“This isn’t art. It was mostly manual labor.”
“They’re pretty much the same thing,” he says, laughing a little. “Haven’t you learned anything this summer, Olivia?”
“You did read my essay, right?” I joke.
“You didn’t ruin summer though,” he says, looking down at me. “You made it so much better.” He cocks his head to the side. “Maybe not the last week or two, but yeah, summer with you was good.”
As soon as the words are past his lips, his hand is on my waist. Then his lips are on mine. He pulls me close, so close it feels like he might absorb me. But I think maybe he already has. Because no matter what I do, I don’t think I could shake Aiden Emerson, even if I wanted to. Not when the summer ends, maybe not ever.
Chapter
Twenty-One
OLIVIA
Just as I’m getting into bed, I get an email asking me to come to Lake Lights in the morning. I decide, just before I fall asleep, that I won’t go, but when I wake up curiosity takes hold. I throw on clothes and make my way into the kitchen, expecting to see my mother with her usual cup of tea. But the kitchen is empty and the house is quiet, and I sip my herbal all alone, wishing I had just a little longer in this house.
Inside the reception area of Lake Lights, things look like they did the last time I was here. It was just a few months ago, but it feels like I’m not even the same person. Maybe I’m not. I feel like someone different, someone who has a lot more to look forward to than just a summer internship. There’s no one behind the reception desk, so I try a tentative “Hello.” I hear a thump, and make my way down the hallway. The first two doors are closed but the last door on the right is open, and I stop just outside. I give a light tap on the door before poking my head in.
“Hel—” I stop when I see the woman standing behind the desk, a box in her hands. “Mom?”
She smiles and sets the box on the desk. “Joanie will be fine around here.”
“Wait, what?” I walk into the office and sit down. “What are you doing here?”
“This is my new office.” She puts her hands on her hips and smiles, looking around the little room like it’s the greatest thing she’s ever seen. “I bought Lake Lights.”
“But—you just—I mean—why? Why would you do that?”
She shrugs. “Lake Lights is fifty percent photography. I can do that.”
“And it’s fifty percent not photography.”
“That’s true. I was hoping you could help with that part.” She pulls the cardboard lid off of the box and drops it behind the desk. “Not full time, obviously—you’re still in school. But you can help after school, and then next summer, I was thinking you could work here full time.”
“You want me to work for you?”
“I want you to be happy. So I bought this place so I could stay, so you could stay, and we could both be happy.” She bites her lip and looks nervously at the mess of things around here. “You don’t actually have to work here. I mean, I can hire staff. I’m going to hire staff, anyway. I just thought if you wanted to—”
Old Olivia wouldn’t be standing here—she’d have left immediately, slamming the door with angry words about how she couldn’t be bought. How this one thing doesn’t change the years of being left behind and forgotten. She would have hurt herself, just to hurt Mom. But now I have too much to gain from my mother doing this. Senior year with Emma. A chance at giving Aiden and me the best shot possible without a thousand miles and nine months between us.
I don’t know why I haven’t said anything. Maybe my mouth is physically incapable of admitting that my mother has done something to help me. I’m broken forever, maybe.
“I know I can’t buy you.” Mom picks up a pen and sets it back down. “I’m not trying to do that. I’m just trying to … make it better from here.” She looks at me and her voice is firm. “And I’m listening.”
I nod, because I don’t know what else to do. This one thing is giving me so much. It feels worthy of more than a thank-you. It feels too big to be held in this little room, too big to be held in my heart.
“Thanks.” I step around the desk, a foot away from my mother, and I want to hug her, but also I’m not sure how. I’ve spent so long being mad at her, resenting her and thinking of ways to hurt her as much as she hurt me; but it feels like all summer has been building to this. I take a step forward and she wraps her arms around me, taking the matter into her own hands.
“Thank you for letting me,” she says, and I can’t hold it in any longer. Tears run down my face and I feel like I’m letting out years’ worth of anger. This doesn’t fix it, it can’t; but it feels like we’re finally stepping onto a new path—one that takes us somewhere other than pain and resentment.
I pull away. “Aunt Sarah said it’s okay?” It’s hard to miss the hurt on my mother’s face, but I’m not trying to hurt her now.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” She gives me a tight smile. “I ran everything by her.” I don’t get the usual comment about how Aunt Sarah isn’t my mother. “I bought the house, so it helps her out too.”
“Wow.”
“I needed a place.” She shrugs. “And this way you can be in your own house.”
“That’s … wow. That’s perfect.”
“Listen.” She pushes her hair behind her shoulders and takes a deep breath. “I know you think I missed out on everything, and maybe I did. Maybe I missed out on all of the best parts—”
“I didn’t—”
She holds a hand up to silence me. “But maybe you missed all of the worst parts of me too.” She pushes a piece of hair away from her face. “And you’re not done needing a mom. You’ll need one for a long time. So … I want to try. I want to try to be that person. I know I’m not that person yet, Sarah’s still that person. But … someday.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” She pulls a stack of folders out of the box and sets them on the desk. “Get out of here. Don’t you have a boyfriend to give some good news to, or something?”
I’m fighting the urge to sprint out of this office and all the way to River Depot. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Epilogue
AIDEN
8 months later …
The sun is bright in my eyes as the ball flies toward me. I dip my hands and catch the pop-up at my waist, squeezing it gently. I missed the way this feels; the once-soft leather, roughened from pelting the ground. The laces raising up under my fingers. I throw the ball back to Zander, and he gives me a solemn nod.
Next to me, Olivia wraps an arm around my waist. We’re not going to stay long, but I wanted to be here to cheer everyone on. It’s been a long year trying to gain back my friends and teammates. A lot of the conversations I was dreading: explaining why I wouldn’t come back despite the fact that my vision is close to normal again, why I needed time away from everyone—away from baseball—to figure out who I was without it.
I’ve been working with Callahan, the new starting pitcher, since school started. It’s nice to be involved, even if it’s off the field.
Olivia tugs my hand. “I want gum before we leave,” she says, turning for the concession stand. I follow behind her, taking her hand back in mine. At the metal counter she plunges her hand into the clear plastic tub and eyes me with a mischievous smile. “Let’s play a game,” she says, mixing her hand around. “If I pick a yellow, we go make out in your car…” She winks.
“Oh no.” I grab the plastic jar from her and set it in front of me. “Fate doesn’t get to decide anymore. We are totally making out in my car.”
She opens her hand slowly, revealing the yellow candy in her hand.
“Okay, fate’s obviously still on our side,” I say, pulling a quarter out of my pocket. “Heads?”
She smiles. “Of course.”
“Your choice?” I say, thinking about that night at the ruins.
“My choice,” Olivia says. She stretches up and presses her lips quickly to mine. �
�And I choose you.”
Acknowledgments
As it turns out, every horrible thing people say about writing a second book is actually very true. So I have to give a huge shout-out to my wonderful agent, Michelle Wolfson, for her professional-grade cheerleading skills. Even when things felt hopeless and deadlines seemed utterly out of reach, you told me I could do it, and actually made me believe it. Amy Stapp, you get me and my stories, and I’m glad fate and chance and luck (and Michelle) brought us together to create these swoony book-shaped things! Thank you for not telling me just how horrible the first unfinished draft of this book was. I definitely knew. And I’m so glad you and Michelle saw past that, and waited to see what I turned that ridiculous mess into. The two of you are my dream team.
A huge thank-you to Daniela and Seth for another wonderful cover design, and to my amazing publisher, Kathleen Doherty, and the whole Tor Teen team, who have supported me and my book babies in an amazing way. I am immensely grateful to be part of the Tor Teen family.
Much love to all of the amazing author friends, writers, and readers who helped push me through: all of the Electric Eighteens and Book 2 Struggle Bussers who were always quick with sympathy and support; SisTOR Amber Lynn Natusch, for helping me to brainstorm on a whim while our fearless leader was on leave; my wonderful CP, Jenn Nguyen, who was always ready to commiserate with me; and Lara Willard, who is always just a message away with brainstorming help. A huge thank-you to my very early beta readers, Courtney and Arden Kurhayez and Simone Nicole, who happily waded through a truly rough draft in just a few days. The bookish community is truly one of a kind, and I’m so thankful to have met so many wonderful and supportive people while going on this strange journey as an author. Shout-out to my amazing street team, and to all of the book bloggers, booksellers, librarians, and readers who supported my debut and made me want to write this second book that much more.
When Summer Ends is the first book I’ve written since becoming a mom, and so I have to give a huge hug to my sweet little Rory, who gave up some Momma time during hectic drafting deadlines and provided extra snuggles when I was feeling stressed. And I literally couldn’t have written this book without all of the extra help from my wonderful husband, Josh, who supports every ridiculous dream I have, and my amazing parents, who pitched in to give me more writing time.
Last but not least, a huge thank-you to everyone who cheered Love Songs & Other Lies into the world and made this second book possible. Having one book published was a dream come true, and having a second out in the world is absolutely surreal. Thank you for reading and letting me do this thing I love.
ALSO BY JESSICA PENNINGTON
Love Songs & Other Lies
About the Author
JESSICA PENNINGTON is no stranger to the combination of love and drama. She’s a wedding planner, after all. A writer since the age of ten—when she sought publication for her poem about a tree—Jessica likes the challenge of finding the humor in a sad situation or highlighting the awkwardness in a romantic one. A serial entrepreneur with a BA in public relations, Jessica has a passion for grassroots marketing. She lives in a Michigan beach town, where she owns more YA novels than many teens and spends most of her time on a laptop, rather than a beach.
Visit her online at jesspennington.com, or sign up for email updates here.
Twitter: @jessnpennington
IG: @JessicaPennington
Pinterest: @jessnpennington
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Jessica Pennington
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
WHEN SUMMER ENDS
Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Pennington
All rights reserved.
Cover design and lettering by Daniela Medina
Cover photographs: couple © Getty Images; boat © Shutterstock Images
A Tor Teen Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Pennington, Jessica.
Title: When summer ends / Jessica Pennington.
Description: First edition. | New York: Tor Teen, 2019. | “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.” | Summary: Aiden, former star pitcher and golden boy of Riverton, and Olivia, whose life is falling apart, connect during the last summer of high school as both seek a new direction.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018051010 | ISBN 9781250187338 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250187345 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Self-perception—Fiction. | Fate and fatalism—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. | Vision disorders—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.P44737 Whe 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018051010
eISBN 9781250187345
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: April 2019
When Summer Ends Page 23