We were never meant to be

Chapter thirty-five

Kayla
"Ohoo, I'm excited!" Ryan says, while we wait for Kony and Annie to arrive. "I have a good feeling about this." He's hoping from one foot to another, like he's jogging in place. He's so full of energy, I love him.
"Is he always this...jumpy?" I hear Addie asking Aaron behind me.
"This is the bare minimum. He's not even trying now. You know he's the male version of your sister." Aaron replies to him and realization dawns on Addie.
"Ah, that makes a lot of sense now. Thanks for clearing that up." Addie says.
"Anytime man." I shoot them both a glare. How dare they judge us?
"So Addie," Ryan says out of nowhere. I love how random he is. "I heard you play video games. That true?" Addie looks at him and just nods. Jeez bro, try to talk more with the people, it wouldn't hurt you. He's so quiet, chill, reminds me of Aaron. "Supeer." Ryan drags the e making the word sound like french.
"Well since, Little Shit and K will leave for Boston in a week, how about I come play with you. Or you can come at my house. I have an apartment. I live alone. It'll be cool. Just the two of us hanging, playing, you know chill. Eat some junk. What do you say?" Addie looks at him astonished, while I am pretty sure a tear just slipped my eye. What did I do to deserve these two brothers?
"Yeah." Addie clears his throat. "I'd like that." He says and just smiles a bit at him. My baby brother.
I look at Aaron and see him silently thanking and appreciating Ryan. He knows he won't be around to play with Addie, so he immediately acknowledges the goodness Ryan did.
"Great! We'll set dates and places later." Ryan replies back and Addie just nods.
"Is that who I think it is?!" I hear Annie's voice behind me. Everyone turns to look at them.
"Yes! It's me your be-''
"Aaron freaking Andrews!" Annie cuts me off. I gasp.
"You forgot me that fast!" I pout and Annie just shushes me.
"I need to examine him. Shut up."
"You know how she is about these. She will stare at him for the next 15 minutes, meanwhile I would love to hug my best friend whom I didn't miss at all." Kony says behind her and I just laugh, moving to hug her. We stay like that for like a whole minute. Neither of us letting go.
"I didn't miss you too." I say back and I can feel her smiling.
"Good." We step back only to find Annie still staring at Aaron. She's creepy like that.
"Kony, Annie this is Aaron and this" I point at Ryan. "Is his brother Ryan aka BB."
"And I'm Addie, thanks for the introduction." Addie jokes.
"Shut up bimbo." Annie says to him never taking her eyes off Aaron. I'm starting to think he'll creep out, but he just stares right back at her, all relaxed. As if he could do this all day.
"Already betrayed me for a BB." Kony shakes her head unsatisfied.
"Hiii, I'm the BB." Ryan steps forward and smiles at Kony and Annie. He approaches Annie first. Bad idea dude, she's having a starting contest with Aaron.
"I wouldn't do that man." Addie whispers to Ryan and I'm barely holding in my laugh. "She might just eat you alive. She lives to win, this one." He points at Annie.
"If you call me this one again, I'll chop that pointing finger of yours and feed it to the sharks." Annie barks at Addie without taking her eyes off Aaron.
"Got it." Ryan swallows, amusement in his face. "Alright then. Kony." He looks at her. "I have a question for you." This is going to be fun. Kony just looks back at him. Interest in her face. "Pizza or chocolate?" Ryan asks the famous question, but Kony doesn't miss a beat.
"Sushi or pasta?" She asks and Ryan is shocked beyond words. By the look on his face, I don't think someone has ever answered his question with another question.
"What?" Ryan mumbles.
"Meat or fish?" Kony keeps going on.
"Pie or cake?" I think Ryan understood the game now.
"Cookies or candies?"
"Tacos or burgers?"
"Hot dogs or donuts?"
"I think I like you." Ryan blurts out.
"What?!" Both me and Kony shout.
"What?!" Addie joins us. Annie and Aaron, quiet, into their own world.
"What?!" Ryan says back. "I meant I like your thinking." He explains way too fast.
"Okay." Kony says. I think she blushed a little. What is going on?
"Ha! I beat you!" Annie startles us from behind and we turn back to find both Aaron and Annie rubbing their both dried eyes now. "I like him. He doesn't back from a challenge and he's hot." Annie says nonchalant, while I start laughing at her bluntness.
"She's good at this." Aaron says. "I always win the staring thing."
"Not this time." Annie says, way too pleased with herself.
"We'll do a rematch." Aaron says.
"Anytime pretty boy." I swear she appears so small and innocent, until you see the mischief behind her.
"So Annie," Ryan says looking at her. "I have a question for you." Annie just looks at him. "Pizza or chocolate?" Silence everywhere. Annie stares at him saying nothing. After what feels like an hour Ryan speaks again. "You're not gonna answer are you?" Annie just stares back, bored. "That's what I thought." Ryan mumbles.
"These are very different outcomes from what I expected you two would answer." He says and I just smile. Leave it to the Carters sisters to surprise you.
"If it's any consolation man," Addie starts saying. "I'd choose pizza." He says and Ryan just smiles.
"It's not. It's a wrong answer. But thanks for trying man. Appreciate it." Ryan tells him. Aaron just pats Addie in the back.
"So anyone hungry or is it just me?" I say all smiley and Aaron groans.
"Thank you cheesecakes!"
***
"No, no, no don't." I say to Kony. "That is not a story to tell." It's useless I know, but I have to try.
"You know nothing will stop me from saying this. Don't waste your breath." She says all confident.
"Cheesecakes please. I need to know. It's only fair after all the embarrassing stories you know about me." Aaron tells me and I scoff.
"It's not embarrassing, this story is humiliating. This story is I-want-to-open-up-a-hole-and-die-in-there kind of story." Aaron just flashes me his teeth, smiling.
"Even better." And then he winks. "Please do continue Kony." He tells her. I look at Ryan for help, but he's looking at Kony so intensely, he doesn't even notice me waving at him. Huh, what's up with BB today?
"So, it was summer. Kayla was 14 along with Aaron. I was 17, Naomi 18, Annie 11 and Addie 10. It was our last happy summer together, when things were still good." I just nod. A lump forming on my throat.
"Yeah, I haven't had a good summer in forever." I joke, but no one is laughing. I think that sounded too depressing. "Okay moving on. Kony?"
"Right. All of our families had decided that we were going to spend the day at this beautiful public pool. It had sea water. We woke up early, car rides, you know classic American vacation." Kony says and they both nod, very caught up in the story. "Now Kayla here, doesn't like to sunbathe. She hates the heat and likes to stay in the shadows. But somehow Naomi convinced her that it's gonna be fun and they'll have this beautiful tan on their skin. The dresses and summer clothes will look beautiful on them."
"Kayla hates having a tan, despises it." Annie cuts in and both Aaron and Ryan look at me in shock. I just nod.
"I hate it. I have no idea why girls go crazy about it. Never got the fuss." I confirm and they're just more shocked.
"Yeah anyway," Kony continues. "that day, both her and Naomi had talked our ears off about how they're going to get tans and Kayla finally will fall in love with it, like every other girl."
"We even bought three different kinds of sun-oil. Coconut, vanilla and macadamia. My favorites." I say and Annie nods.
"Point is," Kony cuts in. "that they wouldn't shut up about it and Aaron being a guy and not wanting to hear any of it, did something about it." Kony says smirking, probably remembering the next part.
"Kayla and Aaron had this game they played every time they were near water. And when I say every time, I mean every time. Even on winter. On the sea, oceans, pools, lakes, rivers, ponds, at the sink, water from the shower, everywhere. They used to get in trouble all the time because of it. They would play the game in winter, get sick and then get detention." Annie adds and Addie chuckles, probably recalling our games.
"The game was that one of them would splash the other with water and they would keep going back and forth until, one of them would yell 'deditionem'. Once the word was shouted the game was over and the other opponent would win." Addie explains.
"Wait, what does dedidnonm mean?" Ryan asks and I laugh at his mispronunciation.
"Deditionem is the latin word for surrender." Aaron explains and I'm shocked. One quick look at my friends confirms they're just as speechless as I am. Ryan just nods mouthing 'Aah' completely unfazed with Aaron's knowledge.
Aaron is just staying so relaxed, completely unaware of the effect that his answer had. Always so smooth. He looks up only to find us at loss for words.
"What?" He asks, completely ignorant of the situation.
"Aaron," I start. "do you just know random words in latin?" I ask and realization dawns on him.
"Ohh, no. I just like to study latin on my free time. Mostly medical phrases, I used to dream about being a doctor, when I was a kid. But since I can't, I just check them out on my free time. They intrigue me." He says nonchalant. As if he didn't just explain that he's unreasonably smart.
"You're amazing." I whisper loudly.
"What?! I'm not." He says shaking his head. "You knew the word too." He tells me.
"That's because I googled it with Aaron, when we were like six and invented the game, only to sound cooler. Not because we actually know latin." I reply.
"Yes, but I don't know latin either, just some few words." He says back.
"Okay fine. How do you say 'regret' in latin?" I ask and he just scoffs.
"Paenitet." He says. "But that's not fair, because I saw a song in latin once and it had the word in it."
"Fine. How do you say 'guilt' ?" He just stares hard at me.
"Delictum." He mumbles angrily and Annie whistles loudly.
"The guy's a genius." She looks at me. "You're lucky."
"Look I don't know that many words, you just happened to ask me the words that I know. For example I don't know how you say....anachronism in latin." He says and we're all laughing so much now. The story forgotten, thankfully. "What?" Aaron asks in frustration.
"Dude, I don't even know that word in English, let alone latin." Addie says drying tears from his eyes.
"Whatever." Aaron mumbles.
"I told you K. He's freakishly smart." Ryan says and I nod, still laughing.
"You were right." I say to him.
"Okay, okay, fine. I know some more words. Now can we go back to the story. We completely forgot about it." Aaron says in annoyance. Well here goes the hope that the story won't continue.
"Yeah okay." Kony says recovering from her laughter. "He's funny too." She looks at me and I just nod grinning.
"Kony." Aaron says with that firm voice of his and Kony just tries not to burst laughing again.
"Fine, fine. So where we?" She asks and then let's out a simple sound, remembering it. Ryan just shifts in his seat. What's up with this dude today? He's not being the funny, dummy guy. "The game, right. So anyway, we went to the pool. Had a great day. Kayla and Naomi after a lot of tries finally got their quiet, to tan peacefully. Or so they thought. Aaron had other intentions."
"I was laying at the sun-lounge. Not bothering anyone. My eyes closed. Now Aaron comes, creeps up on me and throws me a big bucket of water." I say, Aaron and Ryan start laughing. "Let me describe the scene for you. I had three kinds of oil on me. Sunglasses on, an open book on my stomach and my phone was on the sun-lounge next to me." Annie takes over.
"The sunglasses were ruined. She was all slippery from the mix of oil and water, the book was also ruined and the phone was almost ruined. Aaron was lucky for the latter." Annie says, amusement all over her face.
"Now imagine my fury, when I realized all of this." I tell them.
"Oh I can imagine." Aaron teases.
"Shut up." I say, he just throws me a kiss. I have the audacity to blush.
"The smart-ass," Kony continues, capturing Aaron's attention. "clearly went after him. He had declared the biggest war of splashing there was. All slippy she went into the pool, and dipped Aaron's head into the water." Then Addie takes over.
"Something happened, Aaron picked her up by the legs and sinked her in too. Once she got out, she couldn't find him. It was afternoon and there where a lot of people into the pool."Kony continues for him.
"She finally spots him, marches over to him, grabs him by his hair and dips his head on the water repeatedly. Up and down, up and down, for a good minute." Kony explains.
"Now some people may think that this isn't embarrassing, and normally they would be right." Annie says. "But the problem was that, that wasn't Aaron's head she was so violently and determinedly pushing in and out of the water." Before Annie has a chance to continue both Aaron and Ryan shout.
"What?!"
"No way!" Ryan says. "You're joking." Annie just deadpanned looks at him.
"Well whose head was it then?" Aaron asks.
"There was this guy there, that looked a lot like Aaron. I mean not his face, but his hair and back, his height, completely the same. If you looked at him, you'd actually think he was Aaron. I give her that." Kony replies and I still cringe to this day.
"In my defense," I start. "the guy had turned his back on me and I couldn't see his face. I thought it was the perfect opportunity. Aaron with his back turned, ready to be drowned. You know?" I press my fingers into my forehead. "Little did I know that Aaron was actually behind me. Having the time of his life." I say, raising my head up. "I would have kept going, but I saw Aaron coming into view and my whole body filled with terror." Aaron can't stop laughing. Ryan too.
"What did the guy say? Did he say anything?" Ryan asks.
"Ah yes. Of course he did. His exact words were 'Miss, if you don't let go of my head now, I will call the cops.' I have never moved so fast in my life. Dropped his head immediately." The guys are wheezing now.
"The kid probably still has trauma, to this day." Annie adds.
"I wouldn't blame him." I groan into my hands.
"Tell them what Aaron told you, after the guy left." Addie says all excited.
"He said 'Deditionem. You definitely won this one Kayl.' If I could, I would sink his head right back into the water, but I was too afraid I'd catch the wrong guy again. Didn't trust my eyes at the moment." I say and Aaron is holding his stomach with his hand, while I'm pretty sure Ryan just chocked from the laughter. He's definitely coughing. "One thing is for sure. I will never try to sunbathe again."
"Wow, cheesecakes. This story puts all of mine to shame. You're amazing." Aaron says, throat sore from all the laughter.
"Glad to be of help." I say sarcastically and they just burst laughing again. This time I join them.