Baby, It's You

Chapter 11

Marco

I look at Karolina like she has ten heads. I look at Katrina; she seems upset that Karolina wants to go with me on the bike. I look between my dad and their father, Tony. My dad's eyes catch mine, and I silently plead with him. He secretly winks at me, and I wonder what he is up to.

"Riding the bike is fun and a nice privilege to have. Right, Tony?" Dad says.

"Yeah, it is fun, oh wait you're grounded. Get your ass in the SUV Karo." Tony yells. "Good Try Karo. Katrina, please hold on tight to Marco. You hear me?"

"Yes, Daddy," Katrina says. "I'm going to run to the restroom. Joey, let's go to the bathroom before we leave."

"Okay, 'Trina," Joey says, running behind her.

"So, you into my cousin, huh?" Chucky asks with a huge grin. I nod, and I can't wipe the huge smile I have on my face. "I think you will be good for each other."

"I like Katrina a lot, but I think Karo will keep trying to do shit to stop her from being happy."

"Don't worry. I got you! Today I will be the Karo repellant. Watch I can be annoying as fuck, and today I will be at one hundred." He cackles and jumps. "It's showtime!"

We hit the road, and we get on the highway. Katrina is hugging tightly from behind, and I love the feeling of her arms around me. Once we get at cruising speed, I take my hand and rest it on her thigh, and she hugs onto me tighter. The view is spectacular, and I can see the castle in the distance and my goodness it is enormous. My mama would have loved this place. We pull off the road and drive into the parking area, and my dad pays for my parking permit.

"Katrina, did you like riding on the motorcycle? My dad asks her.

"I love it!" She says with a giant grin.

"That's good. I'm glad you had fun."

I notice Karolina walking over to me as I'm taking off my gear. She is biting her index fingernail and trying to look sexy. I look at Chucky for a split second, and he tears off towards us.

"Hey, hey Karolina, look at this chip. Doesn't it look like an alien?" he says in a yell as he shows her a chip that he drops. "Oops, my bad, I dropped it."

"What are you talking about? You are so weird." Karolina says. I look at Chucky, and he gives me the thumbs up. I laugh.

We go into the castle, and it is beautiful, and I love that Katrina loves it here. She told me that she loves it here and she can imagine who lived the castle hundreds of years ago. Katrina looks at every detail while her sister whines that she is bord with the whole time. Once our tour is over, Chucky and Joey get very excited, and it's funny to watch.

"What are we going to do now, Joey?" Chucky says, hyping up Joey.

"We are going to the strawberry farm!" Joey screams. "Are you excited, Marco?"

"Yeah, bud, I am!" I say with a laugh. "What is the strawberry farm?" I whisper to Katrina.

"It's a farm that has fruit picking, a petting zoo, and they make homemade berry pies and ice cream."

"You had me at a petting zoo." I laugh. "Oh, and ice cream."

"It's fun, and we eat more fruit than we actually bring home." She giggles. I love that sound. "Joey will come home stained red and purple. Chucky too." We share a laugh.

We drive about thirty minutes down the coast, and we finally make it to the farm. It's bigger than it appears from the highway. We look at the animals before we go and pick fruit, and there are goats, llamas, donkeys, and horses. I'm petting the mini horse while Katrina and Joey feed the goats, and I notice Karolina making her way over to me. Chucky is on high alert, and he comes and stands nearby. There are two mini horses, but she pets the same one that I am. I look over at Chucky, and he nods.

"Woah, Karo! That horse has gigantic balls! Look!" he yells. Her face blazes red, and she looks around to see if anyone is watching.

"You're disgusting, Chucky!" she says, and she stomps off. Chucky fist bumps me and laughs.

"Let's get some ice cream, kids. We can't take the ice cream to the fields." Tony says. "They make the ice cream here by hand."

We stand in the long line to get our ice cream, and we also order our pies to pick up later. We all pick something different; I get a mint chocolate chip, Katrina gets strawberry, Chucky gets mango, and Karolina gets cherry. The ice cream tastes fantastic. I give Katrina and Joey a taste of mine. Katrina gives me a spoon of hers, and it has huge pieces of strawberry in it.

"Yum, that is good," I say.

"Try some of my cherry?" Karolina says. She grins because she knows good and well she is not talking about ice cream. She takes the spoon and dips into her cup and take put the spoon out to me. There is about three feet between us. Chucky moves quickly between us and puts her spoon into his mouth.

"Delicious!" Chucky howls with laughter.

"Chucky! What the fuck is your malfunction!" Karolina yells.

"You are! Leave Katrina and Marco alone!" he yells. "It may come as a surprise to you, Karo, but not everyone wants you!"

"Like your dad doesn't want you?" Karo spits out. Chucky's face changes, and he looks devastated.

"That was low, Karo!" Katrina says as Chucky runs off to the bathroom. "Can you go see if he's okay, Marco?"

"Yeah," I say, and run over to the bathroom on my way, I see Tony.

"What happened?" Tony asks.

"Karo happened," I say with a shrug.

"That girl is going to give me gray hair," he says with a laugh. "You like Katrina?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Good, I like you for her. Go check on Chucky."

I walk toward the bathroom, and I'm happy, and I feel guilty for being happy knowing that beyond that door, my new friend is struggling. I know I made the right decision to move here. I wouldn't have made the most amazing friends.

It's my turn to pay it forward.

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Thank you for reading!

Karo is a mess!

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