the waves came crashing down [under construction]

one

it has always been like this way: three families, one beach house.

i let myself get lost as the winds overtake the car, open-windows and all. the sun was setting. the skies were clear. we were a few miles away from the beach house, getting closer and closer as the car sped on. erick was driving and bickering with charlotte. auntie carol was laughing with ma. little marcus's eyes were glued on his used psp's screen. everything was right. everything was normal.

i closed my eyes. summer's finally here.

"now boys and girls," began auntie carol. I opened my eyes, but she was looking specifically at erick and charlotte. "we're a bit too old for bickering, are we now?"

erick and charlotte immediately shut it, but their eyes were still very much hostile.

that was when marcus, without looking away from the screen, commented, "yeah. don't be such a baby."

did anyone remember in history class when stalin agreed to be churchill and fdr's bff in world war ii? it was like that, but with charlotte and erick. their hostile gaze went from each other to marcus in six seconds flat. i stifled a laugh, because, well. the rest was history. and history usually repeats itself, even in the most unlikeliest scenarios.

so they started pointing out all the times that marcus was a baby. it got so bad, that marcus lowell literally paused his game to carp along with his older siblings. it was bad, but i wasn't complaining. it was rather entertaining, really.

"what do you think, lee?" asked erick. my eyes widened and i realized how in deep shit i was in.

"ha, like i'm getting into world war iii, here. no thank you." and i went back to closing my eyes. and the argument continued.

auntie carol just sighed. ma merely patted her back. when you spend all your summers with these people, you can just tell the way they moved without ever opening your eyes. it's something no one can ever really take away from you, regardless if you tried.

******

the beach house was, of course, owned by no other than auntie lily. i must be the only person whoever calls her auntie lily; everyone else just calls her "lily" or "mom." for what must've been ages now, auntie lily had invited her two bestest friends to that beach house. her two best friends were auntie carol and my own ma, anne.

they've always been coming back each summer. it wasn't until they got married, that they started bringing along their kids. meaning us.

auntie lily has two boys - kyle and jamie. auntie carol has three kids - erick, marcus, and charlotte. my ma has only me.

i've practically grew up in that beach house. there was not a single summer that was missed.

when we arrived at the beach house, auntie lily sat outside in the patio with her two boys. already, erick was excited; he was always one of the boys. charlotte and i shared a look before we started climbing at the back of the van to get out bags. marcus merely glanced outside his window.

although he looks up to jamie, marcus knew both charlotte and my pain: we were not included in their little big boy cult group. i nudged his shoulder and he gave me a hiss. often times, when this little knowledge drove marcus into his little silence fits, he'd always want to be alone.

but i knew that feeling anywhere, and i wasn't about to let him have it. so i said, "don't mind the wannabe one direction. you're too cool to be in that boy band, anyways." and he smiled that tentative smile. it was so good that it hurts. i wanted to tuck that smile in and save it for a rainy day. it was moments like this i knew how useless my camera was. how can you capture that fleeting moment quick enough, before it fades forever?