I haven't seen Summer in two weeks.
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I called the front office and they told me she was out sick with a bad "flu." I knew it was a lie because she was perfectly healthy the last time we spoke. They reassigned me to a different counselor while she was away but it wasn't the same. I shut her down, similar to how I first was when I met Summer. I refused to answer any of her questions about my mom because I didn't trust or know who she was and she wasn't Summer.
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My dad and I also haven't talked in two weeks either. After our argument I'd been avoiding him, which wasn't hard to do. He stayed in his office most of the time. I caught Glenda going up there a couple times and she tried approaching me but I avoided her too.
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My dad had another cocktail event planned for the evening this time at a venue. He tried to bribe me to dress up and attend but it didn't work. Nothing he said would convince me.
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"That's all I have for you today, make sure to bring a Scantron next week for your first exam." Mr. Burg shouted over the microphone.
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"Hey stranger." Frankie tapped my shoulder by the exit. I stopped sitting next to her and West because it was evident he didn't want me next to her. "Hey."
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"Your dad invited me to his cocktail party tonight, are you going?" She was more chipper than her usual self.
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"Depends, are you?"
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"I don't know. I don't have a plus one." She twirled her hair looking at me hopefully.
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"What about West?" I stated plainly. She looked surprised by my response.
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"West is out of town for the next week." I figured she was only asking me because West wasn't available. "Everyone in town is going to be there, I just don't want to be the only one to show up alone." She added.
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"Everyone?"
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"Well, everyone that knows about it. It's a fundraiser event. Shouldn't you know all this, it's your dad's event?"
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"My dad and I aren't on the best terms right now so I haven't really talked to him." I spoke awkwardly. She nodded, confused but didn't pry.
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"Well it would be nice to go together. Plus I've never seen you in a suit." She nudged me playfully and I smiled.
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"Sure I'll go with you." She grinned at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
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"Thank you Tommy!" I watched as she skipped away to her next class. I wasn't completely over her yet and there were still some feelings left but it still felt weird to be going with her. It was a perfect distraction for me though so I went with it. I hadn't been able to keep my mind off of Summer, it felt like there was something wrong but there was nothing I could do about it.
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I got home and showered. It was a black tie event so I couldn't show up in jeans this time as much as I wanted to. Evening fell and it was time for me to pick Frankie up. I pulled up and parked in front of her house. I stood nervously by the door waiting for her with a rose. It felt weird to show up empty handed but I didn't know if she'd be okay with me bringing her a bouquet so I chose a singular rose.
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The door swung open and Frankie appeared in front of me with a short silk black dress. Her hair was up in a fancy looking bun showing off the butterfly tattoo on her neck.
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"You look beautiful." I smiled.
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"Thanks." She twirled to let her dress flow. I handed her the rose and she looked down hiding a smile. I opened the car door and helped her in and we took off.
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Once we arrived, the parking lot was pretty much full. Inside, there were hundreds of people mingling by the entrance. We sat at the front by the elevated stage and I found my dad chatting with business men. He caught my attention and signaled me to go over to him. Frankie and I greeted him and the two other men he was with and after they left he turned to us.
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"I'm so glad you came, I had a feeling inviting Frankie would persuade you." He looked satisfied with himself. "Take a seat, they're about to give a speech."
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We both left him and sat back down. The speeches were never ending with rich people mostly talking about themselves. "What is this fundraiser even for?" I whispered over at Frankie trying not to be too loud. "Cancer research." She leaned in and whispered back. I nodded and continued to listen to the speech.
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Deep down, a part of me hoped I'd see Summer here considering the focus of cancer research. I thought maybe she'd attend in memory of her late husband but given her two week absence from work it didn't feel likely.
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After the presentations and speeches we were free to move around and discuss with the presenters about our interest and input to the research. Frankie wanted to be a doctor so she was much more attentive and interested. I walked away from her while she talked with a doctor that was there. I couldn't understand half of what they were saying anyway.
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I went to the bar at the back of the venue and bought a cocktail. I stood there observing the room of people lost in thought.
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"Vodka and cranberry please." A familiar voice sounded next to me. I pull myself from my thoughts and looked over to my right. I saw a short girl with black hair that barely reached her shoulders wearing the most breathtaking dress I've seen in my life hovering over the bar table.
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"Summer?" I approached the girl and she turned confirming my guess. She brushed her hair behind her ear and looked stunned to see me. Her eyes sparkled in the low light and she didn't have her glasses on. I noticed she had a bit of makeup on for the event and a tattoo on her collarbone that read "keep going." I was so hyper focused on her appearance I almost missed her reply.
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"Thomas, I didn't think you'd be here." She still sounded and looked stunned.
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"I didn't think I was either." I said. "It's my dad's event so I was forced."
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She just nodded and turned away to face the bar and wait for her drink. "The office said you were sick." I spoke again.
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"I was."
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"You look perfectly healthy to me." She glanced over at me but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way. I feel stupid about it and I never meant to upset you. Just please come back to work, I can't stand my new therapist her voice is annoying and she smells horrible."
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Collecting her drink from the bar, she paused, fixing her gaze on me briefly before letting out a soft laugh. I felt a sense of relief to see her smile and released a breath relaxing my shoulders.
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"I'll be there on Tuesday." Her lips curled into a grin.
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"You look incredible by the way," I remarked, taking in every detail of her appearance. The sleek black dress that reached the floor complimented her frame. Her cheeks flushed, and she responded with a shy smile. "As do you," she said in return.
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"Did you come with someone-"
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"Who's this Tommy?" I felt a light touch on my arm and immediately knew it was Frankie.
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"Oh, Frankie this is my therapist Summer Evans, Summer this is my friend Frankie." I cringed at the sudden awkwardness in my voice.
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"So this is your therapist, I didn't except you to be so young!" She shook her hand.
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"Yes, I get that a lot." She laughed softly.
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"Well I just came to see what was taking you so long, they brought food out." Frankie turned to me with her puppy dog eyes. I felt strangely self-conscious being seen with her around Summer.
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"I was just about to sit down, I'll see you guys later."
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"You should join us, we're sitting in the front." I stopped her from walking away. She looked from me to Frankie.
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"Sure, let me go tell my date and I'll meet you guys over there." She turned and walked away.
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Date?
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Frankie tugged my arm and I walked behind her to our seats. My eyes followed Summer until she disappeared into the crowd. She reappeared with her hands linked onto a guy with a drink in his hand.
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"Hi nice to meet you two, I'm Jason."
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"I'm Thomas." I shook his hand. Who is this guy? Summer's boyfriend?
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We sat down as they passed plates of food around. I picked at my food not feeling particularly hungry and sipped on my drink instead. "You alright? You've barely touched your food." Frankie asked.
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"I'm fine." She was starting to irritate me. The whole night, she scrutinized every move I made, ensuring I didn't wander off and constantly monitoring my food intake . After finding out my dad made her ask me to come, I had a suspicion that he sent her to watch me like I was a child.
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"How do you two know each other?" I asked Jason.
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"I was a friend of her late husband. We both took his passing pretty hard and connected because of it." He looked at her but she kept her eyes down. I tried to read her body language and figure out if it was her boyfriend or just her close friend but she wasn't giving anything away. She was closed off most of the night only speaking when spoken to.
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Once the night was over everyone slowly started exiting the building. Frankie went to say goodbye to the doctors and Summer's date told her he'd pull the car around to the front, leaving me and her alone.
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"Are you okay?" I asked her.
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"I'm alright."
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"You don't seem alright." I pressed. She flashed me a sweet smile. "I am, I promise." I nodded not fully believing her but accepting it.
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"Was that your boyfriend?"
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"Just a friend." I nodded trying not to give away the odd sense of relief I had from her answer. "That was Frankie, your ex?" She followed up my question with a another one.
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"Yeah." I said shamefully.
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"It's great to see you guys are doing better. She's very pretty." Her tone felt more professional than casual. I nodded not knowing what to say. A second later her phone vibrated and she looked down.
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"I should get going, Jason's out in front."
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"See you Tuesday?"
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She confirmed. "I'll see you on Tuesday."
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She walked to the front entrance and I focused my eyes on her, not able to look away. She made it to the door before turning around one last time to find me still standing in the same spot, watching her. I savored every detail of her smile before she disappeared behind the door.
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