Hi guys! So, we're nearing the end of 'Susie Summer.' Hope you enjoyed it and make sure to spread the word. This chapter is dedicated to PartiallyInsane who I met on Instagram. Everybody should read her book: 'My Neighbour Has My Nudes. It's pretty funny and beautifully written and she's also entered it for the Wattys so be sure to check it out. Alright, how have you guys been so far?

Discussion Thread: Who do you prefer? Willow or Susie?
I like them both. Partly because I know more about Willow than you do. Mwahahaha.
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The evening breeze blew my hair past my neck and into Robbie's face as we sat, his arms around me. Mrs. Weaver, for the first time in centuries, turned to wave at us and surprised, I returned the gesture reluctantly. She grinned and her front teeth stuck out like a cute bunny before she went back to tending her garden. Another man, who was the same age as her came out of the house, wrapping her in a hug and her smile only widened further. Looking puzzled, I turned to Robbie who shared the same expression.

"Ah. Mr. Weaver came back from the army. Apparently, that's why that woman's been so angry all those years. She assumed he was dead." Dad sat next to us and gave a wink in Robbie's direction. In one hand, he was holding a cup of tea whilst Natalie clutched onto the other.

"Really? I never knew." Feeling guilty of all the times I felt a twinge of anger towards her, I stared at the floor. Like Dad, Willow and Mom entered the patio and crouched on the front steps next to us; silence emanated as we watched the sun's rays descending behind thick, fluffy clouds.

"Anyway, Willow has something to tell us." Mom snapped out of her reverie and a smile that formed crinkles around her eyes emerged onto her face. She gestured to Willow, patting her on the back and I turned to find my best friend glancing anxiously from one person to the next. She seemed to have grown fitter, by the looks of the muscles on her arms and I watched them tense and relax as she shuffled uncomfortably.

"I've already discussed this with your parents, Susie and the Judge as well." She gulped and I felt the skin on the back of my neck prickle. Darkness swirled inside me and Robbie entwined his fingers around mine, trying to keep my calm. The key pendant he had given me was throbbing against my chest, the coldness of the metal suffocating my skin and sending electrifying chills through me. Anger snaked its way as I realised that everybody here knew what she was going to say apart from Robbie and I.

"What's going on?" My voice quivered slightly as the last of the sun disappeared and a black, silky night began to set in. Many thoughts were running through my mind and I hoped that Willow wasn't going to say that she was going back to her parents. After everything we fought for, it would be stupid for her to do so.

"Well, I'm turning eighteen in four months and so I'm a legal adult right?" She was playing with the laces on her black trainers, concentrating on the frayed edges.

"Yeah? So?" Robbie looked at me worriedly before snapping back to Willow, gesturing her to continue. Anger was soon turning to rage as I clenched my fists, bracing myself for what was to come.

"So... I'm moving out."

It was like the wind had knocked out the breath from my lungs but I tried to keep still and listen to her justification. Willow wouldn't just make plans; her thoughts and organisations were always concrete so she still hadn't finished speaking yet.

"Your parents and the Judge agree that it may be best for me to just go straight into what I want to do in life and so, I want to fight. I want to fight for my country and stop conflict, you know, like the fights that I encountered when I was younger."

My eyes widened in shock as fear plunged over me, like a bucket of ice water and I stood up so abruptly that Robbie nearly got knocked over. "What?" Surprised to realise that I had just shrieked louder than a crow, I glared at her as she too, scrambled to her feet.

"It's what I want to do, Susie. I've been offered to go to a training camp which starts in November. There are loads of other people like me there."

Was she so selfish that she could just do that to me? I wasn't prepared to stay worried for the rest of my life, wondering if she's been shot or kidnapped or had her leg amputated because of war conditions. She was my best friend and the shock of what I heard tore me apart, leaving huge scars.

"That's not fair!" Enraged, I pushed away Robbie who offered consolation and let the hot tears dribble down my cheeks. "No. I just lost Lena. I'm not prepared to lose you, too." Checking that my converse laces were done, I turned on my heels and ran, ran away from everything that seared through my bones like acrid acid. I ran towards the soft crashing of the waves, the salty air and the warm sand squelching between my feet.

It wasn't just losing Lena. Robbie wasn't coming with me to college either. We had hardly spoken about it but the distance was innately growing between us as silences increased during our conversations. Perched on a rock, I put my face in my hands and let it all out; everything that had upset me since I had lost my sister. This summer had been amazing as I got to know my loved ones more but fate was once again working against me, tearing me away from the people I cared about. And now, Willow's secret had me fuming like Satan as I rubbed the sadness from my eyes.

I felt somebody run towards me but didn't dare look up in case it was a stranger. But to my disappointment, I recognised Willow's blue crocs coming into view. She sat next to me, putting an arm around my quivering body until I stopped crying and turned to her with sore eyes.

"I know you think you're losing everyone you love but I'll always be there. So will Robbie and you know Lena is with you." Her voice was quiet as the waves lapped against the shore.

"Promise?"

"Promise." She wrapped her pinky around mine, the cold of her fingers numbing my pain instantly.

"I don't think you'll ever get killed on the battlefield because you're really strong. So I don't have anything to worry about, right?"

She let out a quiet laugh, so genuine that it lit up her striking blue eyes. Instead of seeming icy, as the had been for so long, her irises were gleaming like the waters on a bright summer afternoon.

"Susie, I'm just going to military camp. Then, if I'm good enough, I'll be enlisted. It'll be a few years until I befriend death." She grinned and wiped away a tear that had stained my eyes. Sighing in relief, I hug her tightly, refusing to let go. I took in every little element of her, hoping to keep it in memory in case anything did happen.

"I'll call you every day." I pointed and she raised her eyebrows playfully.

"Every month more like! You'll forget about me once you get to college." She huffed and hugged her knees. Frowning, I turned towards her.

"I'll never forget. How could I?" I flicked a pebble away from us and drew our names in the sand, without realising what I was doing.

"I hate it. I hate the fact that Robbie's not coming with me."

When I turned to Willow, I saw the same glimmer of a secret flash across her eyes, the very same that had appeared upon Robbie's expression the other day. "You're hiding something."

"Nope actually. I'm not." She said sternly, confirming that it was just my imagination.

"If he ever hurts you, you know where to find me." She shoves as crumpled piece of paper in the palm of my hand and I open it, recognising her scrawled writing. The address and phone number of the camp were written nearly across it and I slipped it into my pocket and gave her a cheeky grin.

"If the people at camp ever hurt you, you know where to find me." I formed an intimidating facial expression and Willow and I burst out laughing. I could just about imagine how constipated I must've looked and soon, tears of laughter were running down my cheeks.

"There you are!" Robbie trudged towards us; his jeans were rolled up and his hair was a windy mess. Grinning, I planted a kiss on his lips before he sat down next to us.

"Hey listen. I don't wanna stay too long near the rocks. Mr. Pincers might be back."

I remembered the time he had got scared because of the crab crawling under the rock and began laughing again.

"Who's Mr. Pincers?"

"Oh, Willow! I forgot to tell you, Robbie's afraid of crabs." I laughed even harder and she joined in. Robbie turned a shade of red before picking me up over his shoulder as I flailed my arms and legs.

"I don't know what you're laughing about. Willow told me you had a fear of spiders and whales." He was laughing too and Willow was throwing sand at him, shouting at him to put me down.

"Put me down or I'll kick you where it hurts." I giggled as he tickled my ribs, making me squirm uncontrollably.

"Okay, okay."

I was now glancing at his dreamy eyes and his soft lips and realised that I was leaving him behind to go to college. Hiding the pain, I kissed him lightly before we decided to head back home. In two days, I'd be far away from the people I love. I'd be far away from everything I know.
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Hello! Did you like it? I have written the next chapter as well, so if you want me to publish it, I shall! Just say the word. What do you think? Comment, read, vote, share. Do your thing, people because this is the second to last chapter.