Pieces of Summer

He shakes his head rapidly, and I try not to laugh.

“I love her, but every time summer ends, I feel like I need to sleep for a month to rest.”

I can’t stop my laughter this time, and he waggles his eyebrows at me.

“Besides, I still like having you all to myself instead of sharing you. I’m selfish like that.”

“Oh?”

He nods, but just as he lifts me from the ground, a wet spray slams into us, and Chase groans while I snicker and run away from the spray of the garden hose. Kayla giggles wildly as Chase goes to snatch her up from the ground, even though he gets soaked in the process.

Smiling, I wring out my shirt around my waist then head inside to change while Chase deals with the little girl who is still squealing and giggling like she couldn’t be happier.

When I

reach the bedroom, I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside. My eyes flit to the mirror, and my gaze lands on the numerous colorful tattoos. Chase found a way to deal with the worst days, but instead of leaving behind scars, he leaves behind something beautiful.

The high from the pain isn’t as intense, but I was never chasing the high cutting gave me. It was always about the relief, and there’s just enough pain to relieve the pressure when it hits.

That’s thinking outside the box.

I get a little better every year, so the roughest times are few and far between. The best part is that I don’t have to live without emotions in order to actually live. I even get to hug my brother whenever I want to—when he’s here. I get to snuggle with my niece when they visit, and watch movies I haven’t seen.

Chase, of course, makes sure there’s no major cliffhanger ending that would result in a minor attack.

I’m in control. Well, we’re in control. None of this would be possible without Chase. I’d still be holding everyone at arms’ length and going through the motions of survival.

“Son of a—” Chase cuts his words off before he says something in front of Kayla’s small ear as he stumbles into the room. He closes the door behind him and locks it, and I hold back a laugh as he shakes his wet hair like a dog.

“She’s relentless,” he groans when Kayla starts knocking and calling out for him.

His eyes fall on me when I start laughing, and he licks his lips as he stares at some of his artwork. Kayla persists, pounding on the door, and I move closer to him until he grabs me at the waist and pulls me to him the rest of the way.

His forehead presses against mine, and I sigh happily while hugging him.

“Uncle Chase! Aunt Mika! We’re going swimming. Come on!” Kayla says while pounding the door.

“Yeah, Uncle Chase and Aunt Mika, let’s swim!” Aidan goads, laughing like the ass he is on the other side of the door.

Chase groans miserably, while I snicker against his chest, but he grins at me when I pull back. We both change quickly into our swimsuits, and we head downstairs, lacing our fingers together as we walk.

On a side note, I’ve learned how to swim again. I still don’t know how to ride a bike—the irony.

Hunter and Megan walk up with Trey—their four-year-old son—and I go to hug them all, finishing with Trey who clings to me. When Kayla yells for him, he takes off toward the lake, and Aidan catches him before he can jump in the water without a lifejacket.

Chase gets conned into taking both little ones out into the water, and I watch like I can’t look away as he plays the doting uncle like a pro. I have something I lost, and he has something he never had—a happy family.

There’s food—some of it I even cooked. The adult drinks are locked in the rolling bar outside, and the kid drinks are overflowing from the coolers. I watch in awe at how different my life has become.

This is a life I once only dreamed of, but now it’s my reality.

I was wrong about love. I once said it wasn’t worth it to love and lost than to have never loved at all. Well, if there’s a chance to find that love again, that is.

Tonight we’ll sit on the roof where it all started… The same rooftop we got married on ten years ago. Everyone thought we were crazy, considering Chase just made a few calls with no times, and everyone showed up to see us standing on top of the roof while someone called out our vows from below.

It was just the beginning of our best days.

The greater the struggle, the greater the reward.