1

THE silence was louder than ever, the air thick with tension. Stella's father was back home after traveling for a while, which meant the awkwardness in the house had returned.

Her mother sat at the end of the long dining table, watching her closely as she picked at the vegetables on her plate. "You're not going to eat those, darling?" she asked.

Stella pursed her lips and shook her head. She had no appetite; all she wanted was to escape the house as soon as she could. Her father furrowed his brows, finally acknowledging her and her mother from across the table. "You used to love bell peppers," he said, his tone almost curious.

This was far from the truth. Stella had always hated bell peppers, but she didn't care enough to correct him.

So, she shrugged in response.

He hummed thoughtfully and took a long sip from his glass of water. "So, how was your trip?" Stella finally asked, attempting to fill the heavy silence.

He cleared his throat, placing the glass down. "Fine... it was fine." His voice was deep but carried an uncertainty that made her uneasy.

Stella offered him a small, fake smile. She wasn't naive; she knew he hadn't gone on a 'business' trip. He wanted to get away from her mother, perhaps even go searching for a special woman in Europe to fulfill his needs.

Stella's mother was well aware of this, but her social status was far more important to her. She loved the idea of the picture perfect family,

Except, they were the opposite of that. Stella's brother was almost never around, and so was her father. So, when Elizabeth; her mother, wasn't busy with hosting events or charity work, it was usually her and Stella alone together.

"You know, Stella is going to begin college-" Her mother began, but was soon cut off by a phone ringing.

As they each checked their phones, her father got up, holding his up for them to see. "I should take this, it's important" He muttered before quickly leaving the room,

Stella rolled her eyes at this. It was typical of him to storm out of the room like that, especially for work. She heard her mother let out a big sigh, and pick up her plate off the table

It killed her to see her mother be disappointed yet again. "Do you need any help?" Stella asked, following her into the kitchen where she placed her plate onto the counter, "Maybe with the dishes?"

Her mother let out a small chuckle, "Stella Valentine offering to wash the dishes? That's new."

Stella rolled her eyes at her, "Just wanted to do something nice for a change," leaning back onto the counter.

"Thank you, but no. The maids can take care of them," her mother replied, as she watched her daughter turn over to see the stressed man pace around the patio, yelling on the phone.

Elizabeth frowned and placed a hand on Stella's shoulder. "It'll be back to normal soon," she promised.

But Stella knew this was a lie. She'd been hearing the same excuse since she was eleven. It wasn't a temporary thing; it was officially her family's reality.

He goes on trips, comes back for a few weeks at most, then goes back for another 'important opportunity.'

She gave props to her brother for leaving when he did. It was smart, but also selfish. Leaving Stella and their mother alone like that, it wasn't right.

She bit her lip, simply nodding at her mother in return. "I'm going to go to the Cameron's house, will you be okay?" Now with her hand placed on top of the one resting on her shoulder.

"Of course I will," Elizabeth smiled, though it felt more like a dismissal.

Stella immediately leaned in to give her mother a kiss on the cheek before she ran off to her room so she could quickly change.

•••

"So is he back for the whole summer?" Sarah asked as they sat in her backyard, tanning and drinking their special juices.

Stella shrugged, "I don't even want to think about the chances of that happening" She groaned, throwing her head back into the beach chair.

This made Sarah giggle a bit, "He's always so grumpy when he see him"

"Imagine living with the man himself" Stella rolled her eyes, squirming after taking a big gulp of the drink they had prepared.

Sarah shook her head dismissing the whole topic, not wanting to even think about that possibility.

The girls laid back in the their tiny bathing suits, with their eyes closed. The song 'Normal Girl', playing loud through the small speaker they brought out.

And just like that, Stella's mind was finally taken off of her father's sudden appearance.

Sarah was good at making that happen. Honestly, she was good at doing anything when it came to friendships. She was the shoulder to cry on, the one who girls went to for advice on whether or not their makeup looked good, and the only person who anyone would want to share their boy problems with.

Stella admired Sarah for that.

She also knew all of her secrets as well. Like the fact she had been hanging around John B for a while, and how her and Topper's sex life wasn't the best.

But, she didn't judge her for it. Stella was fine with it as long as John B made her happy, and her wet dreams finally come true.

As the girls relaxed, they were abruptly interrupted by a shout from across the backyard. "What's up girls!" The anonymous person yelled,

Stella lifted herself up from her position, and tilted her sunglasses just above her eyes to get a better look at who was talking.

Topper, Rafe, and Kelce. All sweaty, shirtless, and now walking towards them.

Seeing this, Sarah huffed, clearly bothered by the interruption. "What are they doing here"

"No idea..." Stella mumbled, watching as the three boys got closer to them with cocky smiles plastered across their faces.

It looked as if they had just come back from a workout, or anything that included them running around and sweating like pigs.

Sarah placed a fake smile on her face, "Hey babe"

"Hey" Topper replied, leaning in for a kiss. Causing Rafe to roll his eyes, and Kelce to awkwardly stand beside him.

"What are you boys doing here?" Stella asked, squinting her eyes to fight off the strong glare from the sun.

"We got done with football, and heard the music so we thought we would check it out" Kelce shrugged, gesturing towards Rafe who had been standing infront of her chair, holding a football.

She tilted her head, giving a short hum after realizing the clues of where they had been were literally in front of her.

"Yeah well, you guys are kind of ruining our girl time" Sarah said, attempting to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

Stella would have chimed in agreeing, but she was focused on the fact that Rafe; who just came back from football, still managed to have a lingering scent of expensive cologne.

Topper gave a small chuckle, almost as if he was brushing what Sarah said off. "I'm sure Stella wouldn't mind"

"Oh, I think she would" Sarah argued, looking back and forth both between Topper and Stella. "Right, Stella?"

After hearing Sarah's voice raise, her attention snapped instantly back towards the couple. "I- Right." Stella stuttered,

Topper sighed, and finally the boys began to make their way back into the house.

"Thank God" She let out a snorted, making Stella burst into laughter.

But as the laughter faded, she began thinking. "That was a bit weird, don't you think?" Stella said, now with her body turned over to face Sarah.

It was almost as if what Stella had said gave Sarah confirmation that she wasn't crazy, "Right! That was way to pushy..." She exclaimed,

"You think he knows?" Stella's voice just above a whisper, but Sarah shook her head.

"Nah, noway" She dismissed, grabbing more tanning oil and lathering it onto her legs.

The more Stella thought about it, the weirder it was. Sarah had a point, that was way too pushy of him. What teenage boy would want to spend their evening tanning with two girls?

It was just weird.