The Inevitable Us

Four

| four |

The inside of Carter's black Jeep Wrangler was sweltering hot, and I burned myself on the tongue of the seat belt a minimum of four times.

I climbed ungracefully into the passenger side with a disgruntled noise, slamming the door shut behind me. My hands raced to turn the air conditioner on full blast. "Why don't you just take the stupid things out?"

"The doors?" he asked. At my nod he explained vaguely, "Haven't had the time."

"You work with cars, but you can't take out your own doors?"

"I never said I couldn't, munchkin. I just don't have time." The car started with a lazy purr, and he glanced at our brothers in the rear view mirror. "Everyone buckled up?"

Wyatt was staring longingly out the window, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else than stuck in a humid car with the rest of us. Sitting in a booster seat next to him and swinging his legs wildly with excitement was Owen. His bright grin displayed a couple of empty spaces where teeth used to be. He was the only one who was ever enthusiastic about what our parents referred to as "Sibling Bonding Night."

It was an old tradition for them to leave Carter in charge every Monday night and kick us out to do something together. Now that he was here to visit, they decided it was time to start it back up again. Though I sensed that this was more of a "Mom and Dad Bonding Night" than it was for us now that they had the house to themselves.

Ew.

"What are we doing? Are we going bowling? I love bowling, but last time I hit someone with the ball because—"

Carter cut off the seven-year-old's rambling with a smirk. "We aren't going bowling, buddy."

His face fell for a total of three seconds before he piped up again, "Are we going to the park, then? I love going to the park, but last time I pushed someone off the slide because—"

"Owen. You need to relax, bud," Carter told him. Despite his words, he was smiling when he pulled onto the street. "You'll see when we get there."

We drove in what would have been comfortable silence if not for the low hum of the radio and the occasional jabbering of our youngest brother. It would have been like every other bonding trip if it wasn't for Wyatt sulking. I knew better than to ask, but his silence concerned me. So I craned my neck to see him around the back of my seat. "You're awfully quiet back there, kid. Everything OK?"

He barely looked at me, mumbling something about being tired. The skin under his eyes was stained with insufficient sleep. Carter and I shared a worried glance. We all thought his bad moods would go away as time went on, though they only seemed to be getting worse.

I nodded slowly, not wanting to pry too much, and faced forward once again. For the rest of the ride, the quiet between us was tense. Until we pulled into the parking lot of a miniature golf course and Owen started kicking our seats in unrestrained delight. He pretty much got excited about everything. The only times he didn't smile were when you forced him to eat his vegetables or yelled at him for doing something wrong—which was rare.

Exiting the car and its stale but cold air was like walking straight into a wall of heat. I groaned, not exactly a huge fan of the extreme humidity. I could already feel my hair sticking to the back of my neck. I glared at the back of Carter's head as he strode ahead of us, somehow unaffected by the sticky Florida weather. I may have lived there my whole life, but I didn't think I'd ever get used to it.

The neon letters on the sign read Fantasy Lan (the d in land had fallen off and was lying on the side of the road) and were flickering in an unnatural way. The building itself looked run-down and abandoned. A section of the roof was slightly caved in, and there were dead vines snaking up the walls. I eyed it hesitantly. Of all the places he could have taken us, he decided on this? I was fairly certain I had seen this same location in countless horror movies. Wyatt looked just as creeped out as I was.

Carter swaggered up to the window with a knowing smirk and knocked loudly on it. After a long moment, a girl around his age with flamethrower-red hair and a lip piercing appeared. Her face lit up at the sight of him, though she tried to hide it. "Carter?"

"Erin?" An exaggerated expression of surprise crossed his face. I raised my eyebrows. "I didn't know you were working tonight."

Lies, I thought to myself. I was totally going to kick his butt for this later. One glance at Wyatt told me he was thinking the same thing.

Erin glanced around uncertainly. Her gaze landed on us, then flicked to the idle clock above my older brother's head. "Oh. Are you guys here to play mini golf?"

Before he could change the topic and keep us standing there all night, I answered, "Yep. Four of us."

Erin nodded and retreated to get our equipment, looking a little disappointed, while Carter just glared at me like I had tap-danced on his dreams and thrown the scraps over his head like confetti. "Was that really necessary?"

"Your show was a little too predictable for my taste," I replied, patting him on the shoulder. "And I can't believe you brought us here so you could flirt with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he said. At my doubtful look, his eyes brightened with hope. "Why? Does it seem like she's into me?"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the window just as the girl emerged, handing out colorful rubber golf putters and a score card. She lingered by my brother for a moment too long, and I pitched in unhelpfully, "Thanks. We'll just be over there. Playing golf."

She gave us a tight-lipped smile and disappeared back into her shack. As soon as she was gone, Carter shot me daggers with his eyes. "Do you want me to die alone?"

"No, I want you to face the karma that comes with taking us to a deserted children's golf course to hang out with your lady friend," I said in an amused tone. Owen took off towards the start as fast as his little legs would carry him, and we all trailed behind him.

The first hole was the most simple one, only having to hit the ball a few feet away from the tee mat. It was accompanied by a large wooden unicorn which looked like it had been there for centuries.

Most of us seemed to wish we were anywhere else but here. On the other hand, however, our youngest brother was having the time of his life. He was giggling as he tried to climb up the unicorn, his smile only faltering when its tail came off in his grasp. He immediately tossed it into a bush on the side and gazed up at us innocently. "It wasn't me."

I grinned, but before I could speak, the sound of laughter made us pause. I turned to the source, only to curse and whirl away. Because leaning against the fence of the batting cages next door were a handful of boys that went to my school. The only two I knew by name were standing the closest to us. Luca—in his usual ripped jeans—and Jayden, his face shadowed by a helmet as he hit every ball with perfect accuracy.

Carter met my wide-eyed look with one of his own. He mouthed, Ezra? I shook my head, and he relaxed slightly.

He didn't seem to be over there, but it didn't change the fact that this was a mortifying situation. I had never been one to care too much about what others thought of me. But a bunch of jocks making fun of me for the rest of my life because they saw me mini golfing at Fantasy Land?

I did have some pride.

"They cannot see me here," I hissed at my oldest brother. A look of understanding crossed his face and he smiled.

"Aw, is little Juliana embarrassed?" He dropped his putter and put me in a headlock, ruffling my hair irritatingly.

I kicked him hard in the shin, but he just laughed. Loudly enough to draw the attention of Luca, who was at the back of the pack. The rest of his friends were already heading towards the exit. I saw recognition flash in his eyes when they locked on mine.

"I'm going to kill you for this," I told my brother plainly. Though to my complete surprise, Luca took in the scene with a smile. He even lifted his hand in a small wave that had my head spinning before turning to follow his friends. "Huh."

"See that, munchkin?" Carter picked up his neon green putter so he could take his turn. "The world's not out to get you after all."