Chapter 4 04

- Boys, come with me so I can take care of you," my aunt suggests, also trying to calm things down.

- No, but don't worry Agnes, I'll take care of it, I answered her while heading towards the house.

I climbed the stairs four by four, took some clothes and went into the bathroom. I put arnica on my brother's temple and Jordan's jaw.

- I'm sick of this," I say, breaking the silence that had surrounded us since we came into this room.

- What?" my brother asked innocently.

- That you spend your time with these girls who walk around half-naked, while you hardly stay with me anymore. That you don't come to see me when I have fights. That you're never there for my successes or my defeats. I feel like my brother is a ghost. We only see each other on family vacations. The only thing missing is that you avoid them too.

He is silent and seems to be thinking about what to say to me while Jordan is as discreet as possible.

- I'm sorry, Aline, I didn't know that my presence was so important.

- Of course it does! You're my brother, damn it! My brother! Maybe you don't give a shit about me, but I do! I need you. You're my pillar, you point me in the right directions, you keep me from doing stupid things, and sometimes you take the heat for me.

- I'm sorry Aline.

- You've said it before, and I get it. Except that a simple sorry isn't enough. I need proof, and real proof. Not empty words.

- I don't like it when you get mad at me, I love you Aline. You are reasonable and there for me when I need it. But I, I'm never there. Never, he yells as if he blames himself. I have to change. I have to stop everything: the girls, the parties and the alcohol.

- You can't do that for me," I explain, finally realizing how he must feel about my accusations.

- That's for sure," Jordan interjects.

- No, you can't do it, and I'm not asking you to change. Just spend more time with me.

- Then I will, I promise.

- Pinkie promise?

- Pinky promise.

- Thank you. There, that's it, I took care of your boo-boos, I said. You can leave now!

- Why?" asks Jordan, raising an eyebrow.

- Because I'm going to take a shower, maybe?

- If you want I can scratch your back.

- You are my cousin. That's disgusting," I replied, kicking him out of the room.

Once they are out of the room, I slip into the shower. I love the feeling of the water falling from the showerhead onto my hair, sliding down my back and stopping at the small of my back and ending up on the floor with a loud splash.

When I come out of the bathroom, fresh and fragrant, I go down to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal and sit with the guys in front of the TV.

- Where is Lucie?" I ask. I'm talking to you. Hello the moon, this is the Earth," I add in the face of their silence.

- I think she's asleep," Jordan replied.

It's crazy how they are absorbed by cartoons! But finally, I too spend my morning in front of the TV. At noon, our uncle announces that the adults leave in town with Lucie to see an exhibition of modern art. He suggests us to go to swim in the small creek down from the house.

- I'm all for it," I say with great enthusiasm.

- Me too," adds Jordan. But can I invite my friends?

- Yes, if you want," my aunt concedes.

- Max and I are coming," says Logan.

- Well, I'm coming then, announces Louka while sighing.

We quickly finish the meal. The parents leave for the afternoon and return in the evening. I thus go up to put on my bathing suit and prepare quickly a bag of beach. When I get downstairs, Jordan's friends have arrived. There is just a girl named Jade, and a boy named Jules. The others are on vacation abroad.

So we go down to swim and when we arrive in the creek, we discover a small beach made of pebbles. We put down the bags and towels to go to the water.

- My God, it's freezing," I shouted, my toes in the water.

- You're not so proud," my brother boasts, with the water reaching his knees.

- That's it, yes, you'll see.

I take some water in my hands and throw it at his back. He looks at me with a shocked look and retorts in the same way. I put a smile of two meters long on my face while inside it is the cataclysm: my god what it is cold! I take some water and spray Jordan. He tries to wet me but I bend down just in time and he only succeeds in watering Jade who is behind me. She gets her revenge, and it all ends up in a water fight. Boys against girls. It's not really fair since it's five against two, but we have fun. I swim a bit towards a rock when I see what I think is a jellyfish.

- Be careful, there are jellyfish," I warned.

- That's right, we believe you," laughs my brother.

- Don't believe me then.

I move but don't get out of the water and stay close to the shore. Jordan, on the other hand, goes towards the jellyfish and comes running back.

- Ouch, he yells! There are jellyfish! It stung me! It's killing me! I'm going to die! Tell my parents that I love them!

- Always the exaggeration," laughed Jules as she walked out.

Indeed, as soon as Jordan announced the presence of jellyfish, everyone ran out of the water. Jordan shows us his sting and my brother claims to be a doctor.

- When you get stung, they say you have to pee on yourself," he explains.

- It's dead, I don't do it, says Jules.

- With Jade we are going to turn in agreement, I announce them.

- Why so? asks Jade with a false innocent look.

I burst out of a frank burst of laughter and turn around. I hear my brother and Jordan debating about who is going to do it. In the end, Jordan will do it on his own. Deep down I just want to laugh. But I have to hold back. On the other hand, when my cousin announces us that he finished, I let go and they look at me strangely. Then Jade joins me soon followed by everyone. Once the madness passed, we return to the house with Max and Logan. I leave in the bathroom with Jordan to put him a cream. Then we start to think about how to organize ourselves to sleep.

- Well, girls, you go to the cabin, announces Jordan.

It's a little wooden house in a tree that is connected by a walkway to my cousin's room. It's full of spiders, mosquitoes, lizards and other such creatures.

- Oh no," says Jade. It's full of horrible animals, spiders, mosquitoes, bats and all kinds of other animals. I would never sleep in there.

- I agree with her, I say to support her request.

- Well then, we'll sleep in the cabin, guys, you'll see it's nice as anything, proposes Jordan trying to sell the merits of his cabin.

Nobody seems to agree with him, but the boys say nothing. The evening came, we make pasta, and we look at a film while waiting for the parents. As they are blocked on the road, we go to bed each one in our place without waiting for them and we fall asleep immediately.