“I love you so much,” Isla said before passionately kissing me while holding her hands on my cheeks
“I love you even more,” I grinned.
She put one of her hands on my chest and gently pushed me away.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. “I can love you less than you love me if that’s what you want.”
She chuckled and her beautiful green eyes flashed with love. Her small thin nose made her smile so cute and her long black hair only made her so much more desirable. Her freckles were barely visible but I liked them. It only added to the uniqueness of her personality.
“I want to be on top this one time,” she told me.
“Oh… That’s ok with me,” I said smiling.
I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her from the back seats. I put her in my lap and laid back down on the seats. Her hips touched mine and I could only wish that she wasn’t wearing any jeans. However, I was grateful that she was topless. I loved seeing her small breasts jiggle as I put her in the position, she wanted to be in. She took one of my hands and put it on one of her breasts before leaning forward and giving me another passionate kiss. Suddenly, I heard Isla’s phone ringing, and she reached for it. She sat straight up and looked at her phone.
“Ugh…” she said before turning her phone around and showing me a screen that read “Mom”.
“Hi, mom,” she said after answering the phone.
I heard mumbling coming from the phone and I couldn’t understand what she was saying. While listening to the phone, Isla put her hand on my chest, slightly closed her eyes, and gave me a lip bite. I lifted my hips gently pushing her forward and saw her face turn into one of surprise but also of joy. She gently gave me a slap on the cheek and we smiled at each other.
“Now?” Isla asked. “Do I really need to get back now?”
She looked to the side and my expression turned to one of seriousness. I lifted my upper body so that I could hear the voice on the other side. The voice of the woman was demanding and she seemed like she was angry and concerned.
“You were supposed to be home half an hour ago,” the woman said.
“Mom, I’m not a child anymore,” she told her. “But okay. I’ll head home immediately.”
“Thank you,” the woman on the other side replied sweetly. “Just this time. I’ll call the others as well.”
“Okay, mom,” Isla replied. “I’ll be there soon. Bye.”
“Bye,” the woman said.
Isla ended the call and put the phone down looking me straight into my eyes. She gave me one last kiss before putting on her bra and her T-shirt. She pushed me back onto the seats and opened the car door. She stepped out and I followed her buttoning up my shirt. She walked around the car to get to the front passenger seat and picked up her bag. After closing the door, she put on her sunglasses and smiled at me.
“You’ve heard everything,” she told me. “I need to go.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied. “See you later.”
“Bye, Tony,” she said in a sexy voice.
“Isla,” I replied winking at her.
She turned around, and as she was walking away; I was looking at her ass. Although not that big, it still bounced up and down and made me mad with lust. I lit up a cigarette and leaned onto my car waiting to receive the call. As soon as my phone started ringing, I lifted it up and saw that my mom was calling me. I waited for a few seconds before picking it up.
“Hey, mom,” I said.
“Tony,” she said softly and sadly. “Something happened. You need to get home.”
I stood straight up and dropped the cigarette to the ground before extinguishing it with my foot.
“What happened?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not. I don’t have the strength to say it over the phone,” she almost started crying. “Please, just come home.”
“I will, of course,” I told her. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“No,” she replied. “You need to pick up Annie from her job. Her car is still being fixed.”
“Okay,” I told her. “I’ll be back home as soon as I pick up Annie. Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” my mom answered. “I already told Isla.”
“Great. What about the others?”
“I told all of them,” she replied.
“And I’m the last one you’re telling?” I said trying to make her laugh at least a bit. “Wow, mom. I thought I meant more to you.”
Somehow, it worked. I heard her chuckle.
“Okay, mom. I need to go, now. Goodbye.”
“Bye,” she said before hanging up.
“Shit,” I whispered to myself already assuming it was about grandma.
Well, to continue this, I guess I’ll need to introduce myself. This takes place about 13 years ago at the time when I was 21. For privacy and… some other particular reasons, I will not mention real names. All of them will be fake names used for real-life people. What I can tell you is that all this took place in a small town in rural Germany. However, I assume that that’s not what’s on your mind. Instead, you’re thinking “what the hell did I just hear?” And yes, you heard it right. Isla is my sister. Same mom, same dad, same family, 2 years difference. At the time, she was 19 and the most beautiful girl I ever met. Our passion went all the way back when I was 14 and she 12. We got closer not knowing what it meant and as our bodies and minds started to develop, we just… went along with it. And in my opinion, it turned out great. We both love each other from the bottom of our hearts and do not want to ever find someone else. We know how bad it is, but it’s just irresistible. When something feels so good as this did, it can’t be wrong.
Anyway, let me tell you about the rest of my big close family. I have three sisters and one brother. Annie is the oldest of us. She’s 25 and works in IT. Isla and I realized she suspected us of being together and are much more careful around her. My twin sister Lillia and I are the second oldest. She likes to brag that she’s older since she’s been born only a minute before me. She got married a year before all of this started. Both Lilia and Annie moved away and live a life of their own, while I still stayed with my parents. As uncommon as it is in Germany, it still happens I planned to work for a few years and then find a college I wanted to go to since I didn’t get into one last time. You’ve already got a picture of what Isla’s like so I’ll jump to my baby bro immediately. Lewis is 15 and is the most generic teenager in some of his traits and completely opposite of one in others. He adores weed but hates cigarettes and alcohol. That’s one of them.
My mom and my dad won’t be that important to the story itself so I don’t think that there’s any need for me to describe their personality and appearance. It’s only important that I mention that they were present. Actually, maybe the only important thing was that my dad worked on the dig site. Two months before this, our government found some sort of metal or something near our town. Honestly, I don’t even know if that’s true because the word doesn’t really go around about how it came to be and what people are doing there. Also, apart from my father, there was no one else I knew that worked there. None of my friends, none of our neighbors, or any other person I knew. The project attracted some people to the town and the population rose noticeably. I met a few people before they started working there, but I never saw them again after they started working. I’d send them a message since I got some of their numbers. They’d answer but we’d never speak for long since we barely knew each other. It was a bit weird but nothing to make me think it’s some sort of government coverup for something.
I went to the train station to pick up Annie. She got a job in a nearby bigger city and she moved there just before the dig site started. She was flooded with work and never had time to return until that day.
“It must be grandma,” I told myself while waiting for Annie.
I started checking something on my phone after some time. After half an hour of waiting, I heard someone knocking on the window of my car. When I looked to my right, Annie was standing there leaning forward and smiling at me. She waved and I opened my door.
“Hey,” I told her turning the door behind me and walking around the front of the car. “We haven’t seen each other in 2 months.”
We hugged. She used only one of her hands because she was holding her bag with the other.
“I almost forgot what you looked like,” Annie chuckled.
“Yeah. I forgot who you are,” I smiled almost laughing.
“We should really stop making stupid jokes like these,” she told me.
“That’s what siblings are for,” I told her taking her suitcase in one hand and her bag in the other. “To annoy you, make stupid jokes, and help you in hard times.”
“I’ve missed all of you,” she told me.
“We’ve missed you as well. It’s nice to see the whole family back together,” I said while opening the trunk. “By the way, why are you bringing so much stuff? Weren’t you supposed to stay for like a day only?”
“Well…” a huge smile appeared on his face. “I got an offer for a job. I’d work from home and the wage is so much higher to the point that I could not refuse it. I mean, it’s not a scam since they are an actual company, and the work, they are asking me to do is very complex, but still nothing your big sis can’t fix.”
“Woooow,” I smiled. “You’re really good at this life thing.”
“And you aren’t?” she asked sarcastically.
“I don’t have a great education, I work a dead-end job with a low wage, and I still live with my parents. Yeah… I don’t think I do.”
“You do. You chose the smartest option for yourself. You messed up when you were younger and now you are just trying to fix it. If you ask me, that’s very responsible. Living with parents is just like a proper life hack.”
“Yeah, but you know… I want to have my own thing,” I said closing the trunk filled with Annie’s rucksack, bag, and suitcase. “A place for myself where I could invite friends to hang out and drink without asking my parents for permission. I could invite girls…”
“Invite girls?” she made this mixture of a surprised expression and a smile. “There are girls out there that want you to invite them to your place?”
“There are…” I replied. “Well… I haven’t met one, I guess.”
She burst out laughing before putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Believe me, for a week or so, you’ll like it a lot, but after that, when you actually need to care for your place, clean it, and everything else, you would change your mind. When you get home tired and there’s no mom who cooked you a launch or a dinner…” she told me. “I don’t mind it. In fact, I started to enjoy some of that stuff with time, but it takes so much adapting for you to be in a mentally stable state of mind.”
“Wow, you really have to take the fun out of everything,” I joked while opening the door for her.
“I’m just being a realist,” she replied sitting down.
I walked around the front of the car and looked towards the woods that were next to the parking lot of the station. Right there, next to a path that led deeper into the forest, a homeless man stood with his arms hanging from his shoulders like they were broken. It looked like he straightened his legs as much as he could and his mouth was open. He kept standing still staring in one direction. I tried to see what he was looking at, but there was nothing there. Nothing out of ordinary at least. The man just kept standing there and seeing him just made me a bit uneasy. Just knowing that there’s someone like that walking the streets is a bit insane. You’re afraid of them not because of what they can do to you but because of what they could do to those you love.
“Hey. It’s just a homeless guy,” Annie said leaning over the driver’s seat after opening the driver’s door. “Sit down and get me home.”
“Just a second,” I replied.
I took another look at the guy who just continued to stare in the same direction. After a second or two, I got into the car and continued looking at him while turning on the car. He didn’t move at all. As I started to drive away, Annie started to say something, but I didn’t listen to it. I was just confused by the man’s behavior. I saw people standing and looking at something for so long before, but never like this. He literally wasn’t moving a muscle in his body. His eyes didn’t move, he didn’t blink… He was literally staring at nothing. While leaving the parking, I kept my eyes on him, but he didn’t move.
“Have you even been listening to me?” Annie asked me.
“No, sorry. I just got a weird feeling about that guy. He might be dangerous,” I told her looking into the rear-view mirror to check if the guy was running after us.
It was stupid to believe that he was anything more than a homeless guy but I knew something was truly wrong.
“Okay, then listen to me now,” Annie told me. “I know what happened. That’s the other reason why I came here. It’s really bad.”
“She told you?” I asked her. “She said that she wanted to tell us in person.”
“Yes, she told me. She said it was the only way she would get me to come here, but that’s not true.”
“So, what is it?”
“Mom told me that she wants to tell you guys in person. I won’t tell you what it is. It will be like betraying her.”
I laughed by letting the air leave through my nose.
“You find that funny?” she asked me.
“Not really,” I answered. “I find it sweet after constantly talking to Isla, Lillia, and Lewis.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lillia claims that mom’s going insane because of everything going on with grandma. Mom’s been drinking a bit more lately and sometimes we’d hear her cry during the night. Lewis, being 15, is just in that phase of growing up and confronting authority. And Isla… well you know her. She finds everything boring, irritating, and completely uninteresting. Dad and she have been having some fights lately. It’s like she’s going through puberty again.”
“And how are they with you?”
I let out a big sigh.
“Lillia literally almost doesn’t speak to anyone. It’s not like anything bad happened. She doesn’t really care that much unless someone says something big has happened, like in this moment,” I explained. “Again, Lewis questioned authority. That little monster is really getting on my nerves. You know, everyone says that hitting your children to discipline them is bad, but I’ve never heard about anyone complaining about their brother beating them.”
“Yeah… Don’t do that,” she chuckled.
“And I’m on surprisingly good terms with Isla compared to how she’s with everyone else.”
“Uh-huh,” she smiled. “Well, I’m glad nothing’s changed in the past two months… well until now, I guess. Hey,” she said turning her head towards me. “What do you think this is about? I just want to see how you think.”
“Okay,” I replied. “I believe it’s about grandma for sure. She’s been in a really bad state lately and since she invited all of us, it’s a family matter.”
“Huh,” Annie responded turning her head forward.
We drove for half an hour. We chatted a bit more about her job, my job, how things have been, and lastly the dig site. We passed next to it and Annie saw it for the first time. You know how in movies; you see those huge holes that are dug up by people and excavators and they looked like huge steps leading to the bottom? Its diameter was at least 1600 feet. It must have been about 1000 feet deep. You couldn’t really get the best look at it from the road I was driving on. She asked me to stop since she wanted to see it. It was a big change for our town after all.
The site was surrounded by a fence and you could just go there and take a look at it. You weren’t allowed to enter and there was security, but no one did anything if you just looked. The humans that worked there almost looked like ants digging up an anthill. We tried to find our dad, but we couldn’t find him. At the same time, Annie looked surprised and disappointed. She was amazed by its size but I guess she expected something more. Only after standing there for some time, I realized something. Almost all of the workers were standing at the lowest level looking at something.
“What the hell is going on down there?” I asked.
“Where?”
“You see that large group,” I pointed. “I never saw that before. They’re looking at something.”
“Are you sure? Maybe they just have a break,” Annie suggested.
“At this time? No, there’s no way. It’s way too late for lunch break and dad says that they don’t really have breaks. That’s literally the only thing he tells us.”
“That is weird, then. Do you think it’s anything bad?”
“No,” I answered. “I assume it’s just something rare they found. Maybe a fossil or some sort of rare ore.”
“I guess that’s the most realistic explanation,” she sighed sounding almost disappointed. “We should go now. Let’s not keep mom waiting.”
When we got home, I saw Lillia’s car parked in the driveway. It was blocking my entrance to the garage but I ignored it. Lillia was always like that and I didn’t want to argue with her.
“We’re here!” I yelled when we got inside the house.
Isla immediately ran up to the door, passing me and jumping onto Annie hugging her. Annie didn’t even have time to take off her jacket before Isla grabbed her and prevented her from doing anything. Annie hugged her back laughing and looked into my eyes.
“You missed me that much?” Annie asked.
“You are my favorite sister,” Isla told her. “Of course I missed you.”
“What about Lillia?” Annie asked.
“Do you really think I’d like Lillia more than you?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen you in two months. Something could have changed.”
“Don’t worry,” Isla said releasing Annie from her hug. “Everything stayed the same.”
We saw my mom slowly walking down the stairs with a smile on her face. She was looking at Annie. When Annie noticed her, she smiled back, took off her jacket, and walked up to the bottom of the stairs. They hugged when mom stepped onto the floor. They exchanged a few words before I spoke to my mom.
“Where are Lillia and Lewis?” I asked her.
“Lillia’s in the kitchen with Derek,” my mom answered. “Lewis is in his room. I tried getting him to come down but he doesn’t want to.”
“I’ll deal with him,” I told her. “Just sit down somewhere and don’t worry, okay?”
She smiled and I started walking up the stairs. Halfway up, I heard Lewis close his door and lock it. When I reached the top, I walked up to his room and knocked on the door.
“Lewis, get out,” I told him. “You need to go downstairs. Mom has something to tell us.”
“Go away, Tony,” he told me. “I’ll be down in 15 minutes. You can wait that long.”
He sometimes got me so angry I wanted to punch down his door and start choking him. Ah… that brotherly love. I looked to my right and only 6 feet away, there was a window on the wall. Both that window and one of the windows in Lewis’s room were pointed towards the front yard and the roof from the front porch spanned in front of them. I gently and quietly opened the window and looked towards the window in my brother’s room. I saw him sitting at the window with his back turned towards me. He was holding a joint in his right hand and brought it to his mouth a few times.
I sighed and started crawling through the window. Fortunately, Lewis didn’t see me nor was there anyone else on the street. It was the middle of the spring so some people found the weather hot while others wore jackets like Annie. I slowly walked up to Lewis’s window and leaned on the wall right next to it. Somehow, he didn’t notice me doing that and it gave me the opportunity to surprise him and scare him. Right after he took the joint out of his mouth, I grabbed it out of his hand. He jumped quickly turning his head towards me and almost fell into his room. I extinguished it on my tongue and spat out the ash. He was looking at me horrified.
“Get down,” I told him. “Mom has to tell us something. She gathered the entire family and said it was really important and after all of that, you’re acting like a little bitch.”
“O… Okay,” he replied. “But please don’t tell…”
“I don’t fucking care about that. You just need to go downstairs,” I told him throwing him back the joint. “You’ll finish it later.”
I gently hit his shoulder telling him to move so that I can get into his room. After he stepped out of the window, I crawled inside.
“God… all the things I have to do to keep you all in check,” I walked up to the door and unlocked it.
I put the key in my pocket so that he couldn’t lock himself back in and close the windows.
“You’ll get it later,” I told him. “And go to the bathroom, wash your face and use some mouthwash. You would do that if you don’t want mom to find out and tell dad.”
I closed the door behind me and walked back to the staircase.
“One fucking side of this family does not deserve the other half,” I whispered to myself.
Isla was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. She had a smile on her face and honestly, it made me a little bit uncomfortable. If anyone found out, it could be a disaster for the entire family. It wouldn’t just ruin my and Isla’s life… it would ruin the lives of everyone in this family. When I got down, she stood really close to me with a smile on her face. Her look of desire made me want to grab her right there and kiss her but fortunately, I was strong enough to restrain myself.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered to her smiling.
“Because it just feels so good,” she whispered back. “Danger just makes me so fucking horny.”
“There’s a difference between danger and the possibility to ruin all of our lives,” I replied whispering. “But I do admit… you look as good as ever. If I could, I’d take you right here, right now.”
“Well…” she winked at me. “We just need to get everyone else out of the house.”
“Yeah… not this time sweety,” I told her.
I walked away from her feeling a bit bad that I refused to… do it with her but we couldn’t. Everyone would realize what’s going on and it would simply be too dangerous. I knew Isla was disappointed but that she’ll forgive me. However, if the others saw me with her, they would not forgive me. It was the best decision I could make at that moment, but it just felt so wrong for some reason.
When I entered the living room, my mom was sitting in an armchair she always sat in. She took a look and smiled at me. On the couch next to her, Lillia and her husband, Derek, were looking at her. It looked like I cut them off just in the middle of an important conversation, but I didn’t really care. It looked like my mom was happy that I cut them off. They were really annoying. No one in the family liked spending time with them. They’d always ruin everything, make everything about themselves.
“Hey,” said.
Derek and Lillia immediately turned toward me.
“Oi, buddy,” Derek said standing up.
He walked up to me and hugged me. Confused, I slowly wrapped my arms around him.
“Nice to see you again, Derek,” I told him.
“I missed you, man,” he told me.
“Yeah, I missed you too,” I lied with a smile while tapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, Lillia.”
“Tony,” she replied seriously.
We never really liked each other. Yeah, yeah, it’s weird for twins to not like each other but she’s such an insufferable bitch to the point I cannot stand spending more than 5 minutes alone with her. Her husband is not much better, but hey… what can I do? She’s my sister and I need to support her.
“Hey, mom,” I said. “Where’s Annie?”
“In the toilet,” my mom replied with a sad voice. “She’ll be back soon.”
I sat down in an armchair opposite my mom. I was just to the left of Derek and Lillia. The other couch that was opposite the one Derek and Lillia were sitting on had just enough space for Annie, Isla, and Lewis. Covering my mouth with my left hand and putting the ankle of my right leg just above the knee of my left leg, I waited for them to come. I focused on a single point on the floor and didn’t listen to what Lillia and Derek were talking about. I got distracted thinking about Isla. She was the next one to come into the room. She sat down on the couch at the seat closest to me and she looked at each of us with a smile. It was Friday and both she and Lewis were finished with school in the morning.
Lewis came next. I didn’t even look at him but felt his eyes on me. He wasn’t really scared or angry at me. I guess he was just somewhat shocked and amazed about how I dealt with him. He sat down on the other side of the couch leaving the seat in the middle for Annie. Isla and Lewis didn’t really like each other. He would always call her a bitch and try to irritate her. She was bigger for most of their lives so she would always return it by pushing him. He’d go cry to mom or dad and Isla would always get grounded. Youngest siblings can sometimes be such a big pain in the ass.
Annie was the last to sit down.
“Oh, sorry to keep you all waiting,” she apologized after entering the room.
“It’s okay,” I replied. “You had a good reason,” I said pointing my eyes towards Lewis.
He immediately looked away acting like he didn’t notice me.
“Hey, Annie,” Lillia said. “What’s new?”
“Hi,” she said with a big smile and she gave Lillia a small wave. “Not much. Just casual stuff.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Lillia replied with a truce of irritation in her voice.
“Yeah. I’m living a good life,” Annie chuckled before looking at Lewis. “Hey, Lewie. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
“Uh-huh,” he replied not even looking at her. “It’s been just two months.”
Annie looked at me with a confused expression. I lifted my shoulders showing her that I have no idea why Lewis was like that. He really started to become more and more unlikable as he grew older.
“Mom,” I said. “You wanted to tell us something?”
“Yes,” she replied softly. “I’ve gathered all of you because this is important.”
“Well, tell us what it is then?” Isla pushed.
I loved almost all of her. The only thing I hated was her attitude towards our mom. She gave her everything, always helped her when she needed it the most and for all of that, Isla didn’t return the favor. She truly acted like a bitch for once, I had something to agree on with Lewis.
“Okay…” mom said as she almost started to cry.
“Are you okay mom?” Annie asked her.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” mom answered. “I just need to gather the strength to say it.”
While Lewis rolled his eyes, Isla looked at her fingers and she started to scratch off parts of her dead skin and Lillia turned towards Derek telling him something.
“I haven’t even told your dad,” mom said. “I didn’t want him to worry about me but I can’t keep it for myself anymore. Two nights ago…” a tear rolled down her face and she put her hand over her mouth. “Your grandma… died two nights ago,” she said right before she started to cry.
Annie immediately stood up, walked up to mom, and hugged her. Even though she knew what happened, she acted like she didn’t so that she wouldn’t hurt the others. Annie told her she was sorry and gave mom her condolences. After thanking her, mom hugged her back and cried into her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, mom,” I told her. “My condolences,” I put my leg back on the floor.
She looked at me for a second before continuing to cry into Annie’s shoulder. I didn’t try hugging her. I decided to do that later because Annie didn’t see her in more than 2 months. I let them have some time for themselves.
“Is… is that all?” Lewis asked. “I mean, I’m sorry, but this was the important thing?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t you just send us a message?” Lillia asked.
I glanced at Isla hoping that she’ll be more sympathetic even though I didn’t believe it. I was right. By the way, she was looking at mom, she clearly agreed with Lewis and Lillia. Mom froze for a second out of shock. She stood up and ran to her room.
“Great job,” Annie said angrily looking at the three of them, and ran after mom. “Mom. MOM! WAIT!” she called after mom.
“Well…” Lillia said after half a minute of silence. “If that’s all, we’ll be going now,” she said slightly lifting herself off of the couch.
“No,” I said. “You’re not going anywhere. Sit back down.”
“You can’t tell me…”
“Sit the FUCK down!” I yelled.
She was clearly surprised by my response and I saw slight fear in her eyes. She sat back down.
“You are all parasites,” I told my siblings before standing up. “That woman right there gave you everything,” I said pointing towards mom’s and dad’s bedroom. “Her entire life, she only cared about us, she bought us everything, thought us everything… She kept us safe and happy, and you act like this after all of this. You, imbeciles, are completely incapable of returning the favor even in the slightest.”
“Tony…” Isla tried saying.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” I yelled at her after looking into her eyes.
I saw sadness in them, but it didn’t matter. She crossed the line this time.
“And if only it was her friend we didn’t know, but no… all of you had to be the biggest pieces of shit when your grandma died,” I told them. “You don’t remember all that time she took care of you? When she hugged you and helped you feel better when your dad was yelling at you? You don’t remember any of that? To be completely honest with you, I simply can’t believe how much I hate all three of you at this moment.”
After I finished, the three of them were looking at me teary-eyed. I was taking in heavy breaths and my eyes stopped at Isla’s. Her tears didn’t make me feel bad, but she couldn’t stand to look at me. I didn’t know if it was how I made her feel like shit or because she was afraid of me, but I didn’t care. I sat back in my armchair with my legs spread and looked towards the floor.
“You know what?” Derek asked. “I agree with you, Tony. I mean, it was your grandma after all,” he said taking a look at each of them.
“Thank you, Derek,” I told him. “It’s nice to have someone reasonable in this family.”
I took in a deep breath.
“I need a drink,” I said after a few seconds.
After I stood up, I walked up to the front door. I opened it and after feeling the wind hit my arms, I realized that I’d need a jacket. I closed the door and put on a leather jacket when I heard Derek call after me.
“Can I come with you?” he asked.
“Why not?” I replied. “You’re the only one whose company I can withstand now. You’re driving.”
I noticed Lewis staring at me while I was putting on the jacket.
“I won’t give it back to you, now,” I told him. “You’ll be happy if I return it when we come back.”
I took a step outside and inhaled taking in the now cold and clean air. It felt so refreshing after having to breathe the same air as my specific three siblings. Derek walked out closing the door behind him. He smiled at me and I smiled back. This was the first time the two of us were doing anything together. I didn’t want to admit it, but it was refreshing. The only people I spent time with before were my friends, Isla and Lewis. My friends wouldn’t really do much since they’d just try to cheer me up. It always worked but it never solved the problem. It just made me forget it. I definitely didn’t want to talk to Isla at that moment, and Lewis was the last person I wanted to speak to. Not only was he a little piece of shit constantly, but he reached new heights today. A thought of beating his face bloody came to my mind, but I controlled myself.
Derek was a perfect person to talk to at that moment. He was a calm and friendly person just trying to move through this world. He clearly like my twin sister and she was good towards him and only him. He seemed to know it but it seemed like he didn’t want to tell her anything since he believed something bad could come out of it. She had him by his balls and he couldn’t do shit to fix it. I felt sorry for him. He was a good man.
10 minutes later, we entered a local bar owned by the parents of a girl who went to high school with me. Like me, she didn’t really do too much in life… or actually, she did, but it wasn’t good. After partying for what must have been a year, and trying probably every single fucking drug known to humans, her parents had enough. Her life turned around in an instant as her parents threw her out on the street for a day. When none of her friends wanted to help her, she realized what kind of life she was leading. Fortunately, it was just a test from her parents. They found her roaming the streets a day later and took her back in. They employed her at their bar and she became their best worker. Her parents were proud and since then, they’ve been preparing her for becoming the owner after their pension or death.
“Hey, Tony,” Laurece said. “What’s up?”
She had a name that’s traditionally male in English, but in French, it’s female, and since Germany is closer to France than to the UK…
“Not much. Just had a huge fight with my family and came here to get a few drinks,” I answered. “What about you?”
“Oh, not much going on today,” she replied. “You’re probably the tenth customer today.”
“Hey, Tony,” Derek said. “I’ll be back soon. I just need to go to the bathroom.”
I nodded and he walked away. Laurece kept her eyes on him until he disappeared behind the bathroom door. She looked at me and smiled.
“Who’s the cute boy?” she asked me.
“My sister’s husband,” I told her.
“Oh, I thought it was the girl you’ve mentioned.”
I chuckled loudly and smiled at her. Her eyes touched me in such a special way. They were calm but feisty, sad but happy, cold but warm, but most importantly, they showed that she really cared about me. I cared about her as well. I’d usually come to the bar and talk to her when the times were hard and she’d always help me. I always liked to sit at the bar and she’d lean over it while talking to me. She always had a smile on her face and her presence put one on me. Over time, I started to realize that she was the right one for me. She was willing to settle down then and there if I asked her. Stuff with Isla was starting to feel like a childish fantasy with a close end.
“No,” I told her. “But I don’t think that there’s that girl anymore.”
“Oh,” she replied with a straight face that showed that she barely contained a smile. “What happened?”
“Same like with family,” I answered. “A fight.”
“You’re getting into many fights recently,” she told me.
“I wouldn’t say so. I mean, it’s not Mr. Greggs’s class,” I chuckled.
A big smile appeared on her face as she leaned over the bar and touched my hand. I took a look at the hand and then back into her eyes.
“You know that you can talk to me about everything?” She asked.
“I do,” I replied. “And I’d like you to feel the same.”
She took in a deep breath.
“Okay, then… I need to ask you this one question?” she said.
“Shoot,” I replied.
She put a hand on her mouth, looked at the floor, and thought for a second. She turned her eyes back towards me end let out a deep sigh.
“What will you drink?” she asked out of nowhere.
It took me a second to realize what she said but after I did, I burst out laughing. She laughed with me in an empty bar in the spring.
“The usual,” I told her.
She took a large glass and started pouring beer inside it. While she was doing it, I turned around and took a look at the TV. The sound was turned off, but it clearly showed the news reporter talking about something, and behind here, there was the dig site.
“Hey, Laurece,” I said. “Can you please turn the volume up? It’s important.”
“Okay,” she said putting the beer glass down and taking the remote in her hand.
After she half a single button for two seconds, the volume rose and I could now hear it perfectly. The reporter just gave the microphone to my dad who started to speak about a hole.
“We were just working when suddenly, out of nowhere, we just hear yelling. All of us stopped and looked toward the source. People were standing at the bottom and weirdly looking at something. I was working above it so I didn’t see the cave immediately,” he said. “I only saw it when I saw everyone else going down and I followed them. When we got down, we saw the cave that led somewhere. The rocks that covered it up were drilled into and it almost immediately collapsed. After that entire gathering, someone called the police and the rest of it was just waiting… for me at least. Some other people might have more interesting stories about it.”
As soon as the reporter took away the microphone from my dad, I turned around and looked into Laurece’s beautiful eyes.
“Holy shit, Laurece,” I said. “Something interesting has happened in this wretched town.”