lakeโs laughing when it happens. head tipped back against the couch, one socked foot hooked over the armrest, halfway through a story thatโs gotten progressively more dramatic with every retelling. โ โ and then she looks me dead in the eye and says, โ maโam, thatโs not how coupons work, โ which, first of all, rude โ โ summerโs curse almost doesn't registers. but it does, and lake can't help but scold playfully: โ language, โ gwhile rinning as she reaches for the another handful of popcorn. with an uninterested gaze, lake watches her sister get up, drying her hands and reaching for her phone before her eyes flicker back towards the tv, which is playing a marathon of early 200's romcoms. right now, it's leap year, and she doesnโt think much of the call her sister is on.
instead, she steals another handful of popcorn. though, it wasn't long until she notices the silence. not complete silence, but it felt like the kind of silence that feels wrong. the kind that pulls at the back of your neck. lake glances over her shoulder and sees summerโs standing there frozen. phone pressed to her ear, and lake can see all the colour draining from summer's face in real time.
immediately, something tightens in lakeโs chest and the lightheartedness in her aura quickly disappears. concern and worry take over. โ summer? โ no response. the conversation on the other end continues. and suddenly every possibility starts firing through lakeโs brain at once. a car accident. someone got hurt. but who? when? sheโs already halfway sitting up before the call even ends. โ summer, โ she says again, more serious this time. โ what happened? โ the second the phone lowers, lake knows. she doesnโt know what. but she knows itโs bad. really bad. and for the first time all evening, the trailer feels too small.
finally, summerโs voice cracks. that was the hospital ... lakeโs stomach drops and twists. itโs dad. and for one stupid, irrational second she actually thinks โ dadโs in the hospital. dadโs sick. dad needs something. then: heโs gone.
and everything stops. but, lake just stares at summer. the words donโt make sense. they hit her ears but refuse to settle anywhere else. โ what? โ it comes out barely above a whisper. she blinks. once. then twice. waiting for the sentence to rearrange itself into something else. it doesnโt. she waits for summer to yell out sike! with a laugh and the shake of her head that she was able to fool lake so easily. she doesn't. โ what do you mean, heโs gone? โ her voice is sharper now. lake feels confused and desperate because surely thereโs another explanation. another version of this conversation where summer doesnโt look like that. where the room doesnโt suddenly feel tilted. โ ... gone where? like, he was emitted and they fuckin' lost him? โ it wouldn't be the first time their father was found drunk on the side of the road somewhere in the streets of sedona and taken to the hospital, only to wake up hours later and leave without speaking to a nurse or a doctor.