LUCA

Once we were done with breakfast, I headed to my room to pack my backpack. Three days with girls. More like three days of suffering. Don't get me wrong, I love all my siblings, but for one thing I knew, I was the youngest, and they would treat me like the youngest.

I sighed as Lucas helped me with packing. He had this stupid grin on his face, which I was so tempted to wipe off. "What's so amusing?" I finally snapped. "Nothing." He replied, shrugging. Once I was sure I had everything in need, I tried to shoo Lucas out of my room, but he won't budge. 

"Why baby brother, I thought I was your favourite." He said, faking a hurt expression. 

I snorted. "In your dreams. And don't call me 'baby brother'." 

He smirked. "Whatever you say, baby brother. Now, behave while you're away with your sisters and don't get in trouble." I huffed. And mumbled, "You seem to be enjoying my misery." 

"Why would you say that, baby brother? I'm just trying to look out for you." I closed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. 

"Call me 'baby brother' again and I swear-" He interrupted me by patting my head like I was a dog. 

"What's the worst thing you can do? Tell Genevieve? I can handle that."

"Actually..." I started, swatting his hand away, but then realised that was the worst I could do. I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt. Lucas grinned again and ruffled my hair. 

"Come on, baby brother. Let's go bid you a proper farewell with the rest of them." He said, heading out of my room and downstairs. 

I groaned and followed him. Everyone was there except Alex and Carina. Liam approached me once I was downstairs. He grinned and said, "Don't worry. Just do as they say and you'll be good. Try not to complain much, that won't do any good. And try not to miss me." 

"Last one will be easy." I retorted. 

"Someone's grumpy."

I scowled. "You are the reason I have to go with them. Couldn't you have chosen, I don't know, Lucas? Or even Ace?" 

He raised both his hands in surrender. "Alex told me to choose you, and I saw no harm in doing so. Besides, you are this house's baby, the girls would love your company more than any of us."

I sighed. "Why has everyone taken a sudden interest in calling me 'baby brother' or 'baby of the house'?" 

Liam shrugged. "Because you are?" 

"What are you guys talking about without me?" Lucas pushed himself between me and Liam and slung each of his hands on our shoulders. 

"Not again...I've had enough of you for one day." I whined. "You will miss this for three days so, take it or leave it, I suppose." 

Luckily, Alex and Carina chose that moment to come down. 

"Excited?" Carina asked, approaching me, as we all got our bags and headed out. 

"You bet." I said sarcastically, at which she shook her head, chuckling. Amara, Layla, Carina and I piled into the cars. Genevieve turned around to face the other boys, including Aiden and Spencer, plus Alex.

"The house better be in the same condition I'm leaving it in, otherwise you'll be the ones scrubbing it clean from top to bottom." She instructed, shooting them all a glare, which for a second made me glad that I was going with the girls. The boys backed up slightly. Alex didn't. Girl has courage.

Liam then asked the most stupid question I've ever heard. 

"What if it blew up in flames and there was nothing left to scrub?" 

Gen turned to face him. "Then baby brother, I'll make sure you rebuild the house. Brick by brick. Understood?" 

Liam gulped and nodded. "Yes ma'am." 

She rolled her eyes and reached out to give everyone, except Alex, a hug. Then she got into the car herself and we waved goodbye to them.

I was sitting at the furthest right, next to the window. Carina, Layla, Amara and Gen on my left in the same order. Amara and Genevieve seemed to be caught up talking about who knows what while Layla was listening to music and scrolling through her phone. I was staring out the window, which might've left Carina bored and feeling a bit left out. 

After some time, she nudged me. "Wanna play a game?" I was pretty bored myself so I agreed. 

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" "Hmm let's see..." She looked into her backpack rummaged in it for a couple of moments, then took out what looked like a card game. 

"You want to play a card game in the car?" 

"It's not a card game. The box is of a card game. I wrote down some road trip games as cue cards and put them in this." 

I laughed. "That's weird." 

She merely shrugged. "Anyway, pick a card." She gave me the box and I picked out the card at the very beginning.

"What does it say?" 

"Uh...Rhyme. What's that?" 

Carina grinned. "Brilliant!" Then she turned to the other three. "Hey, you guys wanna play with us?" 

Layla took out her airpods from her ears and said, "Sure." 

"Yeah, why not?" Amara agreed. 

Gen nodded. 

"So, what is the game?" I asked. 

"Okay, so one person says a word, and the next person has to say a word that rhymes to it, then the next person has to say a word that rhymes to it and so on until someone is left dumbfounded or repeats a word that has already been said. The first person can choose how hard or easy the word has to be. And you cannot use any help." Carina explained.

"Sounds interesting. How hard can it be?" I said. 

Carina smirked. Oh no. "Oh you have absolutely no idea how hard it can be." 

"Luca can start, being our baby brother he is." Layla suggested. 

I frowned. "Don't call me that." 

"What? Luca?" 

"No I meant- never mind. I'll just start." I thought for a couple of seconds, then I had my word.

"My word is: pyramid. Your turn Carina."

 She furrowed her eyes and looked deep into thinking. 

"We don't have all day." I urged. 

"Okay um...I say: cupid. Your turn Layla."

 "Uh...I say: squid. Your turn Amara." 

Amara was quick. "I say: hybrid. Your turn Genevieve."

 I laughed. So did everyone else. "Hybrid?" Layla asked, still chuckling a little. 

Amara shrugged and turned to Gen.

"I say: grid. Your turn Luca."

I knew what I had to say. "I say: acid. Your turn Carina."

And the game went on. Apparently there were a lot more words that rhyme with 'pyramid' than I thought there were. The round finally ended after around five minutes. 

"I say...ugh I don't know. I don't have anything to say." 

"Layla loses!" Carina announced. Layla huffed. 

"That was fun." I said. Carina beamed. "I have more games, if you guys would like. Genevieve can pick."

"Sure." Gen said and picked out a card. "It says Name That Song. I am guessing we have to name songs?" 

Carina nodded. "One person says a song lyric, without any emotions or not in a sing-song way, like completely deadpan, and the others have to guess what song it is and who the singer is. The one with the most points in the end wins."

"How many rounds?" Layla asked. "Two songs per person. Since we are five, ten rounds. I'll keep track of everyone's points in this." Carina replied, whipping out a notebook and a pen out of her backpack. "Sounds fun. Since Luca started the last game, Carina can start this one." Amara suggested.

"Okay um I'll start easy...The first  line I choose is: 'It feels like a perfect night, for breakfast at midnight.' Guess the song, and the singer."

I almost laughed at how seriously she said the line. It sounded like a speech she didn't want to make. Layla was the first to guess.

 "22 by Taylor Swift!"

 "Yes!" Carina exclaimed. "One point to Layla. Now, my second line is: 'So watch me bring the fire and set the night alight.' Guess the song, and the singer."

I really laughed this time, but the gears in my brain clicked together quickly. "Dynamite by BTS!" 

"That's right! One point to Luca. Layla, it's your turn to think of two songs."

"Okay...The first line I choose is: 'I will not give you up this time.' Guess the song, and the singer." 

I was dumbstruck on this one, but the same was not the case with Gen. "Perfect by Ed Sheeran!" 

"Correct!"

 "Okay, one point to Genevieve." 

"The second line I choose is: 'Shadows come with the pain that you're running from.' Guess the song, and the singer."

I tried to think of a song with this line, but I couldn't. It was a very random lyric. Apparently Carina didn't think so.

"Where Do Broken Hearts Go by One Direction!"

"That's the one!"

"One point to me! Now it's Amara's turn."

This went on until I was finally on my second song. "For my second lyric, I choose: 'Your silence is my favorite sound.' Guess the song, and the singer."

"You Should See Me in a Crown by Billie Eilish!"

"Yeah!"

"One point for Amara! Okay that's the end."

"Who's the winner?" Layla asked. "It's a tie between Genevieve and Luca. Should we do a tie breaker round?" 

"I'm down." I said. 

"Let's do it." Genevieve agreed. 

"Alright, Amara, Layla and I will discuss and think of a line from a song and whoever guesses the song and singer first wins." Carina told us. 

After some discussion, Carina said, "Okay are you both ready?" 

We nodded. 

"So, the line is: 'Everything keeps us apart, and I'm not the one you were meant to find.' Guess the song, and the singer."

I knew this one, but so did Gen. We both simultaneously said,

"Rewrite The Stars by Zac Efron and Zendaya!" 

We all looked at each other. There was silence for a moment, before we burst out laughing. We laughed for a good few minutes, until everyone started to calm down. 

"Well, I guess we will let it be a tie then." Carina said. 

"Yeah." Layla agreed. "Do we have time to play another game?" I asked. 

Genevieve checked her watch. "We still have at least ten minutes. I suppose we do have time to play another game. But it should be short."

Carina nodded and pulled out a card. "It is...Going on a Picnic! This should be fun." 

"What do we have to do?" Amara asked. 

"It's like a memory game. The first person says: 'I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring...' then says the name of an item. A flower, for example. 

Then the second person says:  'I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a flower and a...' and then add something of their choice.

Each person keeps on adding something to the list, until someone messes up, runs out of things to say, or repeats something that has already been said. It can be a short or long game, depending on your memory power." 

I nodded. 

"Alright, I'll start." Layla offered. 

"Go ahead." Amara said.

"Okay, I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a blanket. Amara, go."

"I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a blanket and a water bottle. Genevieve, go."

"I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a blanket, a water bottle and a phone. Luca, go."

"I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a blanket, a water bottle, a phone and my handsome self. Carina, go."

"Are we going to pretend that was a normal sentence?" She asked, everyone chuckling. 

I smirked. "Pretend? Oh please, you know you agree with me." 

"Yeah sure. Anyways, I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring a blanket, a water bottle, a phone-" She made a face before saying, "-never mind. I'd rather lose." 

"Come on!" I protested.

The girls laughed. Layla reached out and pinched my cheek. I slapped her hand and huffed, crossed my arms and turned to look out the window. 

"Aww, look what you did Layla, you make our baby brother angry." Amara said, to which they laughed even more.

Carina ruffled my hair. I let out a frustrated sigh and gently nudged her. She nudged me back. Soon it was a contest. "Okay you two, stop. We're here." Gen told us. I looked out my window. Outside, our private jet was waiting. Sweet. I opened the car door and scooted out, Carina right behind me.

"This is awesome." She breathed out, standing beside me. I turned to look at her and grinned. 

"Come on." I dragged her towards the plane. When we were inside, Carina looked around in awe. Layla went over to her and slung an arm around her shoulder. 

"Like it?" Carina looked at her and exclaimed, "Like it? I love it!"

"Come on everyone, take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We are about to take off." Genevieve instructed. 

I nodded and took a seat. Carina sat next to me. This time, she was next to the window. 

"Nervous?" I asked, strapping my seatbelt. 

"A little." She admitted. "It's alright." I reassured her, "I was nervous on my first flight too." 

Genevieve was in front of us. "Carina, tesoro, are you alright?"

I frowned, then faced Carina completely. She was going a little pale. 

"Fine." She mumbled. "Just not a fan of heights." 

Gen smiled at her with sympathy. "It will be okay, don't worry." I knew she wasn't reassured by that, but she nodded. I reached out and held her hand. 

She gladly took it and I gave her hand a light squeeze. I heard a clunk sound and my stomach felt like it was dropping. My ears started to hurt and there was a slight turbulence, so I knew we were in the air. I looked over at Carina, who had her eyes shut tightly. She gripped my hand so tightly it almost turned white, but I didn't mind.

I looked up and saw Genevieve's mouth moving. 

Then I remembered. "Keep chewing. It will prevent your ears from blocking." I whispered to Carina. I did the same. A couple minutes later, the turbulence ended and the seatbelt lights went off. 

I unbuckled my seat belt and looked at Carina. Her eyes were still tight shut. "We are okay now. Look out your window." She slowly opened her eyes. 

I gestured her to look through the window. She did. I did too. It was really beautiful. 

"Woah..." She whispered. "I know, right?" I replied.

From the window of the plane the wing engine is semi illuminated, the lower half shining around the rim, the upper half several shades darker. As the plane dips the line between shadow and light moves, and all the while I listen to the hum of the motors, curl up and sleep, listening to the heartbeat of the engine.

I was eight again.

"Luca, please get in quickly." Layla pleaded, but I refused. 

"No! I don't want to." 

"Once we get home, I promise you can eat ice-cream. I'll ask Genevieve to let you." Amara offered.

That bought me. "Okay then."

"Good boy. Now quick, come in!"

I got in the car and the driver closed the door behind me. Before we could get going, I heard a loud screeching of tires and something crashed into us. Everything blacked out.

I opened my eyes in a very strange and unfamiliar room. My siblings surround me. I sat up with a little difficulty and looked around. "What happened? Where are Layla and Amara? Why am I here?"

They explained to me what happened. I looked down, ashamed. "Are Layla and Amara okay?" 

The scene changed.

This time, I was again surrounded by my siblings. But they looked angry. Angry at me. "This is all your fault." Ace shouted at me. I cowered. "I'm sorry." 

"Sorry? Nothing would've happened if you hadn't been stubborn and thrown a fit Luca! Now see what you've done?" Romeo exclaimed. 

I could feel tears streaming down my face. They were right. It was my fault.

I woke up drenched in cold sweat, tears actually on my cheeks. I hadn't had a nightmare for years. Since I had got Coco. Coco. I forgot to bring him. I could feel my heartbeat quickening. As I remembered that day, guilt washed over me again. I looked to my side and Carina was asleep as well. It was already dark outside, so I assumed everyone else was asleep as well.

I wiped my tears and as quietly as I could, trying not to wake Carina, I went over to Genevieve. "Genevie." I whispered, shaking her shoulder. She stirred and opened her eyes slightly. "Luca? What's wrong?" I told her about my nightmare and how I forgot to bring Coco.

She pulled me into a tight hug. "It's alright, Tesoro, you've got nothing to worry about now. Everyone is alright." I tried to keep myself from shaking, but the dream kept playing in my head. 

"Can I stay with you? Please?" I asked in a small voice, after she pulled away. She gave me a soft smile and said, "Of course you can. Just remember, nothing was your fault." I nodded, not trusting my voice anymore. With that I got comfortable, and drifted off to sleep again, knowing Gen was there beside me.

This time though, there were no nightmares.

----------

The next time I woke up, we were almost to our island. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Once my eyes adjusted, I realised it was still night. 

"I see you're awake. Sleep well?" Genevieve asked. She was sitting next to me, reading a book. 

I stretched and nodded. "How about you go wake Carina up? We will land in about half an hour."

"Sure." I replied and went over to Carina. I slightly shook her shoulder. "Carina, wake up. We will be there not long from now." Her eyes slowly opened, and then she shut them quickly. "Gosh, it's bright." She mumbled. I chuckled. "Good morning, sleepyhead. It's the lights. Look outside, it's still dark." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then she stretched. I could totally see how we were twins.

"You were saying we are there?" She asked, still looking sleepy. 

"Almost. Genevieve says we'll land in half an hour." She nodded. 

"Where did you go last night?" She asked suddenly. 

I tensed. "What?" 

"Where did you go last night?" She repeated.

"Nowhere?" It came as a question, rather than a statement. I mentally kicked myself for that. She frowned. "So, you're telling me that, you waking up suddenly, wiping your eyes and heading off to who knows where, was all in my dream?"

I sighed. "I thought you were asleep." 

She shook her head. "I was. But I woke up when you did. Some sort of twin connection I guess. Nightmare?" 

I nodded and told her everything. She listened without interrupting. When I was done, she said, "Luca, I've told you this before, I'm telling you this now, and will tell you this even in future if needed, it wasn't your fault. Believe me." I nodded slowly.

Layla chose that time to approach us. "Hey guys! Excited for the next two days?" The tension broke. 

"Oh yes!" Carina suddenly didn't seem so sleepy. 

"Yeah. But if you guys call me a baby, then no." I replied, which made them both laugh. 

"But you are our baby brother, Luca." Carina said, pinching my cheeks. "Ow!" I complained.

"You should get used to it." Carina said and her and Layla high-fived. 

"What are we celebrating?" Amara asked, popping up behind Layla. 

\Him getting used to this." Carina said and pinched my cheeks again. This time I swatted away her hands. I was sure my cheeks would go permanently red with all that pinching.

Amara laughed. "I agree. He should get used to it." 

"Why?" I whined. 

"Because you are-" 

"Your guys' baby brother I know." I interrupted Amara with a huff. 

Genevieve then walked over to us, to my relief. "Now that you guys are done bullying Luca, you should sit and strap on your seatbelts." 

"Bullying? Come on Genevieve, you know it's love." Layla said, ruffling my hair, for like, the third time since yesterday. 

I raised my eyebrows and asked, "If that's love, then is being mean?" 

They chuckled. "Alright, that's enough, you'll have the entire day to fight, right now, go in your seats and strap on your seatbelts."  Gen instructed. 

We fake saluted her and said, "Yes ma'am!" She shook her head and went back to her seat. Once we all were sat and secure, the plane was ready to land. 

The aircraft hovered and tilted slowly, descending into a Taxi and through the pathway. Below, I could see people directing the airplane, some rushing around to the other vehicles standing nearby and another aircraft taking off. 

The cabin crew told us that we could depart the aircraft and that it had been safely landed. I unbuckled my seatbelt along with the others. 

"Ready to go?" I asked Carina as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

"Oh you bet. I can't wait to be on the ground again." 

I laughed. "Let's go then!"

All of us piled out and breathed in the fresh air. We were told our bags would be sent to where we were staying. All wanted to keep our backpacks with us. We strolled around slowly, making our way to breakfast. This was our place, so there was no disturbance whatsoever.

I couldn't wait for the next two days. 

----------

After a breakfast full of pancakes, waffles and toast and eggs, combined with some nonsense talking, Genevieve told us we could go in the water while she called back home to make sure everything was still in one piece.

We nodded and went to the sand. Amara and Carina started to build a sandcastle, while Layla and I splashed around in the salty water. 

"Come on you two! It's fun here!" Layla tried to get the two to join us. 

"No thanks, I don't want to get wet. And anyways, I have to finish my castle." Carina replied while Amara nodded in agreement.

Layla sighed. 

"I have an idea." I said, smirking. 

"Go on..." 

I told her my plan. 

She returned my smirk. "I like that." 

We went over to the other two, and picked up two buckets to fill them up with water. Then we slowly made our way over to them. Amara and Carina were too engrossed in building their sand castle to notice us standing right behind them. Layla put up her fingers and mouthed the counting.

Three.

Two.

One.

Both of them jumped up screeching as we poured cold sea water on them. I high-fived Layla and we doubled over laughing. Carina gaped at me. Amara shouted, "That was cold! You dumbasses, what were you thinking?" 

Which made me laugh even more.

That might've annoyed those two. 

"You're so gonna pay for this." Carina whispered, and before we knew it, they started chasing us. Layla for some reason thought it was a good idea to stop. 

"Wait!" She exclaimed. 

"It was his idea! I'll help you guys catch him." 

I stopped and stared at her. "Betrayal!" I yelled. 

"But it was your idea, wasn't it?" She retorted. 

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. It was my idea after all. But I couldn't let her win. "But you agreed, didn't you?" 

Amara raised her eyebrows and turned to Layla. "He's right. You did agree to his idea of drenching us in water." 

"Because you guys wouldn't come in the water!"

"I thought we could bring the water to you!" I exclaimed.

"How would that change our minds?" Carina asked 

I shrugged. "Maybe you would see how much of a bore you guys were being." Layla said. That led on to a verbal fight. Layla and me versus Amara and Carina.

"Splashing around in water is childish!"

"But you are a child, Carina!"

"A sixteen year old is not a child!"

"Then who is a child?"

"I don't know Layla, you maybe?"

"I'm nineteen!"

"Then act like one!"

"Maybe you could act your age!"

"That's why Lucas is my favorite brother!"

"Okay stop! That's enough. What are you guys fighting about?" Genevieve stepped in between us. 

"They poured water on us!" Carina complained, pointing at us, while Amara nodded in agreement. 

"Well they wouldn't come in the water with us!" Layla defended and I nodded.

Gen sighed. "That's it? That's what all that screaming was for?" 

"Um, yeah." Amara said.

Genevieve shook her head. "You are all impossible." 

We shrugged simultaneously. 

"Anyways, how are they doing back at home?" Layla asked.

"So far so good. I expected the kitchen to be a mess after breakfast, but it was surprisingly spotless." 

"Probably Lucas." I mumbled. 

"Huh?" 

"Nothing."

"Hey guys, I'm getting thirsty. Should we go back and get something to drink?" Layla asked, which made me realize how parched my throat felt. 

"I agree." Carina said. 

"Yeah I could do with something cool right now." Amara agreed. 

"Me too." I said. 

"Let's go back then." Genevieve suggested smiling a little, as if amused. 

The five of us headed back to get something to drink, the fight long forgotten.

-------

Right now, I was sitting with my sisters in the sand. After a long day of splashing around in the water, running around and having sand-sculpting contests, we were sitting and watching the sunset. Carina was reading a book, Layla was going through her phone and Genevieve and Amara were yet again talking. I sighed.

I was listening to the sound of the waves lapping on the sand. It was really calming. While staring at the sea, I let my thoughts wander off. The thought of how much the others were having compared to us kept coming back to me. I was missing the games this year. But I doubted I would've had this much fun.

The sea's color was a beautiful shade of blue. The sky was a mix of orange, red, and pink, going slightly purple. The sun dipped on the horizon. The stars and the moon were slightly visible now. Waves crashed with the ground and went back, leaving shells and sea foam behind. The air was fresher than it could've ever been in cities, with a hint of humidity and saltiness. It was brilliant. I wished I could see this every day.

I was brought back to earth when Carina tapped my shoulder. "I'm bored. What are you thinking about?" I shook my head. 

"Nothing. Just wondering what they might be doing back at home." She nodded and we went silent for a while, staring at the scenery in front of us. 

"Really pretty, isn't it?" Carina asked, still looking ahead.

"Yeah." I agreed. 

"Hey, I'll be right back."

"Okay?" I said.

She got up and the other girls looked at us to see what was going on. Amara glanced at me with a questioning look on her face. I shrugged. We watched as she went over to her bag, brought something out that looked a lot like a camera and came back to where I was.

 "Maybe we can capture this forever." She said as she knelt down beside me and placed the camera in front of her eyes. She clicked the button and the shutters clicked. "What do you guys think?" She asked, bringing the camera over to show us the picture she had just taken. It was pretty amazing. The sky, the sea and the beach were all there, perfectly aligned.

"Woah...that's really pretty." Layla whispered. 

"You're a good photographer." 

Carina beamed at her. "Thanks." 

"Maybe you could take my pictures for photoshoots when I get worldwide famous!" I said. 

They rolled their eyes and laughed. 

"What? I'm being serious." I said, although a smile was spreading on my face as well.

"As you wish, baby brother." Carina said, as she pinched my nose this time. 

I scrunched up my face and glared at her, which only made her laugh even more. I sighed and flopped onto my back, facing the sky. It was now almost dark blue, mixed with purple and a little bit of pink where the sun once was. The stars were clearly visible. The amount of stars I could see here was way more than I had ever seen back at home.

My sisters laid down on each side of me as well. Carina clicked another picture. Amara raised her finger and connected the stars to form one of the many constellations we could see. 

"That's Libra, right?" "I thought that was Capricorn?" Layla questioned. 

"No, that's Libra." Carina said. "And that one there is Gemini." She continued, pointing at the particular constellation.

"That's Virgo." Gen said, pointing at yet another one. 

"And that's Aires?" Layla asked, pointing at it. 

"Yeah, that's Aires." Carina answered. 

"Can anyone spot the Big Dipper?" Amara asked. 

We all looked at the sky silently for some time. The Big Dipper was the only constellation I was familiar with, but looking for it between so many stars made my head spin. So I started looking for the North Star. I remembered something about the outer two stars of the Big Dipper pointed towards it. If I could find it, I was pretty sure I could find the constellation as well.

"There it is!" I finally exclaimed, pointing at it. Thanks to the North Star. 

"Well done Luca. Yes, that's the Big Dipper." Genevieve said. 

"What do I say, I am quite a genius myself." I said, grinning. 

"Yeah? Name one constellation apart from the zodiacs and the Ursa Major." Carina challenged, which shut me up.

She laughed at my silence. "That's what I thought. Well, that's Draco right there, beside the Big Dipper or Ursa Major, and that one on the right of it is the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor." 

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff?" I asked. 

"Yeah, I like these kinds of things." No one said anything after that. We laid there in a comfortable silence, watching the stars and listening to the sea.

After some time passed, Genevieve finally got up. "It's really dark out here, we should head back inside and have dinner." 

Suddenly I was very hungry. 

"Yeah, let's go. I'm really hungry." Amara said as we mumbled in agreement and got up, following Gen inside for dinner, which was followed by a couple of games of UNO, filled with arguments.

Once the last game was over, we all said our goodnights and went to our respective rooms to sleep. I hoped I didn't get any nightmares today, but after having such a good time, I doubted that would happen. While thinking of the events that took place today, I drifted off to a peaceful, no-nightmare sleep.

Maybe I might thank Liam once we get home.

Shape

The next day I woke up to the sun shining brightly in my eyes. I squinted and got out of my bed. After closing the curtains, I checked the time. It was 8:30 a.m. I went outside my room to see who else was awake.

I saw Gen, Amara and Layla near the breakfast table, drinking coffee. I greeted them with a 'good morning' and decided that I should go wake up Carina.

I slowly opened the door to her room and peaked in. Even though there was sunlight in every nook and cranny of the room, she was fast asleep. She could probably sleep through a zombie apocalypse.

I went back to where the other girls were chatting and got a glass of water. I brought it back to Carina's room and left the door ajar, so that I could run as soon as possible.

I crept up to the other side of the bed and got ready to sprint out of this situation I was about to create. I poured the cold water on her, all at once. She woke up with a short, shrill scream. 

Stupidly, I laughed. Big mistake. She looked over at me. I was pretty sure she hadn't even noticed me until now. I quickly stopped laughing and ran for it, but Carina was quick to follow me.

I had to say, for someone who had just woken up, she was pretty damn fast. I knew she would soon catch up to me. I went to the breakfast table and hid behind Genevieve. 

"Save me!" I shouted. 

My sisters laughed. "What did you do?" Layla asked. 

By that time, Carina was there too. "I was sleeping and he poured water on me!" 

"You did?" Amara questioned. 

"Maybe?" I replied, though I was slightly smirking.

"Why do you do stuff that you know can get you in trouble?" Gen asked. 

I shrugged. "Because it's fun?" 

She sighed. "Just promise you won't do it again." 

"Can't I do something else?" I protested.

"No." Genevieve replied firmly. 

I pouted but mumbled, "I promise I won't do it again." 

"Good. Carina, forgive him this time. If it happens again, though, then I don't know." 

Carina nodded, then glared at me and said, "You better stick to what you promised."

I raised my hands in surrender. 

"Okay, now that we're all awake, let's freshen up and have something to eat? Then we can go to the water." Amara suggested. 

"And after lunch, we're flying back." Layla told Carina and me.

"Alright." I replied and Carina nodded and we both went to our respective rooms. After I had brushed my teeth, I went to get something to eat. Between mouthfuls of waffles, toast and eggs, we talked about the stuff we could do before lunchtime.

After everyone was done, Gen said she would call Ace and tell him that we were coming back today. The rest of us went outside. It was super bright. "You guys wanna collect sea shells?" Carina asked.

 "Sure." 

"Why not?"

"Sounds fun."

Sometime later, Genevieve joined us. Collecting shells slowly became a competition of who could find the weirdest looking one. We found some pretty strange ones. When we thought we had enough, we took the small bags filled with shells inside. 

The sand was very hot, so we went to the damp sand that met with the salty water. We wrote stupid messages on the ground. Really stupid and idiotic stuff.

'I LOVE SEA SIDES' (whatever you say, Layla)

'ACE IS YOUNGER THAN ME' (really Gen?)

'LUCA DROOLS WHEN HE SLEEPS' (okay, I feel attacked, thanks Amara)

'LUCAS IS MY FAVOURITE BROTHER' (excuse me, Carina?)

'I AM BETTER THAN MY BROTHERS' (that was true)

We laughed at our lines. It was silly, but we had fun. Carina then had an idea that we should click some pictures. All of us instantly agreed. 

We did silly poses, some actual good ones and some that happened naturally and were captured at the perfect time. That's how we spent the rest of our afternoon. Splashing around in the water, and building sand castles again. 

But this time, Carina was clicking pictures of everything, sometimes handing her camera over to Gen when she decided to take pictures of her younger siblings. It was all fun and games. Before we knew it, it was lunch time already.

"Come on everyone. Inside now. We have to pack up our belongings as well." Gen said. 

"Yeah, just one second." Carina said as she kneeled down with her camera, facing the sea. She got up and showed us the picture. It had all our writings, the water and the clear sky all at once. 

"Now this is something I will definitely shove in Lucas and Liam's faces." Layla said, clapping Carina on the back. 

Carina grinned and said, "For sure." 

"Now let's get going, shall we?" With that, we headed back for lunch.

Shape

"Come on Luca!" 

"One second! Not my fault no one helped me pack up the UNO cards!"

"Stop complaining! I'll come help you."

Once Carina and I were done, we hurried outside with our backpacks. The others were waiting for us. "Finally. Now, are you guys sure you have everything?" Genevieve asked us. We all nodded, having checked at least three times.

"Okay good. Let's go already, since it's a long flight, and then a one and a half hour drive, we better hurry." We all got into the car which drove to the Airport. 

Home. Here I come.