carried me on your back when I was five. I’m not that kid anymore.”
She smiled warmly at him. “You’ll always be that kid to me.”
Jake rolled his eyes but smiled.
“Fine,” she said eventually. “You cook breakfast. I’ll finish cleaning. When I’m done, I’ll help.”
“No,” Jake said quickly. “You clean. I’ll handle breakfast.”
She studied him for a moment.
Then nodded. “Alright, Mr. Adult.”
He grinned slightly and walked into the kitchen.
As he started cracking eggs and chopping vegetables, his mind wandered to last night.
The pool.
The laughter.
Ava laughing when he splashed her.
He paused.
She had been smiling at him a lot.
He shook his head slightly and continued cooking.
Footsteps approached.
Evan entered the kitchen, hair messy, eyes sleepy.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
Evan leaned against the counter. “You’re cooking?”
“Apparently adulthood comes with responsibilities.”
Evan laughed. “Need help?”
Jake handed him a knife. “Yeah.”
They worked quietly for a bit.
Jake reached for a jar of pickles.
“Don’t,” Evan said quickly.
Jake paused. “Why?”
“Ava’s allergic.”
Jake blinked. “To pickles?”
“Yeah.”
Jake slowly put the jar down. “Good catch.”
A small silence settled.
Jake cleared his throat casually. “What else is she allergic to?”
Evan slowly raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you asking me that?” he asked carefully.
Jake shrugged. “So I don’t accidentally kill someone.”
Evan didn’t look convinced.
Then his lips curved slightly.
“I’ll tell you,” he said. “If you send me one baby picture of Bethany.”
Jake stared at him.
“You’re serious?”
“Very.”
Jake thought for a few seconds.
“…Fine.”
They shook hands.
Evan grinned. “She hates strawberries too.”
Jake nodded slowly.
Noted.
Soon the house began waking up.
Bethany stumbled in first, dramatic as usual.
“You cooked?” she said, suspicious.
“Yes, Bluey. I cooked.”
Ava followed behind her, hair messy but smiling.
She froze slightly when she saw Jake standing by the stove.
“Morning,” she said softly.
“Morning.”
Everyone gathered around the table.
Breakfast was loud.
Nelson complained about being forced awake by sunlight.
Cal stole extra toast.
Bethany narrated Jake’s “first adulthood” like it was a national ceremony.
Ava laughed at everything Jake said.
Jake noticed.
After they finished eating, Jake stood up.
“Alright,” he said. “Everyone go wash up properly. When you’re done, come downstairs. We’re not wasting the day.”
Everyone groaned dramatically but obeyed.
They all went upstairs.
Except Ava.
Jake began clearing plates.
He turned and saw her still standing there.
“You don’t have to help,” he said.
“You made breakfast,” she replied. “Let me help you clean.”
“Me and Evan made breakfast actually.”
She smiled. “See? The boys are doing things. It’s unfair if the girls don’t assist.”
Jake laughed.
“You sound exactly like Bluey.”
She grinned. “That’s why we’re best friends.”
They worked side by side at the sink.
Their shoulders brushed once.
Both paused slightly.
The moment lingered just a second too long.
Jake cleared his throat.
Ava focused very hard on rinsing a plate that was already clean.
“So,” she said casually, “how does it feel being twenty?”
“Old.”
She laughed. “You’re dramatic.”
“Bethany’s influence.”
Silence settled between them again — softer this time.
Jake found himself looking at her longer than necessary.
She felt it.
She looked up.
Their eyes met.
And neither of them looked away immediately.
Jake broke it first.
“You should go wash up,” he said gently. “There’s nothing much left.”
Ava nodded quickly. “Right. Yeah.”
She grabbed a towel and wiped the table quickly.
“Thanks for breakfast,” she added before heading upstairs.
Jake watched her go.
Why did that feel… different?
Upstairs, Ava shut the bathroom door and pressed her back against it.
She smiled like an i***t.
It was just cleaning dishes.
But it felt like more.
Once everyone was cleaned up and changed, they gathered downstairs again.
“Now,” Cal announced dramatically, grabbing an empty bottle. “Truth and Dare.”
Nelson groaned. “Here we go.”
They sat in a circle.
The game started playful.
When the bottle landed on Bethany, Evan immediately leaned forward.
“When did you start liking me?”
Everyone groaned.
Bethany smirked. “When you stopped being annoying.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is to me.”
When it landed on Evan, Bethany fired back.
“Did you fall first?”
Cal threw his hands up. “You two are using this game for flirting.”
They laughed.
The bottle spun again.
It landed on Ava.
Sarah smiled innocently. “Do you have a crush on anyone here?”
The air shifted slightly.
Ava froze.
Bethany quickly jumped in. “You don’t have to answer.”
But Ava swallowed.
“…Yes.”
Silence.
Jake felt something twist in his stomach.
His mind raced immediately.
Cal?
Nelson?
Why does it matter?
He looked at Ava.
She wasn’t looking at him.
Why am I curious anyway? he asked himself.
The game moved on, but the energy had subtly changed.
They spent the afternoon in the pool again.
Water fights.
Volleyball.
Nelson dramatically “drowning” every five minutes.
Bethany dragging Evan underwater just to hear him yell.
Jake laughed more today.
Really laughed.
Ava kept ending up near him.
Accidentally.
Or maybe not.
Later, they played music and danced around the living room.
Bethany pulled Evan close.
Ava tried teaching Jake a K-pop dance move.
He failed terribly.
She laughed so hard she had to sit down.
It was loud.
It was messy.
It was perfect.
But in between moments, Evan checked his phone.
He had called his mom earlier.
No answer.
He had texted.
No reply.
Bethany noticed.
“You okay?” she asked softly at one point.
“Yeah,” he smiled quickly. “She’s probably resting.”
She nodded.
She believed him.
That night, they sat around the dining table again.
Dinner was full of teasing.
Cal accused Jake of “blushing” during Truth and Dare.
Ava almost choked on her drink.
Bethany laughed too hard.
Then—
Evan’s phone rang.
Loud.
Clear.
Everyone paused.
He pulled it out.
“MOM.”
Relief crossed his face instantly.
“Finally,” he whispered.
He stood up and answered.
“Hi, Mom—”
Silence.
His expression changed slowly.
“What?”
Pause.
“…What do you mean?”
Longer pause.
“Hospital?”
The word barely escaped him.
The laughter at the table faded completely.
Bethany stood up.
Evan’s voice shook slightly.
“I’m coming.”
He lowered the phone.
The house was silent now.
Summer had been loud.
But in one phone call, it went quiet.
- Writer
