Promise me a River

Chapter One

Chapter One

Summer, you can say it's the time of year that sneaks up on you like an annoying little brother and leaves you feeling old and fat. It's the time of showing off, proving who you are, trying new things, having fun and making memories that would last a life time.

It's the season my family got the phone call that tarnished the fun days at the beach before they'd even begun. The Season my childhood best friend Zain got back from the UK and would snatch back the cosy little hovel beside ours that had been empty for years.

Upon getting such news, I'd been ecstatic considering I'd had absolutely no plans prepared for the holiday. But then my agitating little brother Tyler just couldn't seem to leave behind the plain fact that along with Zain accompanied her twin brother Zion. They were the cutest twins when we were kids, they were even voted most likely to end up models by graduation.

But it had been years since I'd seen them; we were in like what kindergarten? Zain and I still spoke through social media, but it became harder and harder to see her with the SAT's that were creeping up behind me. Now that that's done and dusted, I could make time for her, for them.

"That's great Mom!" I exclaimed as I helped serve dinner; a steaming bowl of Mac and cheese. We weren't a household that went all out on dinner; we simply munched on whatever there was at home. "When will they be arriving?"

"Tomorrow morning, I offered you and Tyler to pick them up I hope that's okay?" She was implying if I could set aside my pride for the fact that I needed my little brother to drive me wherever I wanted to go because I couldn't drive.

"Yeah," I shrugged taking a seat at the table. Tyler was sixteen and he could drive simply because of an accident I had two years ago that left me without a car and completely petrified of driving.

Beneath the table, I could feel a shove at my feet. I frowned glaring daggers at Tyler who simply slid his phone to me as subtly as he could. Considering my father had been feeding our little sister Anna, and Mom had been making googly-eyes at her, I would commend him for a job well done.

Picking up his black phone, I couldn't help but gawk at the picture that my brother had been showing me underneath the table. I knew my brother was a closeted sixteen year old boy, but that didn't mean I wanted to see all the hot guys he'd been stalking on social media.

I'd continued to scroll through the professionally organized page of the boy my brother seemed to feel required my attention. When I'd seen enough, I passed him his phone and rapidly picked up mine to send a text.

"Emily, your Dad was talking to me earlier on and he mentioned the fact that there was an opening at the thrift store." Mom said stealing my attention from my phone screen. I smiled placing a single free hand on the table nervous she would suspect I hadn't touched my food and neither had Tyler. "Don't you remember how much you loved the thrift store, you would always go over there and pick out something new and fun!" She'd been making goofy faces at Anna who seemed to find it hysterical and not in the very least exhausting.

"I don't remember that at all," I corrected. I must have been like five years old to have enjoyed a place that held old resold junk. But I had more pressing matters beneath the table, such as questioning the reason behind what Tyler had gladly shown me. Maybe that's the guy that has been making him smile since the beginning of the semester? Maybe they're official, or in the very least serious and he felt the need to confide in me?

"Well how about that internship you got before the summer began? The one at the..." Mom trailed off unable to recall the internship I'd been babbling over for the past ten weeks before summer ran me over.

"The one at the Graphics house?" I added after a brief moment.

"Yeah, that one. When does it start?"

"In two days"

"Wellthat's okay; remember how you were complaining about not having anything to dothis summer, well now you do. You have the twins moving back, a job to keep youoccupied and before you know it, prom and graduation!" My father's smilemirrored the bright grin he'd worn when I'd told him I'd passed the SAT's. Itjust meant he was really happy, and I knew I couldn't let him down; mostespecially the fact that with Mom's trip to New York coming up, he simplywanted to wrap his hands around the family and see to it that everything runssmoothly.

"Sure." My response was short as I picked up my fork and shovelled a spoon of Mac and cheese into my mouth before staring at Tyler.

"Will you be at your camp this summer?" I asked once I'd swallowed the mound of food in my mouth. Tyler nodded frowning.

"Yeah, I thought we were over this already?"

"Would you want to talk about it? Like after dinner?" He didn't seem to initially catch my drift, but after a few seconds nodded with a bright smile.

"Of course, there are a lot of things I need to fill you in on before I leave!" I knew our parents must have caught on to something suspicious that we were implying, but decided not to pry since Anna broke into a sobbing fit while slamming her hands around. I had never been so pleased to hear her cry.

Rapidly sending a text to Tyler, I picked up my plate while both our parents were distracted and got up. "I really enjoyed dinner, thanks Mom, thanks Dad!" I muttered stepping away from the table and bolting to the kitchen where I dropped my plate in the sink and waited for Tyler to walk in.

When he eventually did, I slapped his arm and frowned. "What's with the hot guy bomb you dropped before dinner?" He frowned mirroring how I looked. To many people, those who didn't take offense at the fact that we are interracial siblings, it was hard to tell that I was actually older than Tyler. They simply assumed we were either twins or he was older since he was over two feet taller than I was. And that's saying something considering I'm 5'6 and eighteen.

"You didn't check the i********: handle?" He asked pulling out his phone from his back pocket. I shook my head. I guess I'd been a tad too distracted by the professionally edited pictures of a hot guy that seemed out of both our leagues, there was no need to check the handle.

"If this is your new crush, I would advise you drop it, it's not healthy to get your hopes up like this!" He hadn't even bothered to gaze up from his phone rather continued to type into the phone until he'd pulled up the page and smiled.

"First of all, how can I not crush on this guy?" He'd asked the question as though I were the one with the problem by convincing him otherwise. "Second of all, look at the handle!" He'd turned his phone until the screen was facing me. I'd read and reread the handle and bio underneath the male model that had over twenty-three thousand followers, and yet nothing could prepare me for the revelation that had slammed into me faster than the arrival of summer and the mere fact that I still hadn't gotten the beach body I'd promised myself.

Zion Parker aged Nineteen and sponsored under Nike. I would be picking him up tomorrow morning. There was suddenly a lump in my throat and I didn't think I would be able to sleep through the night.

. . .