The Road Trip

Chapter 8 - Faking Fun

Chapter 8

Faking Fun

The second we pulled up next to the sandy beach, Alex squealed. I had to resist the urge to laugh at his cuteness. I mean, it was just the lake! It wasn't even an ocean for crying out loud!

"Hurry, Addie!" Alex urged, tugging on his car seat straps. "I can't get these things undone by myself!" That time I did laugh. He was way too cute!

"I'm coming." I laughed, running around the side of the car. Before I released him, though, I slowly dragged the beach bag to my shoulder dramatically, taking my sweet time on purpose.

"Addie!" He whined, sticking out his bottom lip. Chuckling, I unbuckled his restraints and grabbed his hand, helping him out of the car. A wide grin spread across his face when he felt the wind whip through his hair. He started pulling on my arm, trying to yank. me towards the waves.

The part of the beach we were swimming at was empty. Luke and I had discovered it a few years back by accident. We were just exploring and all of a sudden came across this little strip of sand. It was tucked in behind a bunch of trees, so you couldn't see it from the road. It was, however, a little tricky getting back here. You had to navigate your way through the small forest, which is hard in a car, and park on the sand.

We wanted this beach to stay hidden, so we never parked on the road. Whenever there was a car behind us, we would pull over and turn on the hazard lights until they were gone. If we parked on the side of the road, people would see the car and come looking for us. Then the beach would be found, and everyone would crowd it. It's simple logic, really.

Snapping myself back to reality, I pulled a blanket out of my bag and dropped it on the sand. I promptly sat down on it, digging around for sunblock. It was about two in the afternoon, so I needed to make sure Alex didn't get burned. That would seriously suck. Not to mention Paisley would have my ass for burning her baby.

"No!" Alex shrieked when he saw the white goop in my hands. He hated sunscreen with a burning passion. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Trent told him it was monster barf....

"Alex, come here," I ordered, narrowing my eyes at him playfully. He took another step back, looking at me with wide eyes. "I'll give you a cookie if you let me put this on you." I knew that would get him. I probably shouldn't have given him another cookie, though. That made three in a few hours. But I couldn’t help it. Not only did I need to get rid of the cookies, I also had to put sunblock on him.

He frowned but slowly walked towards me. Smiling to myself, I covered his small body in sunscreen. There was no way that child was getting burnt. Not on my watch. He grimaced the whole time, making faces and whiny noises. He didn't seem to mind once I was done, though. He just grabbed another cookie and plopped down on the sand to eat.

While Alex was busy, I pulled off my tank top and shorts and rubbed on some suntan lotion. Then I laid down on my towel, sighing contently. I really needed a tan; I was so pale it was ridiculous. Plus, I hated lake water. It was disgusting.

“Addison!" My head popped up, searching for the voice. Chris was sticking his head out of his car, waving at me. How had I not heard them coming? Luke hopped out of the car and started running towards us, with Chris not too far behind.

'What are you guys doing here?' I signed, laying back down. Luke sat down right next to me, flicking my nose.

'Mom thought you two could use the company,’ He winked, sticking out his tongue. I frowned, my gut twisting.

"Or she doesn't want me alone with her children anymore," I muttered, furrowing my eyebrows. I thought she forgave me for hitting Trent. It was an accident, an honest mistake! Luke rose an eyebrow, giving me a questioning look. 'Nothing.'

"Chris, take me to the water!" Alex squealed, throwing his arms around his brother’s legs. Chris laughed, throwing the kid over his shoulder and took off running towards the waves.

"Be careful!" I yelled, eyeing the way he ran. Seriously, if he fell Paisley would be pissed. And probably at me for not managing her children better, including the one that was in college.

"Yes, mother!" Chris called back. I could just imagine him smirking. The urge to flip him off was almost unbearable, but I settled for rolling onto my stomach instead. I propped my head in my hands, glancing at Luke. He was laying on his own towel, watching the two boys play in the water.

'Why don't you go join them?' I asked, raising an eyebrow. Luke loved the water almost as much as Trent. I could see no reason why he would stay with boring ol’ me.

'I'm staying with you.' He looked at me for a minute. 'Hey, what's wrong?' I sighed, running a hand over my face. Why did he have to know me so well?

'It's just...' I hesitated, analyzing the look on his face. There was no use lying, he would figure it out anyway. 'I saw Josh today.'

He made a face, 'Josh Bowman? Dead Josh?'

'Yeah, except he didn't die. He was off having wild s*x with Alexandria until she got pregnant.' His eyes widened in shock as his jaw dropped. So maybe I didn't say it in the right way, but it was still the truth. And the truth was really getting under my skin. Groaning, I flipped onto my back. I just couldn’t get comfortable. The conversation was making me antsy.

'You're serious? But why did he come back now? 'Luke asked, watching me with horror in his eyes. I would have laughed if we weren't talking about my ex-best friend and Josh hooking up.

'Because apparently, his mom is dying. Cancer. Oh, give me a break. I feel horrible for his mom, but him… I mean, he lets everyone think he is dead for two freaking years and then comes back and expects everyone to be buddy buddy with him?! Not me, I'm still way pissed.'

Luke hesitated, processing the new information. 'And we're talking about your best friend Alexandria here, right?'

'Ex-best friend, but yes.'I flipped back over onto my stomach, grabbing my sunglasses from my bag. The sun was way too bright, even with my big black sun blockers. Luke continued to stare at me, making me shift uncomfortably. ‘Supposedly, Josh was going to commit suicide, and Alexandria convinced him not to.’

‘That seems likely, Alex was that type of person. She always wanted to save people.’ Talking about Alex, aka Alexandria, seemed so foreign to me now. I clicked my tongue and swallowed, trying to clear the bitter taste that had settled in the back of my throat.

I frowned, ‘But them hooking up isn’t like her. She knew I liked Josh back then, she wouldn't have had s*x with him.’

‘You sure about that?’ I’m sure he didn’t mean it in a mean way, but it got under my skin. He was implying that I didn’t know my ex-best friend at all, which was true, but him pointing it out made the bitter pain worse.

‘She was dating Trent, though,’ I groaned, rubbing my hands over my face. Alexandria and Trent had been together when she disappeared, which was one of the reasons Trent was so destroyed by it. ‘I’d like to think she isn’t a cheater.’

‘Some people are good at deceiving.’ He said simply, lowering his head. I bent back my head, blinking back tears furiously. What the hell was I going to say to Trent? I could feel Luke eyeing me suspiciously. 'What else is bothering you?' Well, damn. I didn't get out of it.

'Nothing,' I lied, frowning.

'Tell me!' He stuck out his bottom lip, making me sigh. Why couldn't I say no to anyone?

'I-I’m the reason Trent is in the hospital...' Luke blinked at me, as if not believing my words. Then he burst out laughing, falling back on the sand and shaking his head. 'It's not funny! Luke, stop!' I slapped his legs, huffing in frustration.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' He held up his hands in surrender, 'Wait, you were serious?! How?!'

'He...I... Apparently, he wanted cake at two in the morning, so he broke into my house and got some. How was I supposed to know it was Trent?! I-I hit him on the head with a frying pan. Really hard. I thought I was going to die!' He frowned, looking away.

'Oh,' Was all he said. My gut twisted with worry. Oh God, please don't let him hate me!

We sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves hit the sand. I could hear Alex screaming and Chris laughing as they splashed around in the water. Unconsciously, Luke started taking handfuls of sand and placing them on my stomach. I let him, ignoring the fact that I would have a hell of a time getting all of the little grains out of my bikini later.

“Are we burying Addie?!” I jumped at how near Alex's voice was, finding the toddler not too far from my face. Without an answer, he took an arm-full of the nasty stuff and dumped it on top of my body. I was almost covered in sand at that point. “Let's make a sand castle on top of her!”

“I'll tell you what,” Chris laughed, “I'll make a sand castle over here and you make one on top of Addie and we'll see who's the best is. Whoever wins gets to choose the losers punishment.”

“Okay!” Alex clapped his hands, setting to work on his 'castle' which just so happened to be on my stomach. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for a very long shower once we got home. I must've dozed off because what seemed like a few seconds later Alex screamed, “Done!”

“All right, let's see who's the best is.” Chris chuckled. I kept my eyes closed, ignoring them. They would go away soon. “Sorry little man looks like I won.”

“No, I did!” Alex defended himself, huffing. I smiled, imagining his sad face.

“Bud, yours is a pile of sand. I win. And your punishment is...Being thrown in the lake!”

“No!” I heard some scrambling around. “No, not me! Throw Addie instead!” My eyes flew open. Oh, hell no! I was not going in that water! Before I could move, two large arms surrounded me.

“Chris!” I screamed, wrapping my arms desperately around his neck. He held me bridal style, seeming to carry me with ease. “No, Chris! Put me down now!” He laughed and kept sprinting towards the lake. The water was way too near for my liking; my stomach tied itself into a knot. “If you don’t put me down, I will personally make sure you never have children! Chris, I mean it!”

My words were lost in the waves as Chris launched me from his arms, dropping me into the warm lake water. Since I had been screaming, my mouth was immediately filled with nasty, dirt filled H2O. I came up sputtering and coughing, chest heaving.

The boys were laughing, including Luke. They were all safely on the shore while I glowered at them, fuming.

“Why the hell would you do that?! You’ve known me long enough to know I hate this s**t!” I screeched, forgetting there was a four-year-old in our presence. The cuss word didn’t go unnoticed, either.

Chris’ face mocked horror, “Addison, my little brother his present.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice, a smug smirk spreading across his face as he clasped his hands over the toddler's ears.

I had to physically restrain my hand to keep myself from giving him the middle finger.

Chris had picked a really bad day to mess with me. Not only was I pissed off about Josh coming back, but Trent being in the hospital had put me in a really bad mood. I wanted to rip someone’s head off, and in that moment, it was Chris’. But if I wanted revenge, I had to be strategic.

“Whatever,” I muttered, “I came to the beach to get wet anyway.” Walking towards the beach, I kept my face as calm and unemotional as I could. There was a layer of anger underneath the neutral expression, but I refused to show it.

It was clear this puzzled Chris. He stared at me, lips parted like he was witnessing the apocalypse. Perfect.

“Chris, I’m bored,” Alex whined, plopping down in the sand. His eyelids were starting to droop, so I knew he was getting tired.

“Take him to the car,” I instructed. “It’s getting late. We should head home.” I was inches away from Chris, but I couldn’t act too early. A plan was forming in my brain, slowly but surely. Maybe I was plotting premeditated murder, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Luke waved at me to get my attention, ‘What’d you say?’

‘Nothing, we’re just going to head home now.’ A foot away. Five more steps. Now inches. Chris was bending over Alex, about to scoop him into his arms. It was now or never. A ferocious roar escaped my throat as I launched at him, throwing all my weight into his side. Surprised, he fell instantly. We collided with the hard, compact sand and rolled a few feet.

When I was younger, Chris had wrestled in high school. It had been his passion, just like Trent’s was swimming. On the weekends he would practice with his buddies while I sat and watched, analyzing his every move. I had idolized him, so of course, I followed him around like a lost puppy. I might not have been as adequate to fight as Chris was, but I had picked up a thing or two.

Before he could even process what was happening, I had Chris in a choke hold. Alex screamed, and I even heard Luke make a sound of surprise. “Maybe now you won’t be as quick to pick on me, huh, Chris?” I chuckled, shaking my head. “All those years of watching you paid off.”

In a flash Chris turned the tables, turning me on my back and pinning my hands above my head before I could fight back. He sat on top of me, smirking. “Careful there, Addie, you’re starting to sound like a stalker.”

“Funny,” I deadpanned, “Now get off of me.”

“Addie, I want to go home,” Alex wailed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. “I want to go home now!”

I stood up, brushing the sand from my back. “Be patient, we’re about to leave.”

“I want to be home now!” He shrieked, throwing his head back. He started flailing his arms, thrashing about like he was being attacked by mosquitoes. Aggravated cries left his throat, presumably making his throat raw.

“Oh my god,” I gasped, looking between Luke and Chris incredulously. “What the heck is wrong with him?” My stomach twitched in panic as a surge of disbelief coursed through me. Never in my life had I seen him act like this. I lunged forward, reaching for the little kid.

No sooner had I bent down that his little fist made contact with my eye, causing me to cry out in pain. I fell backward, landing on my butt. He may have been small, but he could pack a punch.

“Addie,” Luke gasped, bending down to check on me. I still wasn’t used to hearing his strange, raspy voice. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” I whispered, nodding slowly. Chris had his arms around Alex’s torso, hauling his thrashing body to the car. He was still screaming. “What’s wrong with him?”

Luke shook his head, “He’s been acting weird lately. He’s really angry all the time. Mom’s thinking about taking him to some b-behavioral doctor.” I could tell he was struggling to speak out loud, so even though I had a million questions, I simply nodded. Luke helped me up and we headed back to our cars, leaving without another word. My eye was throbbing, but all I could focus on was needing answers. It was time to go see Paisley.