Chapter 18 - Obnoxious

I am being ambushed in my own bedroom.

I woke up after 10am this morning, which is pretty late for me. I haven't really gotten a good night's sleep ever since Sam died, so it was a bit of a surprise when I startled awake and realized that I must have slept for almost ten hours without interruption.

When we got home last night after the reception, I was so exhausted that all I could do was stumble up the stairs and go straight to bed. I must have instantly fallen asleep, which is the first time in a while.

Lately, I toss and turn for what feels like hours when I am supposed to go to sleep, lying awake and trying to get my mind stop reeling and let me rest. But said rest only comes when Sean lies down next to me and lets me snuggle up to him. He has not yet said a word about me acting so dependent and childish. I wonder how much longer he will tolerate my clinginess before he reminds me that I am too old to want him to sleep in my bed every night.

This morning, I have spent the first half hour of being awake not feeling the least bit enthusiastic about moving, let alone getting up. Encountering any of my brothers after the emotional day yesterday is definitely not at the top of my list of priorities. I was told that, once the memorial is over, things should start to look up a bit, but I doubt that that's the truth.

I still feel very sad.

And I still miss Sam a lot.

It doesn't feel even the tiniest bit different, let alone better.

While I was musing over this, trying to figure out a strategy to somehow get through the day, the door to my bedroom was suddenly pushed open, revealing first Jordan and then Sean. Before I could scold them for not knocking – which is very unlike Sean, so I suspect that he was under Jordan's bad influence – they both walked up to my bed. Sean wordlessly lay down next to me, forcing me to make space for him.

Meanwhile, Jordan marched around to the other side with a few long strides and dropped onto my bed, too, almost crushing me in the process. I barely managed to shuffle out of harm's way in time. And with that I mean that I had to turn unto my side and glue myself to Sean because my bed is definitely not big enough to accommodate three people. Even less so if one of them is some sort of a giant.

"Ouch, what the fu-"

The rest of my outcry is muffled by a hand covering my mouth.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sean tuts patronizingly, but I can hear the amusement in the tone of his voice.

"Good morning, kiddo," Jordan greets me sweetly.

What is going on with them?

"What do you want?" I groan after turning my head and mouth away from Sean's hand.

"Oh, I am fine, thanks very much for asking, sweetheart," my brother quips sarcastically.

Something is definitely up with them.

Am I the only one who doesn't feel any different from yesterday?

Or the days before.

It might have worked just fine for them. I really don't remember when they were last so playful and it confuses me. These past few days have been so depressing, with hardly any laughter or anyone joking around. I have almost forgotten what it is like when people are in a good mood around here. Whenever I find myself laughing, I immediately feel bad about it. Like I shouldn't be having fun so soon after what happened to Sam.

"How are you feeling?" Jordan asks me, appearing to be more serious now.

"Squashed."

Their clearly much brighter moods must be rubbing off on me already.

"We should buy you a bigger bed," Sean suggests.

As if to emphasize the issue, he starts to wriggle obnoxiously, shoving me towards Jordan in order to get more comfortable himself.

"Do you mind?" I complain, pushing him back. "My bed's just fine as it is."

Probably taking this as his cue, now Jordan starts to shuffle around, too, causing the space between him and Sean to become even smaller.

"Hey, stop that!" I squeak.

Somehow, I manage to turn to my other side so that I am now facing Jordan and this time I push him back. At least I try to get him to move away but I fail miserably.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" he laughs.

"You're crushing me, you big oaf!"

Jordan grabs me, lifts me up and then in one swift movement places me down so that my top half is lying on him while my legs get draped over Sean. I am now sort of sideways lying across both of them and he wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tightly against him. My face gets pressed into my brother's chest and I feel Jordan kiss the top of my head.

"Better?" he asks.

I move around a bit, attempting to get more comfortable but give up after a few seconds. As much as I like snuggling with him, I prefer my soft mattress and fluffy pillows over his kind of hard chest. But I certainly won't tell him that. It will only go to his head if I mention anything that could hint at his strength or muscles.

Over the years, living with a bunch of big-headed boys, I have learned not to go there, unless I am prepared to listen to them go on and on about just how great they are. To be fair, not all of them are vain like this, but Jordan is one of those examples who just love to point out their supposed "incredible awesomeness".

At least he smells good, I'll give him that. When he forced my face to be buried in his t-shirt, the scent of his shower gel immediately filled my nostrils. That definitely feels comfortable to me, because it is so familiar and therefore quite nice.

"S'okay," I mutter instead, relaxing slightly in Jordan's hold.

Something tells me that they won't leave me alone, no matter how much I complain or try to make them leave. I'll better safe my energy for battles that I might actually have a chance to win.

"Did you sleep okay?" Sean wants to know.

"Mhhmm," I confirm.

"We got a bit worried when you still weren't up after we got back from our run," he adds.

Sean went running?

It is news to me that he does that kind of thing. When I stayed at his place in Chicago last year, he never went for a morning run, or did any kind of workout, really. He isn't the type, or at least I didn't think he was. I mean, he does play soccer every now and then, or he used to, with his friends. But other than that, I don't consider him to be a very sporty person. I wonder if this is a new habit that he picked up. Or if he was forced into it by his older brothers, which sounds more likely. Although, from what I learned, Jordan isn't that much into running, either, so I wonder why he would have wanted to get Sean into it.

This feels strange.

Then I remember that it is Saturday and a light bulb literally pops up in my mind.

"Did they invite you to their oh-so-secret big brother meeting?" I ask curiously,

"What're you even talking about?" Sean asks confused.

I turn my head and squint at him, which is kind of awkward from the position I'm in.

Is he just pretending to be confused or does he really not know what I am asking?

Recently, I have grown suspicious of pretty much everything my brothers say or do. I never even considered that they could be lying to us about anything, but that has changed completely the moment I found out about Sienna. Now, I question a lot of stuff they do or say.

"I know about those meetings," I inform him, putting some emphasis on the word those.

"What's she on about?" This time, the question is addressed to Jordan, who just laughs.

At least, now I get the feeling that Sean is genuine with his confusion. Still, I drive my elbow into Jordan's ribs because they are conveniently within reach and I don't appreciate him laughing at me. I am not in the mood to be made fun of, even less so first thing in the morning, no matter how late in the day it already is. They are the first people I am talking to since I woke up and I think they should be a bit more considerate of that fact.

Everybody knows that I am not a morning person.

"Stop hitting me," he grunts, tightening his hold on me and trapping my arms against my body, probably to keep me from doing more harm to him.

I huff and throw my head back as good as I can, which only makes him laugh again.

"Stop being annoying then," I snap back at him.

"She's referring to Josh and Alex's Saturday morning meetings at the beach café. The ones I was generously invited to when I moved back here," Jordan explains to our brother, ignoring me.

"Ah, I see."

So Sean does know about those.

"You go there, too, now?" I want to know.

"Not really, no, but I used to be their phone a friend lifeline when I was still in Chicago."

"For the tough cases, you certainly were," Jordan confirms, sounding amused.

I guess that makes sense, sort of, since Sean seems to have an answer or solution for everything when it comes to people's behavior. But hearing them refer to us younger siblings as "tough cases" is a bit upsetting. I didn't think we were that difficult to raise, but maybe I am wrong.

Taking care of so many kids and teens must be a challenge for anybody, let alone a couple of older siblings that never asked to be burdened with that responsibility in the first place. And with all the secrets that have come to light and me rebelling against them lately, too, it must have been even more of a struggle for them in the past few months.

Way to make me feel bad.

"There weren't that many phone calls, bug. Jordan makes it sound way worse than it is," Sean placates me, once again proving that he has a freaky mind-reading ability.

"Okay," I mutter and add even more quietly: "M'sorry."

"What're you even apologizing for?" Jordan questions me.

"There's no reason to be sorry," Sean claims at the same time.

"For making your life more difficult and for being a tough case," I explain quietly.

"Aww, sweetheart, he wasn't talking about you," he quickly assures me.

"You sure about that?" Jordan hums.

What is going on with him?

He is really starting to get on my nerves with his obnoxious comments – not to mention keeping me trapped in his arms with no way for me to get away from these two and their odd mood.

Why are they here again?

I wriggle around, once again trying to free myself from the iron-like hold. When I am unsuccessful, I let out a loud groan, hoping to convey the message that I am not impressed.

"Is something wrong?" Jordan asks all innocent-like.

"There is clearly something wrong with you!" I bite out.

"J, let her go," Sean orders, almost making me laugh.

Like Jordan will ever listen to anyone younger than him. That's kind of an unwritten law in this family. If you're older, you're the boss. I find this a very unfair and stupid rule, obviously. Because it means nobody ever listens to me.

Unless I start crying.

Now, there's a thought...

Surprisingly – and fortunately, too, since this would have been kinda embarrassing – Jordan loosens his hold on me. I quickly scramble to the foot of my bed, putting as much distance between me and the two intruders as I can.

Sean, who has been reaching out towards me, probably to pull me into a hug now that Jordan let go of me, looks a bit offended. I shrug it off and focus on the older one of the two. To emphasize just how unhappy I am about being treated like a rag doll, I exaggeratedly rub my upper arms as I shoot daggers at Jordan with my eyes.

"Isn't our baby sis just the cutest when she's bringing out her own version of the death stare?" he teases me.

Jordan gets even more under my skin when he folds his hands behind his head and looks back at me with the most relaxed expression I have seen on him in a long time. Pulling my foot back, I kick him in the thigh. Hard. I can't help letting out a giggle when he almost topples off my bed, obviously not having expected my retaliation.

Serves you right for coming in here uninvited and being weird!

Unfortunately, almost making him fall off my bed is about all I can manage. In no time, Jordan is chilling out again, looking very comfortable lying there, on my bed.

"Why are you here?" I repeat my earlier question.

"As I said, we wanted to see if you were okay," Sean replies.

"How does that involve hogging my bed?"

"We're exhausted from our morning workout, remember?" Jordan claims.

A horrifying thought enters my mind. Instantly, my eyes scan across their bodies and faces, trying to find any evidence that they haven't been in the shower yet. The last thing I want is gross, sweaty brothers contaminating my bedsheets. I only start to relax when I remember that a couple of minutes ago I actually thought that Jordan smelled nice.

"You did shower, right, before coming here?" I still ask cautiously.

Waiting for confirmation, I look at Sean because he is more likely give me a straight answer. He knows how much I hate to be anywhere near them when they're all dirty and their clothes are soaked with sweat. Actually, all of my brothers know this, which has turned into kind of a problem over the years.

They love to throw their arms around me after games and sports activities just to annoy me. That is the only time when those who don't normally like hugs suddenly become suspiciously affectionate. It's not even funny how often I find myself being chased by these stinky, sticky creatures.

"Of course we did. What do you take us for?" Sean looks kind of offended when he says that.

"Annoying human beings with no manners," I retort with a shrug.

That is when I decide that going to get breakfast is probably my best chance to escape the weirdness, so I start to get off the bed.

"Stop right there. We gotta talk to you," Jordan orders me rather sternly.

I freeze mid-way and slowly turn around to look at him.

"Why?"

"What's that supposed to mean, why? Are we not allowed to talk to you?" he asks sarcastically.

"Not if you order me around, you're not. No," I complain unimpressed.

"May we please talk to you for a second, sweetheart?" Sean asks sweetly, throwing his older brother an exasperated look, which I don't think is because of me but because Jordan is acting so bossy for no reason.

"What about?" I sigh, still rolling my eyes, although Sean has been nothing but kind to me.

Well, apart from when he tried to squash me earlier, of course.

"Sit down," he says and quickly adds: "Please."

I have to admit, he sounds pretty sincere. It probably was a bit unfair that I told him that he has no manners. He is definitely one of the people in the family who show me the most respect.

Hesitantly, I sit back down on the edge of my bed. Part of me is curious to see what they want to talk about but the other part is starting to feel a bit nervous, too. Lately, most of the time when someone announced that they had to talk to me, nothing good came from it.

"So...," Jordan starts, dragging out the o quite a bit, making me think that he is kinda nervous about this, too, which strangely placates me.

"You know that we changed our last name," Sean takes over when older of the two seems to take forever to form a sentence.

I look at them confused.

That is what they want to talk about?

I certainly didn't expect this.

Not that I was expecting anything.

Does this mean that they're finally coming clean about their past?

I highly doubt that, considering that I've been told a million times in the past few months that the time has apparently not come yet where we are allowed to know what is going on with our family. But despite their brushing me off every time I ask, there is always hope that one day, they'll give in.

"Obviously," I state cautiously when nobody continues to say anything.

I phrase it a bit like a question, because I have no idea where this is going, but the awkward silence that has taken hold of my room definitely needs to be broken. So, that is what I came up with, however uncertain it may have sounded.

"And you're just... okay about that? I mean, ehm, yeah... that sounds kind of stupid, of course, but it's umm... kinda surprising, that you're so... cool about it," Sean says rather helplessly.

I stare at him, not quite sure what he wants me to say. It's weird to see him so flustered because he is usually pretty in control of his emotions. Then I remember the other night when Will revealed that we know about this and how shocked and uncomfortable he looked then.

My gaze shifts from Sean to Jordan and I find him looking back at me curiously. Not tense, like I expected, but surprisingly relaxed.

I clear my throat and decide to put them out of their misery.

"I'm not cool about it. Of course I'm not. How could I be? But I am also very tired of asking you guys for answers over and over again and receiving the same reply every time, which is, now is not the right time, Lily," I quote them, trying but not quite achieving to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice. "And you said the other night that you won't tell me about it, so I guess that's where we're at. Not much I can do about, right?"

I have started to fiddle with a loose thread in the corner of my blanket so when I look up, I am met with two faces that both show the exact same expression. One that is an odd mixture of relief, surprise – and pride?

"When did you become so mature?" Jordan mutters under his breath.

I suspect that he didn't want to say that out loud but I heard him anyway. The corners of my mouth twitch slightly when I retort: "While you were busy losing your temper."

Instantly, regret washes over Jordan's features, making me feel a bit bad for calling him out for his recent explosive behavior.

"I know, baby. It got out of hand the other night, with Will. I wish I could tell you what even set me off like this, but I don't really have any explanation for it. You shouldn't have had to see me so angry. I'm sorry," he apologizes.

"There has been a lot going on, J. Everybody has a breaking point and you're close to reaching yours," Sean placates him.

"That's no excuse. We've all been through a lot. But I am the only one showing my frustration so openly. That's definitely not okay. I should know better and, to be honest, I've been trained better than this."

"I did plenty of shouting and accusing people, too," I remind him gently, somehow wanting him to know that he is not alone with emotions running high.

The day at the police station when I told Alex that I hated him is still very fresh in my mind. I was so upset and disappointed. If that is how Jordan feels when stuff happens that is out of his control, I can't really blame him for blowing up.

"Yeah, you were very mad at us on that park bench." Turning towards Sean, he continues: "She was a scary little spitfire, not afraid of letting us know just exactly how she feels."

"It's no secret that there are some hot-headed characters in this family. Looks like our so far sweetest member has inherited those genes, too," Sean chuckles, winking at me.

"I'm not longer the sweetest?" I gasp, exaggeratedly.

"That ship has sailed a while ago, sweetheart," Jordan grins, deliberately emphasizing Sean's well-known nickname for me. "But you're still the cutest, in case that counts."

"And you're the most annoying," I throw back at him.

"Not Aidan?" he teases me.

"He's irritating, you're annoying."

"And the two of you are exhausting," Sean offers his two cents before he gets more serious again.

"Listen, Lily, I am glad that you accept, for now, that we can't tell you about the reasons for our name change. But we, that is Jordan and I, will speak to Alex and Josh about it and we'll see to it that we can have that long overdue talk as soon as possible."

"Alex and Josh don't know that I know?" I ask, surprised by that new piece of information.

I thought they only hadn't brought it up with me yet because we have all been busy getting through Sam's memorial. But it certainly makes more sense that they didn't mention it to me because they don't know. I am not sure if it is okay to feel relieved that this is the case, but I do.

"Not yet, no. We didn't think there was anything to gain from telling them. Alex has enough on his plate as it is. This would only worry him even more. Which brings me to the main purpose of why we wanted to talk to you," Jordan explains.

I look expectantly at him.

"Did you tell anyone else?"

Immediately, my friends spring to my mind. I did tell them yesterday. But I don't think that's what Jordan means.

"I told Aidan," I admit.

"How did he take it?"

"What do you think?" I retort sarcastically.

"He got angry."

"And upset, too. Mainly with me, but not like he normally does, where he's being unreasonable. This time, he was right to get a bit mad at me."

"Why would you say that?" Sean wants to know.

He is giving me one of his intense looks where you can tell that he is analyzing your every move and facial expression to get to the bottom of things. It's unnerving, to say the least.

"Will said it the other night, too. That it is mainly my fault that all these things have come to light. Because I just can't let it go."

"Will was drunk off his ass," Jordan reminds me. "He didn't know what he was saying."

"Oh, he did, trust me," I assure him, even at the risk of exposing what we have done.

I obviously still have no desire to tell Sean and Jordan how we found out all that information, but I will also not pretend that what Will said wasn't the truth. He may have been mean and it sure hurt to hear him say all these things about me being selfish and stuff. But blaming it all on his being drunk doesn't sound very fair, either. He has been very helpful and loyal up to that point and the least I can do is supporting him in return, no matter how much of a low blow his accusations were.

"So how did you find out about that thing with our last name?"

I roll my eyes at Jordan's sneaky question.

Does he think I'm that stupid?

I told him that I am not willing to share as long as they don't tell us things in return.

"Doesn't matter," I reply nonchalantly.

"Umm, excuse me, young lady, it sure does," he insists.

"Leave her alone, J. She has to accept that there are things that we are still keeping to ourselves. I think it's only fair if the same applies to her," Sean intervenes.

And that's why he is one of my favorite brothers!

I send him a grateful look for having my back.

"So, other than Aidan, you didn't tell anyone else?" Jordan goes back to their initial question.

I shake my head no.

"Obviously, that doesn't mean that Jack and Noah don't know yet. Either Will or Aidan could have told them," I point out.

"True," Jordan muses. "I'd say it's a safe bet that everyone knows. So, we better tell the others as soon as possible. They gotta be prepared in case they're confronted with it."

"Agreed," Sean says.

Silence engulfs us as we each get lost in our own thoughts for a bit. Soon, I start to get a bit antsy when the two of them still don't make a move to leave my room. Getting to my feet, I just stand there for a moment, looking at my brothers who are still comfortably lying in my bed.

"I'm gonna get breakfast," I announce.

"Lunch, you mean," Jordan points out, nodding towards the alarm clock that shows the time as 11:24.

"We should do something together. Today, I mean. Go somewhere, relax a bit," Sean rather randomly suggests, sitting up and leaning against the headboard of my bed.

That thought never even crossed my mind. Sure, it is the weekend and sometimes one or two of our older brothers take us out to do some activity – usually once we've done our weekly cleaning chores. But it didn't occur to me that anyone might be up to do any of that while what happened to Sam is still so fresh. I have the feeling that we have sort of been trying to avoid each other and just get on with our own lives or simply hide away in our rooms to minimize the risk of having awkward or painful conversations.

No matter how hard we try to avoid it, whenever I am in one or more of my brothers' company, the topic always ends up being Sam. And as much as I swore to myself to keep his memory alive, I have also noticed that it does help to get a bit distracted every once in a while, too. Obviously, that is easier if you are in the company of other people who can actually do something distract you. It has turned into some kind of a vicious circle.

"What could we do?" I ask curiously.

"I'm up for anything, really. You got any useful ideas?" Sean throws the ball back into my court.

I don't have to think very long about my answer. It's been on my mind ever since our summer vacation started and although I know that it will inevitably remind me of Sam, again, this is what I suggest.

"Go to the beach?"

Instantly, Sean's face brightens.

"That's a wonderful idea! I've been meaning to go ever since I moved back here."

"You do realize that we spent hours on the beach yesterday, right?" Jordan pipes up, looking at us in disbelief.

"Not like that. I mean actually properly going to the beach, to swim and play beach volleyball and have ice cream," I quickly retort, rolling my eyes at his ignorance.

"What she said," Sean agrees and swings his legs over the side of my bed. "What are we waiting for? You in?"

That last part is obviously directed at Jordan, not me.

"You mean, am I up for exposing the masterpiece that is my body to the sun, not to forget to all the hot women there? Count me in!"

I audibly gag and bury my face in my hands before letting out a long suffering groan. I completely forgot how unbearable Jordan can be when it comes to running around in swimming trunks.

"Does he have to come?" I whine, sending Sean a desperate look.

He just laughs at my misery and walks up to me. Throwing his arm around my shoulder, he starts leading me out of my room.

"Don't mind him. We'll just make sure to park him a few miles further down the beach and all will be fine. Or we bring some popcorn, still pretend we don't know him and enjoy the free show of Jordan making an idiot out of himself. Your choice. Either way, it'll do us good and we're gonna have fun, sweetheart," he promises me.

Something tells me that I might end up regretting this suggestion. We should have just sneaked out without telling my third oldest brother. But it's too late now.

And maybe Sean's right, it might be fun.

*******

Coming to the beach turns out to be one of the best ideas I've had in a long time. It feels like a lifetime ago when I last felt carefree and relaxed. Although "inviting" Jordan along is a bit of a challenge for my patience, it is also quite entertaining, just like Sean anticipated.

But the best part is that my friends are here, too.

It was easy to convince my brothers to let Jayden and Gracie tag along, since they have sort of become an extended part of the family years ago. We even picked them up on the way to the beach. They refused to do the same for Finn though, who we asked to tag along as well.

They still seem to have a bit of a problem with him being my friend, which I honestly struggle to understand. I have tried over and over again to make them see that I was the one forcing him to help me run away last year, but they just don't want to hear any of it. It's like they've convinced themselves that he is a bad influence. Which is really stupid.

If anything, I have been a bad influence on him, because all the trouble he got into since we started to be friends is due to my bad decisions, not the other way round. I am pretty sure that he was shipped off to live with his bio dad because of me. So when he told me that he is back, I felt quite relieved that he no longer has to be away from his mom, sister and nephew and live in that strict environment.

Yesterday, he showed us a few photos of his dad's family and their home and while it looks all nice and proper – the opposite of the estate where his mom lives – it also doesn't suit him at all. The funniest thing was seeing Finn in some of the pictures, wearing khakis and polo shirts and with his normally rather messy looking blonde locks smoothed down and stuck to his head. We had a good laugh at that. He could give any private school kids a run for their money, as Jay pointed out.

Anyway, despite my brothers being uncooperative in inviting Finn to come with us, let alone giving him a lift to the beach, he still came. Of course, Jack and Aidan, who both also decided to join us when we asked them, had something to say about that. They were actually pretty rude when he showed up but Sean put an end to their complaining by pointing out that this was a public beach and they couldn't control who was here.

Naturally, that didn't impress them much so when they said he should just go and sit somewhere else, Gracie, Jayden and I simply took our stuff and moved a few yards away from them, too. That also didn't sit well with them but somehow Sean managed to get them to shut up. I have no idea what he threatened them with but it seems to have done the trick because other than giving Finn nasty glares every now and then – and "accidentally" throwing their beach volleyball at him at regular intervals – they've been leaving us in peace.

"It should be illegal to have that kind of body," Anna sighs dreamily.

Gracie giggles at her remark as I let out a long-suffering groan. Jayden pats my shoulder in a silent act of solidarity while Finn just rolls his eyes at her.

We found out right before we left for the beach that Anna has returned from her trip with her family last night when she blew up our friends' group chat with vacation pictures. Apparently, she was forced to leave her phone at home because her mom insisted that they would spend their one-week-trip without being glued to electronics. Something about digital detox, or whatever. It was easy to tell that Anna was not happy about that so she went a bit overboard when she finally got her phone privileges back.

As it turns out, word had meanwhile spread and she already knew about Sam. She was really sweet and sent me a private message, asking if it is okay to call me or if I didn't want to talk. I called her back and she told me how sorry she is about everything and that she is here if I need someone to cheer me up or just to talk.

It made me feel good to know that I have her in my life, too.

Lauren is still travelling with her family and we believe that she doesn't know yet, which is just as well. She is my friend, too, of course, but it is no secret that she can be pretty overbearing. I can't help but think that she'll be overly dramatic about it all, so I am happy to have a bit more time before I have to encounter her. She won't be back for another two weeks and we have agreed not to mention anything about Sam in our group chat.

Anyway, we told Anna that we'll be at the beach this afternoon and she said she would ask if she could join us for a bit to catch up. Her parents then decided that they would make a family day out of it and they arrived about half an hour ago. They are sitting half a mile further up the beach but allowed Anna to spend some time with us.

Which brings us to now and my growing desire to either dunk her in the cold ocean water or bury Jordan in a hole in the sand to make him invisible. She has been gawking at him from afar ever since he came back from swimming, showing off his sun-tanned torso as he strutted to where his duffle bag lies. I don't think I have ever in my life witnessed anyone taking longer to retrieve a pair of Ray Bans and put them on.

To me, it was blatantly obvious that Jordan was also fully aware of all the eyes on him when he literally in slow motion started to pat his chest and stomach dry with a beach towel before taking forever arranging said towel for him to finally install himself on it. Mentally, I willed Jack to throw a handful of sand on him just to bring him back to reality, but then I dismissed that thought because it would have given Jordan a reason to strut back to the ocean and repeat the whole embarrassing show.

I am aware that is a bit petty for me to judge his actions like this. My brother isn't doing anything wrong, as Gracie pointed out to me earlier when I muttered some not so nice things under my breath. If it were any other guy – preferably someone I don't know – I wouldn't even notice him or it wouldn't bother me. But because Jordan is always so full of himself and doesn't even try to hide how vain he really is, it kind of annoys me to watch him do all these unnecessary things. It's like I know his intentions behind his actions and it quite literally grosses me out. Plus, it gets even more unbearable if teenage girls like my friend Anna get all funny about it.

I mean, come on, the guy is in his thirties!

"Are we going in the water now, or what?" Finn asks, changing the topic.

"If he's coming, too...," Anna states slowly, as if she were deep in thought, her eyes still glued to my brother.

Oh. My. God.

Maybe that topic change didn't quite work.

It happens so fast that I almost miss it but just in time, I catch Finn and Jayden exchange a quick look and half a second later they're on their feet.

"I think it's high time someone got to cool off a bit," the older of the two announces as he grabs Anna by the arms and Jayden takes her feet.

She lets out an eardrum-shattering scream and starts to wriggle around in their hold like a worm, but it is to no avail. I never gave it any thought until now but it turns out that the two boys are surprisingly strong because she's definitely making it really hard for them keep hold of her limbs as they carry her the distance to the ocean.

Gracie and I jump to our feet simultaneously and rush after them, unwilling to miss the spectacle from up close. Unfortunately for us, Anna's screaming has attracted pretty much everybody's attention, including that of my brothers.

I have barely made out a presence near me when I am suddenly swept off my feet and thrown over someone's shoulder. My loud shriek easily rivals Anna's.

From the corner of my eye in my upside-down position I spot Gracie being rather forcefully pushed towards the water by Aidan. She fights him to the best of her ability, trying to dig her heals in to throw him off balance. My best friend is quite tall for a girl her age and due to her doing gymnastics she is also very fit, but Aidan easily has the upper hand. The odds are not in her favor even if she isn't as much at the mercy of the boys' superior strength as Anna and I are.

Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to put up a fight against Will as he carries me to the edge of the ocean. I have quickly figured out that he is the cause for me being in this disadvantageous position, the tattoo on his lower back being a dead give-away. And it left me quite literally speechless and unable to do much more than hang there in some kind of trance.

Where did he come from all of a sudden?

He once again was nowhere to be found this morning when Jordan, Sean and I went downstairs for a late breakfast and to find family members interested in joining us to go to the beach. Nobody seemed to know where he was, either, and they didn't appear very bother by it at all.

Technically, I shouldn't either because I am still upset with him for his behavior that night he was drunk. Not to mention because of how he treated Finn at Sam's memorial yesterday.

But now, hanging over his shoulder, I am simply too stunned by his unexpected appearance to do much more than letting him get on with whatever he is about to do. Because a small part inside of me is incredibly happy that he decided to be part of our last minute family outing. This basically never happens without at least a few threats from his older brothers – or a bit of blackmailing on my part.

The yelling from my two friends and the boisterous laughter from the boys fill the air as Will comes to a halt when his feet get in contact with the water. In one swift movement, he pulls me back over his shoulder and I prepare to be chucked into the ocean. Instead, he sort of flips me around until he has my ankles in a firm hold, his fingers painfully wrapped around them. My hair has somehow come lose from its previous messy ponytail – he better have a spare hair tie within reach if he doesn't want to be in even bigger trouble with me! – and is now almost touching the sand as Will dangles me in front of him like some weird pendulum.

"Please don't break your sister," Sean's voice sounds from somewhere close by.

"Sean!" I scream, thinking that help has finally arrived.

I now start to wriggle around, too, and stretch my arms as far as I can go to hopefully touch the soft sand and get some traction to push back against Will's hold. This only elicits a deep laugh from my perpetrator though and he pulls me up a bit further so that I can't reach the ground anymore.

"Will, let me go, you stupid ape!" I yell at him. "Sean, do something! Help me!"

"Nothing I can do here, sweetheart. I'm sorry," he retorts, not sounding very apologetic at all.

"What? Are you for re-... hey!"

I watch helplessly as Sean comes closer to us and grabs my hands. A moment later, I am hanging in between my two brothers like a sack of potatoes as they deliberately swing me back and forth. They move further into water until it comes up to their waists, not in the least bothered by my futile attempts to escape from them.

"On three?" Sean, the traitor, asks.

"Or how about... now!" Will suggests just as my body is at its highest point before coming back down again.

And that's when both of them let got and I sail through the air before crashing into the water. The salty liquid immediately engulfs me completely and within seconds I lose any sense of where is up or down.

Thrashing around, I try to get my bearings and end up bumping into something solid. I flail my hands and finally manage to come up for air only to end up face to face with Aidan, who is wearing an odd expression. It is a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"You almost poked my eye out, you crazy maggot!" he yells at me.

I am about to defend myself but unfortunately for me, Aidan has other ideas. He raises his hands to my head and pushes me back under water before I have a chance to close my mouth again. I swallow what feels like gallons of saltwater and I am a spluttering and coughing mess when my head finally clears the surface again.

Not wanting to be dunked again by my idiot brother, I attempt to move backwards as I am coming up, only to collide once again with another body. I feel hands grabbing me under my armpits, lifting me out of harm's way.

"The not breaking your sister rule goes for you, too, Aid," Sean comments, pulling me into his side.

I reach up to him like I used to do when I was a little kid and with a small smile, he hoists me up onto his hip. I cling to him like he is my lifeline in order to catch my breath, although we are not in very deep water. It is only coming up to right under Sean's chest, which means I could easily stand and keep my head out of the water, I think.

"You okay?" he asks gently, pushing some of the soaking wet hair out of my face.

"I almost drowned!" I complain dramatically, adding a little pout, knowing that this will instantly bring him on my side.

"Yeah, right. Such a freakin' drama queen," Aidan groans. "Maybe you shouldn't go in the water if you're still such a baby."

"I am here involuntarily," I remind him icily. "Somebody..."

I turn my head to see where Will has gone so I can give him a piece of my mind, too, but I can't find him. However, not very far away, I now see Jordan in the water, too, and there is a lot of splashing going on around him while my friends are cheering him on.

"Will is already getting a taste of his own medicine, baby girl, don't you worry," Sean chuckles, nodding his head towards the small crowd I just spotted.

Aidan seems to have noticed the commotion, too, and he quickly rushes towards them. But instead of taking advantage of Will's already precarious situation and getting one over on him, as I would have expected him to do, he motions for Jay and Finn. The three of them gather briefly and then simultaneously jump on Jordan.

It is like watching three toreros wrestle a bucking bull and it takes the help of Will – who has successfully managed to escape Jordan when that very unlikely ally attacked him – to finally submerge my biggest and toughest brother in the ocean.

"Whatcha think? Should we go help him?" Sean asks me.

I don't have to think long about my answer.

"Naw."

After how obnoxious Jordan has been all morning and with his prancing around like a proud stallion on the beach earlier, I think this is a well-deserved punishment. Actually, thinking about it, Sean has gotten off way too lightly so far, too. I make a mental note to come up with a revenge plan with Gracie and Anna. But for now, I decide to play the innocent little sister who is grateful to her knight in shining armor.

"You're right, J's a big boy. He'll figure out how to handle this," Sean agrees.

We continue to stand a few yards away, far enough to not get dragged into it and watch what has turned into a rather epic water battle. It gets even more entertaining when Will suddenly has a change of mind and teams up with Jordan. Within seconds, the three teens at a disadvantage again and after a few unsuccessful tries to get away, they surrender.

Right after my two older brothers have kindly accepted the boys' defeat with smug expressions on their faces, Will just has to antagonize Aidan on more time and pushes him under water again. I burst out laughing at his misfortune.

Thanks, Will, for avenging me!

"That's an interesting way to ask for your forgiveness," Sean muses.

"He's the most reliable one of you guys when it comes to doing the dirty work for me."

I only realize the double meaning of both our words after mine came out. Sean was most likely not only thinking about Will throwing me in the water earlier but also referring to what happened the other night. He has been very clear that he expects our brother to apologize to me for how he treated me. I, on the other hand, know very well that Will has indeed done more than his share of my "dirty work" over the past few months.

I guess that we're more than even now. I can't seriously hold a grudge against someone who has been at my beck and call whenever it was really urgent and necessary. Also, he has gone out of his way to help us figure out what our brothers are hiding. At his own expense and at the very real risk that he is once again going to lose his current job.

"That was so much fun!" Gracie's voice penetrates my thoughts.

"Your brothers are so wild when they get into fight mode," Anna giggles. "What are you doing up there? You can swim, right?"

It is only now that I notice that I am still clinging onto Sean like the baby that Aidan accused me of being. I feel the heat rise into my checks and I quickly untangle my arms from my brother's neck. Thankfully, he must have figured out that this is a bit embarrassing for me in front of my friends and he lets go of me without being annoying about it.

It turns out that the water does come all the way up to my chin when I try to stand, causing Anna and Gracie to laugh at me.

"You know I can swim," I shoot back indignantly, kicking my legs in order to keep my head further out of the water.

"Did you see how Aidan teamed up with Finn just then? I thought they hated each other?" Anna continues to chatter animatedly.

"They had bigger fish to fry, literally, and pushed their rivalry aside for the greater cause," Gracie muses, shrugging her shoulders.

"Talking about fish, your brother would make a hot merman."

I almost choke on my own spit and my head instantly wipes around to find Sean, hoping that he didn't just hear her say that. The incredibly amused expression on his face tells me otherwise. I groan inwardly and curse Jordan in my head.

He just had to come join the water fight, didn't he?

Now we won't hear the end of it.

"Lauren is corrupting you at lightning speed," Gracie remarks, shaking her head.

Our eyes meet and she gives me a sympathetic look. That is why I sometimes prefer to just spend time with my oldest friends, Gracie and Jayden. They are not in the slightest bothered by my family setup and they also don't say weird stuff about my brothers' looks.

Sure, Gracie is probably still planning to marry Alex once she's all grown up, but I think that's cute. And we got used to that narrative over the years because whenever we played house when we were younger, Alex was always her pretend husband that was off earning money for her pretend family.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Anna looks slightly nervous as she asks that.

We all love to tease Lauren whenever she acts man-crazy, which is, like, all the time. And being lumped in with her craziness is definitely not something any of us aim for. Gracie and I quickly assure her that she isn't and Anna looks relieved.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable when I say this stupid stuff. I don't do it on purpose, honestly. I sometimes can't control it and it just slips out," she tells me as we slowly make our way back to the beach.

"It's okay. I know that Jordan can be a bit much," I accept her apology.

I have to be a patient with her. After all, she's not used to hanging out with my family.

"He does do it on purpose and loves it when the girls look at him," Gracie adds.

To emphasize that, she points to where Jordan is standing, clearly bathing in the attention of half the female and probably also some of the male population on this beach.

Anna comes a bit closer and conspiratorially looks around. I assume she wants to make sure that Sean is out of earshot this time before saying what she does next.

"I promise I'll shut up about it after this, but I need to say it out loud just once: Jordan is by far the most attractive out of all of your super-hot brothers. I mean, just look at him."

"Gross," I comment dryly. "I'd rather not."

"You could look at Finn instead. He's not half bad," Gracie says innocently.

Her distraction is successful because it makes Anna immediately jump in on that new topic, much to my annoyance.

"Oh, he definitely has the potential to be super cute, too," she agrees. "But don't worry, Lils, we'll leave him for you. You two are so made for each other. And now that he's back..."

She suggestively wiggles her eyebrows at me and all I can think of to escape this madness is to break out in a jog and run away from them. Their laughter follows me all the way to where our towels are. I throw myself face down on mine and bury my strangely burning cheeks in the scratchy material.

"What's with her?" I hear Jayden ask who I guess is my two friends who have followed me, still giggling.

"We hit the bull's eye," Anna replies mysteriously in a song-song voice.

I feel a foot nudge me, but I ignore whoever it is. If I lift my face off the towel now, everybody will see my flaming hot face and I am not exposing myself to more teasing. I don't even know why I am so embarrassed all of a sudden, but what I do know is that I need a minute to myself.

"Anyone want to get an ice cream?" Will, of all people, asks, literally making me question my life choices.

Why is he over here and since when does he act even remotely sociable?

There is a reason that me and my friends chose to sit a bit away from my brothers. I don't need them to be around when we're having teenage conversations or – potentially more incriminating – tease each other. If you constantly have to think before you speak because someone, namely my curious, we-love-to-involve-ourselves-in-your-life brothers, could overhear something they are not meant to, it is exhausting. I really thought that Will, verifiably the most private of all of my family, would understand the concept of space.

It's not like they can't keep their hawk eyes on me from 50 or 100 yards away.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" now Sean addresses me.

I don't seem to be able to get a break from my annoying siblings today. What I did to deserve that still escapes me.

A shadow falls over my body, that is gradually starting to heat up in the direct sunlight. This must mean that these two nosy people I call my brothers have now completely invaded my privacy by standing right next to me. I groan into my towel.

"Getting time to myself," I eventually reply when I am being nudged by that foot again, but I doubt they understood my mumbling.

It is starting to get harder to breathe and there is sand everywhere, but I am not yet willing to face the world again. I won't, until they leave me alone. The reason for my admittedly somewhat weird behavior is slowly fading to the back of my mind and I think I am now just doing it on principle.

"Hmm, okay? I suggest you put some sun screen on if you keep this up, unless you want to turn into a tomato," Sean offers his well-meaning but completely unnecessary advice.

"Then at least her face will match the rest of her," Jayden teases.

Seriously, whose side is he on?

"And why is her face red?"

Oh god, now Finn gets involved, too. The world must hate me for some reason. I might as well suffocate right now because that will be my fate anyway, if they keep pestering me. There is no way that I am going to face them anytime soon.

And I still don't really understand why I am reacting so weirdly to the girls' teasing in the first place. It's not like we don't make fun of each other all the time when we are together. And they have tried to get me to admit that I have a crush on Finn ever since he and I became friends, so that's kind of old news, anyway.

Maybe I don't mind it as much if he isn't here to witness these embarrassing exchanges. I would prefer not to have to look at him if these situations arise.

For now, I just wish they would let it go, leave me alone and get their freaking ice cream already. Although I still find Will's offer rather suspicious. I don't think he has ever in my life offered to get me an ice cream. Let alone invite my friends along.

"We found out who her crush is," Anna offers generously.

She did not just...?

"Woah, hey, hold on. Come again?"

Go away, Will.

"Your baby sister has a crush and now she's embarrassed about it," Anna reiterates.

Please, ground, swallow me up anytime now.

"It better not be you little freak of nature."

I don't even have to look up to know that Will is currently fixing poor Finn with one of his death glares. Normally, I'd jump to his defense immediately because I find it totally unfair that some of my siblings still treat Finn like he's the worst person on earth. But I restrain myself from doing that now.

It would only make them think the wrong thing. That there might be some truth to these crazy claims, which, obviously, there totally isn't.

"Well, if she does, what can I say? Not my fault that I'm irresistible."

Someone whistles at Finn's cheekiness and bravery in the presence of Will and I can hear a few giggles, too, which clearly come from Gracie and Anna.

"Yeah, I can barely resist kicking your ass."

"Will! Let's stop threatening minors, okay? If you have nothing nice to say, just go away."

Sean, I probably don't tell you often enough that you're my hero and I love you.

"What? Don't make me out to be the bad guy! All I did was wanting to buy my sister an ice cream," Will defends himself. "Nobody warned me that I'd walk straight into the middle of some hormonal pre-teen drama. Excuse me if little kids talking about love weirds me out!"

"It's not love yet, just a little crush."

So not helpful, Gracie!

Sean must have rubbed off on her, having turned out to be the other traitor of the day.

"It could easily turn into more though," Jayden adds unhelpfully.

"We all ship it, that's for sure," Anna says.

"Yeah, what they say," Finn agrees easily.

It hits me that he doesn't even know what this is all about. He must just pretend to go along with it because he is part of our friends group now. I can only hope that he never finds out what they are actually teasing me about. I'd probably die from embarrassment.

"Hey, Lils, you still alive?"

Barely.

That foot nudges me for the third time and I now realize that it has been Jayden all this time. I let out a annoyed groan and finally lift my head.

There is no point in prolonging this unnecessarily because it is pretty clear that they won't leave me alone unless I give them some sort of reaction. It feels like my face is still burning hot, but I guess I have to take the chance and get this over with.

Scrambling onto my knees, I glare at each one of my friends in turn, deliberately ignoring the presence of my brothers, who I can feel hovering right next to me. Actually, from the corner of my eye I can see Sean's legs only a few inches away from me.

Guys have very hairy legs, I realize. Maybe I should ask him why he doesn't shave them. I bet Jordan does... but that hardly counts, I guess.

"We're curious to hear about your crush," Will interrupts my thoughts.

I don't even have to look up at him to know that he's totally feigning interest. The tone of his voice suggests that he would not be supportive at all if I even had a crush.

Which I don't, obviously.

"Aww, look who's blushing again," Jayden teases me.

I make a mental note to reconsider my choice of friends. But before I get a chance to come up with a response, a new voice with an unmistakable British accent joins in.

"Why is it that whenever we meet, you twits are bugging that darling sister of yours?"

Jo?

A/N - I hope you liked this extra long and slightly more light-hearted chapter. Looks like an interesting character from the more recent past is back. Remember Jo? I wonder how Mr. Vain aka Jordan is going to react ;-).

Have a great start to the week!