The Forgotten Sibling

Chapter 8

The Cave was more beautiful than it usually was.

As Carlos led the way to the entrance, his friends became more quiet, probably intimidated by the atmosphere the entrance was giving off. He could relate; he felt the same way some decades before.

The tunnel eventually began glowing with multiple colors: the red glow from rubies, the white light from quartzes.

He heard a few of his friends gasp behind him. He felt a strange sense of pride; this was the place of one of his best friends, and he was glad some people appreciated it.

He walked through the "doorway"- it was really an archway made out of dirt, but since "dirt archway" sounded a bit weird to Carlos, he decided to call it the doorway.

The entire room was bathed in a soft, kaleidoscope of colors, making it look like they were inside a rare gem.

Marissa gasped again. Her beautiful blond hair fell loose on her shoulders in gentle curls, her green eyes taking everything in. Carlos's heart skipped a beat everytime he saw her.

Sam teased him on this a lot, but Carlos had the biggest crush on Marissa ever since she arrived at the island. After getting closer and closer with each passing year, he fell for her extremely hard. When she confessed her feelings for him, Carlos had a strong sense of delight overcome him.

Carlos expected Tommy to tell him to stay away from his little sister, but to his surprise he was cool about it. It turned out that Tommy had a massive crush on Riley, which honestly made Carlos happy.

Sadly, Riley didn't notice his feelings, so Tommy had been incredibly persistent to show his feelings for her.

Carlos admired his dedication. Back home, he would be feared since he was the head of the basketball team. Every single time some boy made a move on Riley, he and his friends would intimidate the boy and make him pee his pants. He had so much fun doing it that he would do this with any boy that approached his friends, even if it wasn't Riley.

"You zoned out again."

Sam's voice brought him back to reality. "Sorry," he said.

"Thinking?"

He nodded. "I was thinking about being back home."

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" he frowned.

"Home."

Carlos thought about it. "No. I loved it there, but living here makes me realize there's so much more than the Utah Basketball Finals and whatnot."

"This place has no corruption," Sam said. "It gives me so much freedom. No rules, no taxes. Nothing that an adult usually would do."

Being an adult was something Carlos always feared. The thought of paying taxes, worrying about buying your own house, and getting your own job was something that Carlos could not even think about.

Being captured helped him escape from that reality, even though those first few months were rough.

Carlos was about to say something when he saw Marissa walking toward him. All the words drained out of him, leaving him dumbfounded.

Sam smirked. "I'll leave you two alone." She kissed him on his cheek; something they've been doing ever since they first met.

She walked away to find Tommy.

Marissa walked up to him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Have you been here before?"