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“Your turn first,” I say, giving her a head start.
She taps my hand, and we start to play. She wins the first round, but to my surprise, she pouts.
“You let me go first, so it was clear that I was going to win,” she explains in a matter-of-fact way. “Now, it’s your turn to go first.”
I can tell that her mind is already wandering, which is a good sign. This time, I get a head start, but she complains when she wins again.
“That’s not fair!” she yells. “You did that on purpose so I could win.”
I laugh, and so does she. It’s great to see her smile again.
The interesting part is that we always play this game like this, and she never grows weary of it. I believe she likes being pampered.
We are startled by movement in the house. When I see Dad storming towards us, I feel a big sense of relief.
“Come on,” he says.
Logan starts driving right away once mum and dad get in the car.
***
“Put your seatbelt on,” Mom tells me and Sophie in an anxious voice.
She constantly takes extra care of us, but sometimes I wonder if there’s anything else that makes her paranoid all the time.
Sophie and I do what she says and buckle our seatbelts. Dad is in the front seat next to Logan, and the three of us are seated in the back with Sophie in the middle.
When Mom’s phone rings, I can see that Ethan wants to video call her. She picks up the phone, and we can see that Ethan is already in his karate gear. He seems really worried, but his face lights up when he sees us all in the car.
“Already on our way,” Mom says with a smile. Her words make him breathe a sigh of relief.
Mom moves her phone so that Ethan can see me and Sophie better.
“Are you going to win the contest?” I ask him in a lethargic voice.
Ethan smirks, as predicted. “You’ll see. I want you to see it for yourself. I can’t wait to knock them out.”
I laugh. He’s being cocky, but I admire how sure he is of himself.
“Hey, Sophie,” he says pleasantly to our sister. “What do you want me to buy you if I win the contest?”
Sophie looks at him with a blank look on her face. “Will I get a present?”
Ethan smiles a lot. “Of course. If I win this championship, I’ll make a lot of money and buy you anything you want.”
Sophie squints as she thinks hard. “Really?” Then she starts to laugh out loud. “I want a new headband if that’s the case.”
Ethan is the one who is staring at her with a dumb look this time. “What? Just that?”
Sophie nods with excitement.
Ethan asks, “Really?” with disbelief. “I can give you more.”
Sophie honestly states with a big smile on her face, “I just want a new pretty headband right now.”
Ethan massages his head. “Okay, if that’s what you want…”
I broke him off in an irritated voice and said, “What about me, huh?” “Will I not get anything?”
I know this sounds bad, but I can’t help but feel a little jealous. I always treat Sophie like a cool brother, but occasionally I act like a brat with Ethan.
Ethan shakes his head. “I knew you were going to ask me for that, so I didn’t. What do you want?”
“I want a horse,” I declare firmly, trying to make him mad.
“What the f—”
“Is that a problem for you?” I enquire. “I want a horse,” I say, “You said you would buy anything Sophie wants, so now it’s my turn.”
last line. “You better get that for me.”
Ethan shakes his head and laughs. “There’s no way I’m getting you a horse. That’s crazy. I can’t afford it. If your dad lets you, you can take any horse from his ranch. Why would I buy you a new horse?”
I laugh too, which makes it clear that he’s getting on my nerves.
He rolls his eyes. “Okay, I’ll get you a bike. How does that sound? But it shouldn’t cost a lot. I’ll get you a cheap one.”
“I don’t need a bike,” I shout.
“Geez, you’re impossible.” He hangs up after that. I want to break something.
Mom and Sophie laugh.
“That cocky bastard,” I say to myself. “He’s not going to win anyway.”
Ethan and I talked in a ridiculous way, but that’s how we chat sometimes. That tiny fight makes me remember that even when things were bad with Dad’s job or his pals, it’s not a big deal. The most important thing is that our family will always be there for each other.
When the car is quiet again, I remember that Dad hasn’t said anything since we got in. He generally hears what we’re talking about, but not today. He merely looks at his phone and scrolls through the texts as if to make sure something is true.
I also know that mum hasn’t asked him any questions about what occurred with Victor back home. They might not want to talk about it with Sophie and me still there.
Someone answers Dad’s call after the first ring. “Are you sure about that?” he asks in a low, threatening voice that makes the automobile feel frigid.
Dad hangs up the phone once the person answers and hisses, “F*****g traitor.”
His rage makes me shiver. I’ve never seen Dad that angry before. Something terrible must be going on.
Mom asks quickly, “Why are we taking this road? We should go the other way.” The automobile suddenly makes an abrupt bend.
Dad says, “Someone is following us.”
The silence that comes after that makes my skin crawl.
Sophie and I look at each other. Her face becomes as white as paper. I grab her hand to console her as the automobile accelerates away. We had never been in a car that went this fast before. Sophie’s face tells me that she feels sick and is going to throw up.
There is no need for Dad and Logan to talk to one other. They both know what’s going on right now.
Dad seems to see something in the rearview mirror because he pulls out his rifle, which shocks us. My heart skips a beat, and I can hear Sophie crying softly next to me.
Dad is going to kill someone. If you have to, kill them.
“No,” Mom says. “Not in front of our kids.”
“I’m sorry,” Dad says. It’s a real apology because he won’t change his opinion. “I have to.”
I see mum biting her bottom lip and appear quite pale. But now she doesn’t say anything since she knows Dad has to keep us all safe.
I saw a van rushing towards us from the car window in that split second.
Watch out!
I can’t even say those things because I feel a massive blow right after. I draw Sophie closer and cover her as the pain in my body is so bad that it hurts every nerve.
I’m afraid because even though I feel like I’m about to die, I’m still in pain.
Until everything becomes dark.
My whole body hurts. I can’t move at all.
It aches. It aches a lot.