The Summer I Went Wild Chapter 2 Part 2
The Summer I Went Wild
Chapter Two
Part Two
“Ew, nope.”
“Creating DIY content.”
“Nope, think again.”
“Vacation to Caleb’s parents’ beach house?”
“Bingo, that’s it.”
As a kid, I used to get so excited about those trips. We piled into the car every summer and headed to the beach house. It was big and beautiful, perched on the cliffs, waves crashing below.
I could still feel my nine-year-old self bouncing in the backseat, face pressed against the window as we got closer, heart racing with excitement.
I had lived for those vacations.
But that was a long time ago.
“Jeez, that’s the second piece of news?” I asked, leaning back on my bed and crossing my arms.
Maddy nodded eagerly, bouncing on her heels. Her eyes were wide with excitement.
“How’s that exciting?”
“Are you seriously asking that?” she scoffed. “Beach. Vacation. Boys. Random flings. That’s what’s exciting.”
She wasn’t wrong. A vacation would’ve been perfect—any other time. I hadn’t had one in forever, and a break would be nice.
But right now? When everything was a mess? It didn’t feel right.
“A vacation is nice, but—”
“Nope. No ‘but’ here.” Maddy cut me off. “Let’s take a few weeks to loosen up, then you can come back refreshed and reapply at Harvard.”
“I don’t know.”
The idea of the sun on my skin sounded nice—too nice. The saltwater in the air. It was tempting. Who wouldn’t want that?
But everything with Mom… the rejection… I couldn’t just escape.
“Don’t say that like you don’t like the idea,” Maddy said.
“It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just… now’s not a good time. Mom’s still disappointed. I want to placate her somehow.”
Harvard was still on the table. I wasn’t giving up.
“Your mom won’t stay angry forever,” Maddy said. “She’ll come around.”
I hoped she was right.
“I still have to prepare to reapply. Start online classes and all.”
“That doesn’t stop you from taking a vacation.”
I sighed. She wasn’t going to let this go.
“I’ll think about it.”
I wasn’t going. She’d send me photos while I stayed home studying until midnight. Sunny selfies. Textbooks. Misery.
“Okay, fine. But think fast—we’re leaving soon.”
“We?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Me and Caleb.”
Caleb?
The same Caleb who disappeared after getting into college?
“You’re planning a vacation with him?”
“It was his idea.”
“That’s a lie.”
She sighed. “Fine. I told him I missed our old beach trips, and he said we should do another.”
“After forgetting about us for two years?”
“Someone sounds hurt,” she teased, nudging my shoulder.
“I don’t forget my friends.”
“That’s not even the worst part.”
I raised a brow. “There’s more?”
Maddy nodded, biting her lip like she was sitting on the juiciest secret ever.
“Of course,” I said dryly. “I live for juicy deets.”