Blazing Inferno

4. Sooner than expected.

The morning of the weekend was rushed. Not like I expected it to be at all. I liked to be lazy on weekends, especially since I didn't get any extra sleep anyway.

But unfortunately for me, at freaking 8 in the morning, my sister came barging through my door and screamed me awake. My ears are still ringing from the torture. That day I decided. I'm never leaving the door unlocked again.

Angelina and Olivia on the other hand, had no problem waking up so early in the morning. Their enthusiasm matched my sister's and just caused my headache to worsen.

Well, they aren't the ones struggling to sleep everyday, my subconscious snarked back.

My crappy mood continued throughout the ride but they didn't really notice because I was quiet either way. My sister sat on my lap, bounding with excitement every so often. She worked our ears off, talking about how much she loved the ocean.

"Dad!" she suddenly said, pushing herself forward. "Do you remember the time you and mom took us to the beach and a crab got hold of Julie's leg? She screamed her head off that day," she giddily informed my friends. "And Mom had to buy her candy floss to calm her down. Did you know that only candy calms her down? When she's angry or when she's sad, just give her a candy and she'll cheer right up. Like right now! Except I don't have any candy with me," she pouted at me and I ruffled her hair.

"I'm not angry or sad, JoJo," I told her.

"She's just sad she didn't get her beauty sleep," Angelina teased.

But as soon as we reached the beach and stepped out to experience the lovely breeze and simmering water gently washing against our legs, all the grumpiness vanished. Josie was right. The sea was indeed our favorite place. It was the only other thing that managed to calm me down other than candy.

The beach held many memories for me. My mom loved the sea, the water, the waves and just the peace that surrounds the area. She had even requested for a beach wedding though I can imagine how uncomfortable that would have been.

The sun shone down on us, reflecting off the rippling water. The white-washed waves crashed against the shore, spraying us with sea foam. The sky was clear today, the clouds giving way to a beautiful stretch of endless blue.

The beach wasn't very crowded and I was glad for it. Jeanine decided to sunbathe with her favorite book in her hands while my father walked off to get us some beers. Josie tugged on my hand as she pleaded with me to swim in the sea. My friends had already switched into their bikinis and Angelina offered to take Josie into the water with her, giving me time to change out of my camisole.

As soon as I was in my two piece patterned light beige swimsuit, I waded into the cool water. I swum over to where Olivia was floating on the water, looking at the sky with an expression of serenity on her face.

I smirked mischievously, carefully swimming low so she couldn't see me. When she least expected it, I leapt on her, causing her to submerge into the water with a strangled scream.

I laughed, head pushed back as I tucked a few strands behind my ear as she broke though the surface of the water, gasping. The smile was quickly wiped off my face when she started swimming towards me with incredible speed.

Damn it.

I turned over and pushed my hands and legs hard, swimming away from her with a laugh. Angelina had Josie on her hip as they floated around. I quickly made my way over to them and grabbed Josie from her, holding my little sister as a shield to protect me from Olivia.

Josie screamed with elation, laughing hard as I pushed her in the way every time Olivia tried to reach out for me. Olivia tickled her tummy and she hung onto me, gasping with laughter, giving Olivia a wide berth to me.