Page 4 of Lost in the Current of You

And I meant many times. I kept count. Five times throughout the whole day and the day before. One of them with tears in his eyes as he watched me enter the lounge room in my pearl silk gown, ready for formal.

He used to always write little positive notes in my lunch bag to make me smile during school. He would also have the exact right words to say to cheer me up when we were having a bad day.

There's nothing the man couldn’t do. He was a carpenter by trade, constantly building and renovating things around the house when he was looking for change, always including us in the process. I was fascinated by everything he did and the way he explained how to build things. He even built us a treehouse when Nate and I were eleven and eight. Though Nate thought it was childish, I think he secretly used it more than me.

We made the long trip to the airport after finishing our breakfast, picking up Avery and Alex on the way. The personalised CD I made Dad for Father’s Day the year prior softly played through the speakers. He had it playing all the time in his car since I made it for him. Dad would never admit that he was the sentimental type. I mean, he had a glass cabinet in his room filled with things both Nate and I have made for him since we were kids. Cards, little houses made of popsicle sticks, clay houses we made in art, paintings, and every single award we had won in school. When it came to his kids, he kept everything of ours.

After three laps around the airport drop-off zone, Dad pulled up at the front and started unloading our bags for us. The stubble across his face cast a shadow on him, making him look older than his forty-nine years, but it didn’t do anything to hide the anxiety in his eyes. He was more anxious than I was about spending a week more than twelve hours away.

His brown eyes shifted to mine as I rounded the car. He smiled before beckoning me into his arms. It’s always been a safe zone for me. Whenever I was scared, overwhelmed, or sad, he'd put his arms around me, and all the pressure felt like it disappeared, as did his reassuring words.

"Please be safe. Remember I'm always a phone call away if need be. But I want you to have fun. That's most important. I expect to see heaps of photos when you come back," he said as he squeezed what felt like the life out of me.

"Dad. Can't breathe," I choked out before he smacked a loud kiss to the top of my head, finally letting me go.

"That also goes for you two. Be safe and have fun." He pointed to Alex and Avery.

They answered at the same time, "Of course."

"I don't know if we can do both, sir," Alex said mischievously.

Dad narrowed his eyes at Alex who grinned back. He pointed to Avery then. "You are the voice of reason. Make sure they both come back in one piece."

Avery beamed at that, proud to be labelled the responsible one.

"I'm right here, Dad. I'm responsible."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

I shoved his arm and he cracked, smiling at me while dragging me in for one last hug. After a few moments of worrying, he climbed into the car and drove away.

Finally alone, it felt like reality was finally setting in on all of us as we grinned at each other, excited for the week to come.

But the excitement of spending a week away from home was just the start of everything that summer, everything falling like dominoes around me. Because when I turned and scanned my eyes around the airport, bouncing over the people rushing around, they landed on familiar green eyes. Green eyes that I had missed swimming in. Green eyes I dreamed of when the comfort and familiarity of them disappeared from my life. Green eyes that I thought I had seen the last of.

But there he was, smiling at me like he always did, surprise etched on his face like he wasn't sure I was real. And I think I probably looked the same.

"Summers?"

I was left stunned, reeling in the confusion and surprise of seeing him again after nine months of radio silence.

"Reece?"

2

I didn’t have very many friends then. Alex and Avery were all I had for almost eighteen years. They were my inner circle and all I needed.

But then I met a random stranger one afternoon while I was deep in my thoughts, sitting by the river. I had been conflicted in my feelings about my relationship at the time. It was my first relationship, sweet and soft in the beginning, but he was starting to get more invested. I could feel myself pull away the more he wanted to be near me.

This stranger had pulled me from my thoughts. I never had someone I could talk to for hours like that. It was the first time in a while that my head didn’t feel so clouded. It was like he swiped his hand through the fog, and it cleared immediately.

I won’t lie, I had walked along the river seeking him out those next couple of days before it had become a regular occurrence and Reece had become one of my closest friends. Someone I could spill all my secrets and darkest dreams to that I had once been scared to share with anyone.

He had no connection in my life nor me in his life, as we were both from a different school. I could tell him anything and I knew that it wouldn’t be told to anyone else.

But then, our anonymity was torn apart when Liam, my boyfriend at the time, invited me to one of his baseball games and introduced me to Reece, his best friend.

I had told Reece so many awful things about my two-month relationship with Liam. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be near me after finding out it was his best friend I was dating. It was hard to know that information when they went to separate schools.

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