Chapter 14

"Okay, really, we need to do something fun today. It's my first day home!" Jacob exclaims, tipping the box of Fruity Pebbles over. I immediately grab the box and stand it back up, glaring at him.

"Your first day was yesterday," I say dryly.

"Isn't somebody cranky this morning..." Jacob says.

"Hmm, maybe it was a rude awakening from a beautiful sleep..." I say, continuing our staring contest.

"And did the love of your life laying underneath you have anything to do with that 'beautiful' sleep you didn't want me to interrupt?" Jacob asks with a smirk.

"I... What... I-I... N-no!" I don't even have to ask if my cheeks are red. I know they're burning.

"Denial."

"Sh-shut up!" I groan.

Then I shovel bites of cereal into my mouth angrily. My hand doesn't stop scooping and my mouth doesn't stop chewing. My cheeks are full of food, yet I am about to fit another spoonful into my mouth. Then my eyes flicker up to see that everyone is sitting there watching me. I suddenly feel very self conscious. So, like any logical person, I attempt to swallow the whole bite in one gulp. And that causes me to start choking. And I spit a bunch of the chewed cereal onto my spoon.

Jacob howls with laughter and leans over the table, wiping tears from his eyes. Ray is chuckling and shaking his head. And Sierra looks utterly disgusted.

I immediately drop the spoon into my bowl and wipe my face, standing up. I bring the bowl to the sink and rinse it out.

"Can we do something, though?" Jacob asks, as I walk back to the table of people who have now collected themselves.

"If you can think of something with that minuscule brain of yours," I reply flatly.

"Thanks. What a supportive sister."

"Anytime."

Sierra clears her throat. "How about we go to that amusement park?"

"Ninja Fun Place? I love it there! Oh my gosh! Yes!" Jacob exclaims.

"Alright, lets go there," Ray says, smiling as always. "I'm all for it."

"Fine. If I get no say in this, I suppose I'm being dragged there," I say.

"Cheer up, it's going to be fun!" Ray says, wrapping his arms around me.

By the time the shock goes away, I'm already let go of. I can't help but feel disappointed at the shortness of the embrace...

I slap my face, scolding myself about having those thoughts.

"Jordan, why on earth did you just smack yourself?" Jacob asks, looking amused.

I open my mouth to answer, yet none comes out. And I am not planning on answering.

"Why did I ever end up with such a strange sister?" Jacob asks, shaking his head.

**********************************

The four of us stand in line, waiting to pay for admission into Ninja Fun Place. Where my real family lives. I can say hi.

"Next."

We all step up, an I pull out my wallet. I grab two twenties out and am about to hand it over to the woman, but it's grabbed out of my hands from someone else. Then I see Ray is handing over enough for the two of us.

"Two admissions, please," he says, smiling. Then he hands me back my money and I frown at him.

"I could've paid for myself, you know," I explain, frowning at him.

He shakes his head, leading me towards the entrance behind Sierra and Jacob. "I wanted to. Now stop complaining and enjoy yourself."

"Fine," I agree with a huff.

As much as I don't want to admit it to these annoying savages, I am really terrified to be here. It's really one of my least favorite places on earth. I have a phobia of roller coasters.

"Oh, lets go on that one!" Sierra squeals, pointing towards a huge roller coaster with so many loops that just looking at it makes me feel queasy.

"No-"

"Yes! Lets go, that looks so awesome!" Ray says before grabbing my hand and dragging me along beside him.

After a good hour long line of waiting and arguing about not getting on the thing, I am now buckled into a cart with Ray beside me. He smirks at me and I give him an empty stare. Nothing could ever prepare me for this horror in front of me.

And we're moving. Once at the top of a huge slope, the ride whips downwards, effectively giving me whiplash. It loops around and I scream, becoming dizzy. Then I'm thrown to the side again and again and again. And upside down another three times before the blasted ride comes to a halt.

I let out a shaky breath and turn to Ray who has an enormous grin on his face. I stand up on my weak legs and exit through the designated gate. Ray laughs and catches up to me.

"That was great, huh?" He says. "Your screaming tells it all."

My face flushes and I scowl. "I wasn't screaming," I deny.

"Uh huh..."

"I wasn't!" I snap.

"Alright. I guess there was magically someone else who sounds exactly like you screaming in our two person cart," Ray says, leading me towards Sierra and Jacob who are now eating ice cream cones since they got on the ride way before us.

"Shut up, you jerk," I tell Ray.

He just chuckles. Jacob and Sierra look at us, confused, but keep their mouths shut.

After about five hours of being forced to get on plenty of terrifying rides, we settle down in the shade of one of the few huge trees here at the park. I absentmindedly rip grass out of the ground and tie knots in it.

"Man, I'm really worn out," Jacob says.

"Yeah, same," Sierra agrees, sighing.

"Can we go home now?" I ask.

"Someone's eager to get back to their lazy self," Jacob teases.

I glare at him.

************************************

We end up back home about thirty minutes later, due to my request. The ride home was silent. I suppose a day at an amusement park really does take a toll on people.

"I should probably get going home," Ray sighs.

Wait, if he leaves, then I am surely going to have to deal with teasing from Jacob all night. And there is no way that's going to happen.

"No!" I say, too quickly. I see Sierra smirk knowingly. "Uh... Can I at least come with you?"

He looks a little surprised by my offer but nods his head. "Why not."

We leave both the others standing behind us, whispering to each other. Sierra's laughs fill the room before I shut the front door. Ray opens the door for me and waits for me to get in before closing it. He proceeds to the drivers side and starts the car.

As always, he turns on the radio. And he changes the channel. And then before it can even get to ten seconds in it, he switches to another. Then another. And again.

I slap his hand away from the radio.

"Seriously, make up your mind!" I tell him, randomly choosing a station.

"Why were you so eager to come with me?" Ray asks suddenly, still watching the road.

"I don't want to deal with those... those.... uh..." I fail to think of an insulting name to describe Sierra and Jacob, yet I fail miserably.

Ray smiles at me for a moment before the light we're almost at turns red. Then he slams on the breaks, throwing me forward, but my seatbelt is held in place, successfully knocking the wind out of me.

"Ah, sorry about that..." Ray says, scratching the back of his head. "You alright?"

"Never been better," I manage to get out smoothly.

"We're here," Ray says, pulling into the driveway of his house.

I give him a blank look. "I'm not blind."

"Hmm, maybe Jacob and Sierra were right. You're pretty grumpy aren't you? Maybe I should just take you home..." Ray says, attempting to keep a sly smirk off his face.

In reply I get out of the car and walk up to the front porch. Without even knocking, I throw the door open and walk inside. I take off my shoes and begin up the stairs.

Until I feel arms wrap around me from behind. I'm lifted off my feet and thrown over a shoulder. I let out a screech from surprise, and look back to see Ray holding me.

"Who said you were invited into my home?" He asks.

"I did. Now let me down, you worthless Sasquatch."

And with that, Ray runs off with me still in his arms. I squeal and attempt to get out of his grasp, but it is too strong. I start hitting his back with my hands and kicking, in attempts of getting him to drop me.

Suddenly I am let go of, and sent flying. I let out a straggled scream and brace myself to come into contact with tile floors. Only, I don't. Instead, I come into contact with a soft material. I look down to find that I've been tossed onto his bed.

Ray is standing above me, grinning. I scowl at him, but then my smile breaks through and I let out a laugh.

"You're a jerk," I tell him, crossing my arms.

"I'm the jerk?" He asks, eyebrows raised.

I nod in reply.

"I'm not the one who demanded to come to my home, then entered without permission. Terrible manners," he says, shaking his head.

"It's not my fault that I have my brother as an example," I say with a sigh.

"Fair enough."

"Can I get some water?" I ask, getting up.

"Oh, and now you're demanding me to get you some of my favorite drink?" He scoffs mockingly.

"Hey, you should be grateful I'm making myself at home here," I explain before walking myself down to his kitchen.

After hydrating myself, I place my cup on the counter. The sun from the window shines on my face. I look outside, squinting.

"Hey, Ray!" I call.

"What do you want?" I hear him call from his bedroom.

"Oh, how friendly," I comment. "How come I haven't ever been in your backyard?"

All I get is silence in return. So, I open the back door and step into the yard. Through the bright sunlight, I find a long yard filled with thick grass. I follow a stone path to a swing set. Why he still has one as an only child beats me. I sit down on a swing, though, and examine the rest of the yard. Across from me is an outdoor lounge area with a fire pit and grill next to it. The whole yard has trees surrounding it.

A tree near me has a ladder connected to it. I look up at where it leads to. It's a tree house that was obviously made by hand. My curiosity gets the best of me and I begin to climb the ladder. The bars creak beneath me, until I reach the top.

I open the door and climb through. Brushing off my jeans, I take in my surroundings. There is a bulletin board with numerous drawings made by a child. Assumably Ray's. There is a cot with a blue blanket on top of it, also holding a little teddy bear with a green bow around its neck. Beside the cot is a box of toys. None of which seem to be a little boys. There are dolls and stuffed animals and coloring books. It's hard to picture Ray coming up here as a kid, playing with stuffed animals and dolls.

"It's not mine." I turn around at the voice. Ray is now behind me, looking around at the small space. His eyes hold a painful expression and it make me want to comfort him, never having seen him look like this.

"It's not?" I ask quietly.

He takes a deep breath and finally he looks at me. I can see tears brimming them. I immediately regret coming up here. If I hadn't kept my nosy self away, he wouldn't have to talk about this obviously difficult subject.

"I'm sorry, Ray. We can go. I shouldn't have come up here," I say, dropping my eyes and heading towards the exit.

"No," Ray says quietly. "You deserve to know."

I stop and face him. He is standing above the cot. He picks up the small bear and looks at it. A single tear falls down his face.

"I had a sister," he begins. "Her name was Charlotte. I was ten at the time. She was the family's sweetheart. She was lovable and sweet and as close to perfect as a kid can get. On her fifth birthday, I insisted on getting her the perfect gift."

He sucks in a sharp breath. His eyes are still trained on the bear. "I continuously bothered my dad about making a tree house. It seemed to be the most wonderful gift for her at the time. After a lot of begging, my dad finally said I could begin building the tree house with him.

"It took a long time, but we continuously worked because we knew she would love it. On her birthday she was absolutely ecstatic. I helped her bring some of her favorite toys in here, and it easily became our favorite hang out area. But one day... I was there babysitting her. I didn't keep track of her, I was taking a nap. And I heard a scream."

I gasp and feel my own eyes well up with tears. Ray's face is streaked with tears. "She had fallen off the ladder, Jordan. And it was my fault for not watching her. When I came outside there was so much blood..."

I walk over to him and bring him into my arms. I stroke his back carefully and close my eyes. I can't even imagine something as terrible as this happening. It's amazing to me that he can be positive even when something terrible like this happened. He is stronger than I have ever thought.

I continue to hold him there, for a long time. I don't release him. He lays his head on my shoulder and I lean my own against it. I feel his breaths against my ear.

"I practically killed my own sister," the whisper is so quiet that it is barely heard.