Day One
Morning
It should've been paradise.
Aruba was one of the most beautiful places Cole had ever seen.
The beaches went on for miles and the sky looked almost fake it was so clear. The pristine blue waters of the Caribbean stretched out before him, blending seamlessly with the sky. Cole felt an overwhelming urge to get closer to the water, to feel the soft sand beneath his feet and the coolness of the waves on his skin. There were people all over the beaches, the groups seeming to never end. The beachgoers were scattered like confetti. There was a light breeze to cut through the heat. Palm trees swayed gracefully in the breeze, their shadows offering respite from the sun's intense rays. The taxi played some music and rolled the windows down, making conversation here and there and giving some recommendations for their trip.
The resort seemed like it was pulled straight from a movie. The architecture was something he had never seen before. It was incredible. He had seen pictures when they booked it, but they didn't even do it justice. It stood tall right on the beach with people waiting with drinks in hand as the taxi pulled into the entrance. Everyone had warm smiles on their face, and they somehow even seemed genuine.
They had gone on family vacations before, but they never left the country together. This was their first trip in a few years and everyone was in high spirits. The twins hadn't even bickered with each other since they landed. Even Allison seemed happy with everything. Cole hadn't seen her smile like that in a while, and he instantly was trying to think of ways to keep her smiling like that.
So... it should've been paradise.
But he was quickly brought back to reality when he heard, Surprise!"
Fucking Matthew.
His mother's boyfriend with his arms stretched out wide and a stupid smile on his face.
His mother's boyfriend with a suitcase that had those dumb travel stickers all over it.
His mother's boyfriend who shouldn't be here for another five days.
"Matthew!" Lorena exclaimed in surprise, making her way over with her to her boyfriend with a laugh. "I can't believe you're here!"
What kind of person named "Matthew" doesn't just go by "Matt" anyway?
"I couldn't believe it either, but when Scarlett called me with the flight paid for, I could hardly say no," he told Lorena giddily, gathering her into a hug. Cole jolted slightly at his words, feeling himself snapped out of his state of shock long enough to turn towards Scarlett.
"You knew?" Cole asked his sister, feeling an odd sense of betrayal.
"So did you," Sam piped in before Scarlett could say anything.
Cole glanced around in confusion. "No, I didn't."
"I sent a group text to everyone, you just never answered," Scarlett told him with a shrug. "I figured that meant you didn't care."
He couldn't exactly argue there, because his sister was telling the truth. She sent a group text to all the siblings last week saying she was inviting Matthew early to spend the trip with them. He didn't even give it a second thought, thinking it was a joke. He brushed it off as if it were a "Could you believe it if Matthew came?" sort of hypothetical, ridiculous question. But as it tuned out, very much so not hypothetical.
"I thought it was a joke!" Cole whispered to her harshly.
Scarlett blinked at him, shrugging as she asked in a hushed voice, "Why would that be a joke?"
He faltered, sputtering out, "Nobody answered!"
"Yeah, we did," Lila retorted confusedly, flashing her phone to him. And there it was, a series of texts about inviting their mother's boyfriend to the vacation early.
Cole snatched her phone from her hands, scrolling through the messages with furrowed eyebrows. "How the hell did I miss that?"
Allison scoffed knowingly. "You have three hundred missed texts, maybe start checking your phone."
"God, how do you put up with him?" Lila teased, giving her oldest brother a pointed look.
"You're telling me," Allison shot back coyly, a grin on her face. Cole did his best not to grimace, instead matching her expression.
"And this must be the bride herself!" a woman announced cheerily, making the family turn around. A woman with deep brown skin greeted them, coiled dark hair pulled into a bun.
"Welcome to Aruba. I'm Charlotte, your wedding coordinator. We know you're all here for a few days, so we've planned some extra special excursions for you all to celebrate," she told them brightly, handing Scarlett a pamphlet with the itinerary on it. "Do as many or as few as you'd like."
"Hm, excursions... let's hope everyone is included," Lila said carefully as she gave her sister an icy look.
"Don't be bitter," Scarlett scolded lightly. "You weren't old enough for the spa!"
Lila narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You guys sent me on a boat to see dolphins with a million screaming children while you three spent the day at the spa."
Lorena laughed at the memory but quickly ceased her laughter at the sight of Lila's face. She cleared her throat and commented, "I bet it was fun! You were with all the other kids, that sounds... good."
"Sure, but I was thirteen, seasick, and saw absolutely no dolphins for eight hours," Lila listed off without missing a beat.
"Right..." Lorena trailed off with a wince. "Matthew and I are gonna go check us in!"
The two left quickly, making Cole let out a short laugh. The others fell into conversations amongst themselves, leaving Cole and Allison on their own. They glanced at each other and neither seemed to know what to talk about. Cole opened his mouth to try and start some sort of conversation to avoid suspicion but was thankfully cut off.
"Piña colada?" another lady with a bright smile offered with two glasses in her hand.
"I'll take one, please," Scarlett said as she took it with a grateful smile, immediately going to drink it before pausing. Cole took the second drink, giving her a quick thanks. He took a sip as he watched Allison walked over to the taxi to start getting her bags together.
"Everything all right with you and Alli?" Scarlett asked in a hushed voice, sipping her own drink. "You've barely spoken to each other, it seems."
Cole felt his heart drop briefly. There was no way he could let them be found out this early. They were supposed to make this week perfect for his sister. But instead, here she was with that look she always had. The look that said, I know everything about you whether you like it or not. He and Scarlett had always been extremely close, and that was a blessing and a cure. One of the downsides was that there was nothing he could ever hide from her.
But there was nothing Cole wouldn't do for Scarlett. So, he slapped a smile on his face and hoped it was convincing. "Just tired, ever hear of jet lag?"
Cole knew that Scarlett would believe it, at least for a bit. It was inconceivable that anything could be wrong with him and Allison. It wouldn't make sense. She must have a similar thought process, because she nodded slowly. "Makes sense, but you better drink a coffee because we are not wasting a day."
"I'll take your bags!" an extremely pale and tall man interjected as he scurried over. "My name is Sean, I'll bring all your belongings to your rooms."
"Careful now, Sean," Charlotte cautioned with a stern look. He flashed her a smile and held his arms out to the group.
"Oh, thank you," Allison allowed with a smile as she handed him her carry-on from the plane. He beamed at her as he took it into his hands, immediately dropping it to the ground.
"Oh! My bad, trying to get better at that," Sean remarked with a nervous laugh, bending down to pick it up.
"At... holding bags?" Sam clarified unsurely, reluctantly handing over his belongings. The bellhop laughed loudly, pointing a finger at Sam who stared back blankly in confusion. He hoisted all the bags into his arms to bring them into the hotel, legs shaking slightly with the effort.
"Oh! My bad," Sean apologized hastily as he dropped Lila's carry-on, making her wince. He picked it up and went on to drop Sam's bag. "Oh! My bad," he repeated as he dropped one of Allison's belongings. "Terribly sorry about that."
"This feels hard to do," Lila whispered as she watched with wide eyes.
"You know what? I think we can carry the bags ourselves," Nate cut in as the bellhop went to reach for Scarlett's wedding dress bag. "But thank you, my man."
"I'll be here all week to help with anything you need," Sean boasted proudly as he then went on to drop Cole's bag, his belongings tumbling out.
Cole's eyes immediately went to the journal that fell open. He darted down to grab it, hoping nobody would ask any questions about it. He shoved it back into his backpack, giving the bellhop a tight smile. "Thanks, Sean."
"Are you journaling?" Lila laughed out as she pointed to his bag. "Oh, dear diary, Allison is the most beautiful girl to ever exist! However did I get so lucky?"
"Dear diary," Sam joined in giddily, "I saw the sun again today. It reminded me of Allison."
"Something like that," Cole allowed with a tense laugh, zipping his bag up. "Let's head up to the rooms, yeah?"
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
Cole's eyes immediately went to the middle of the room.
He knew that Allison's must have too, because she froze in her step right next to him.
One bed.
Cole held his breath as he waited for her reaction.
"One bed," Allison said gravely, her eyes trailing along the king-sized bed that sat in the middle of the room. "Naturally."
"Was I supposed to somehow explain to my mom that we need two beds because, surprise, we're actually faking all of this and are getting divorced," Cole quipped sarcastically as he walked into the room towards the couch in the corner.
Allison scoffed as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Why didn't you just book the room yourself?"
"My mom has a good discount," he grumbled in defeat.
"Mature, Cole," Allison spat out as she closed the door behind them.
"I'll just take the couch," Cole told her, nodding his head towards it as he placed her bags onto the bed for her.
"I don't mind taking it," she countered, but Cole would never let her do that, and she knew that.
He gave her a pointed look and she sighed in acceptance. Cole started to place the pillows around on the couch to make it easier to sleep on. It was hard as a rock, and he was already spending the next few nights on it. He pulled his swimsuit out of his suitcase, glancing up at Allison every few moments unsurely.
The silence felt heavier than it did when they were in their house. They had their routine in their house, but they didn't have that here. The family agreed to reconvene in an hour by the beach at the hotel, but they were stuck in the room until then. He cleared his throat, catching her attention. Allison raised an eyebrow at him expectantly.
"Scarlett asked me if we were okay earlier," Cole brought up hesitantly, glancing at her unsurely for a reaction.
Allison winced. "Already?"
"I know... I know this isn't ideal, but I don't think we can be so closed off to each other during this," he went on unsurely.
"I know, it's just..." Allison trailed off before twisting her lips together. That was one of her tells that she was getting upset, she had done that ever since they were young. He moved in front of her, trying to catch her gaze but she kept it locked on the ground.
"Allison, can you just look at me for a second, please?" Cole pleaded as he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Having to plead for her to look him in the eyes was never something he thought he would have to do. After a moment, she turned her head towards him with glassy eyes. "Say the word and we tell them. I don't want to make you do this."
"You're not," she assured him softly, swallowing thickly.
"We'll have a code word, yeah? When we can't do this anymore?" he suggested lightly. She seemed to think on it for a few moments, and once again, Cole wished that she would just say what she was thinking.
"Okay, what should it be?" Allison asked him.
He shrugged. "Your call."
"Piña colada? I never order those. It can't just be some random word or it'll be too obvious, you know?" Allison explained logically.
"You say that, and we'll quit the act," Cole told her firmly. He didn't need the rule to apply to him, there wasn't a chance he would be saying it. For however long he could have Allison, he would. Even if it wasn't real for her anymore.
She nodded slowly, sniffling quickly. "Okay."
Allison decided to take a shower before they left, saying she wanted to wash the plane off. Cole was pretty sure she was just trying to fill the time before the met up with the rest of them at the beach, but he wasn't complaining. He didn't mind having a few minutes to himself to get his thoughts together.
He reached into his bag and pulled the notebook out, fiddling with it in his hands. Cole slowly walked onto the balcony attached to their room. He inhaled deeply, feeling calmed by the warm air and sound of the waves. He saw groups on the beach, some people playing games or tanning on their beach chairs.
Cole figured he had some time before they headed out, and thought writing might help clear his head. Tapping his hand against the pad of paper, he glanced back into the room. Part of him wanted to check Allison's bags to see if she brought the notebook, but he knew he couldn't do that. He wasn't about to invade her privacy like that. He flipped open the notebook and didn't give it a second thought.