The nicest feeling was not having to turn off the alarm clock so early on a Saturday morning. I loved the weekend for exactly this reason. Sleep in. However, when Amelie woke me up at 7:30 am, I pulled the covers over my face, complaining. Now that couldn't be true! "Get up!" I heard her excited voice. "Amelie, let me sleep. Wake up Silia!" "I'm already awake!" came the reply. I pushed the covers down a few millimeters so that only my eyes were exposed and discovered Silia standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. I lived with sadists. Waking up at this inhuman time on a Saturday morning felt like torture. "Get up, get up!" Amelie yelled again, tugging hard at the bed covers. For a moment, I was surprised at the strength behind her tug - causing the covers to slip from my fingers. The cold that had spread through the open window in my room overnight tugged directly at my tiredness and I felt the chance of being able to sleep again diminishing more and more. "Okay, okay - I'm getting up already.", I finally said, when Amelie had pulled the entire blanket out of my bed and carelessly dropped it on the floor next to her. "Are you awake now?", she asked and beamed at me. " Forced. It's Saturday, why do I have to get up so early?" I turned to Silia, realizing that this waking maneuver was her fault. "I remind you that we're going to these fireworks because of you." " Yes, but only this afternoon, Silia. Can you please tell me why you are depriving me of my sleep?" I asked her theatrically. She sighed in exasperation and said, "I'm not going to do everything by myself while you sleep well." "You're going shopping!" she added hurriedly when she noticed that I had already opened my mouth to to hurl some protests at her head. "Yeah, because the supermarkets in Silverside close at 10am," I mumbled annoyed, picking up my blanket from the floor. "I'll come with you!" Amelie said and clapped her hands. "Okay!" With these words, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and said goodbye to the thought of ever sleeping in this house again to be able to "Amelie, don't run so far forward. I still have carrots to pack!" But by then it was too late, because at that very moment I saw her shock of brown hair disappear into the candy aisle. I immediately realized why I had to do this today. That was Silia's very personal revenge - because shopping with Amelie was horrifying! She was always running away or throwing things into the shopping cart that we didn't need or already had enough of. I carelessly tossed the bunch of carrots I was holding into the shopping cart, taking a few deep breaths to keep my cool and quickly following Amelie into the aisle to keep her from dumping tons of unnecessary sweets from the store to clear shelves. I stopped abruptly when I saw her talking to someone. My blood froze in my veins as he slowly turned around and I stared into Alex's cold eyes. "Hello Jolien," he said while still holding out something to my little sister. "Get away from her!" I hissed. I left the shopping cart in the aisle and rushed towards the two of them. He slowly got up to rear up in front of me with a wicked smile. "How's the car?" "Get away from her!" I repeated my words again and then turned directly to Amelie. "Amelie, come here!" ,, How so? We just became friends!" Alex replied menacingly. Amelie looked at me and Alex in turn, shrugged, and then trotted off. Roughly I pushed her behind me, never taking my eyes off Alex. "I think she likes me," he said, so calm and menacing it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He took a step toward me. Every fiber of my body cried out to get away, but I stood rooted to the spot. I didn't know if it was bravery or stupidity to face him like that. The situation was already tense enough, even without my current heroic interlude, but the rising anger seemed to take hold of me. "If you come near her again, I'll kill you!" I said suddenly and although the words had their effect, namely a surprised look on his face, I knew it was a mistake to provoke him too . Alex slowly curled his lips into a grin and walked past me, stopping at my level and whispering, so softly only I could hear, "Unlike me, you're not capable of killing anyone, so think twice better what you say next time." "See you soon, Amelie!" he said with a feigned friendliness, crouched down to her and waved. A gesture that almost drove me insane. I protectively pushed myself back between Amelie and Alex, which meant we were only millimeters apart when he straightened up again. He looked me straight in the eye. "I'm starting to understand what he sees in you." He brushed a blond strand out of my face, which made me flinch in disgust. But the anger was still there and it was much stronger than the fear. I slammed my hand into his face with a resounding bang. "Don't touch me!" He laughed out loud, as if the slap hadn't happened at all. With shaking hands, I grabbed Amelie's arm and pulled her after me. "See you, Jolien!" I heard his cold voice drifting down the aisle. "You're hurting me, Jolien!" Amelie cried, but I didn't care. Better me than Alex. I clumsily dragged the shopping cart behind me with my free hand and headed for some aisle. It didn't matter which one, the main thing was that I managed to get as much space as possible between Alex and Amelie. The fact that he threatened me was one thing I could deal with, but not that he was now starting to involve my family in this. I didn't know if it was dealing with Malio or if I always had this rebellious side. But more and more I could feel it pushing itself to the surface and making me do things I didn't believe in before. I had never lied before. I had never sneaked into parties. I had never hit anyone. And I've never been so madly attracted to anyone, even though I knew it was wrong. "Amelie.." I squatted down at eye level and looked her straight in the eye. "I'll buy you a candy if you don't say anything to Dad." Amelie thought for a moment and I didn't even know if she understood the seriousness of my offer. She was four years old, how far could you bribe a child? "Okay!", she finally said and held out a bar of chocolate, which she had obviously been holding in her hands the whole time. A few hours later we drove to the parking lot of the beach and I had almost successfully suppressed the encounter with Alex again. I kept glancing at Amelie with concern, but to my relief she didn't say a word about it either. The chocolate bars had probably done their job. Children were probably easier to bribe than I had thought. I got out of my father's car and regretted not putting on a jacket right over my thin teal blouse. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my stomach, which earned me an I-told-you-so look from Silia. I looked around and saw Bekka, Brandon and Gray standing around the big blazing campfire. Bekka's eyes met mine and she immediately waved at me, friends, beaming. "Well, go to them." My father said with a wink. "Really?" I asked surprised. He nodded and took Amelie by the hand. ,, Thanks Dad! You're the best!" I kissed him goodbye on the cheek and sped off before he changed his mind at the last second. "Hey guys!", I greeted the three of them and stood between Brandon and Bekka by the campfire. I immediately stretched out my hands and felt the crackling fire slowly warming me. "Don't you have a jacket with you?" Brandon asked worried and before I could react, he took off his leather jacket and put it over my shoulders. "Oh thank you. I guess I'm totally misjudging the weather here. It was still late summer, but here on the beach there was a strong, cold breeze that I completely underestimated when I put on my long-sleeved blouse. "You'll get used to that!" Gray laughed and handed each of us in turn - each one - a red plastic cup with a clear liquid. "What's that?" I asked. "Try it!" he said, and I took a long gulp, which was clearly a mistake. The strong, aggressive taste of the liquor spilled into my mouth. I swallowed the stuff, coughed heavily, and looked at him in disgust : ,, What the hell is that?" I felt the hard liquor leave a hot trail through my whole body. "Homemade," Gray replied proudly, effortlessly taking a long gulp of the devil's stuff. Innocent pastor's child, no. "It gets better once you get used to it!" I heard Brandon say while walking with mixed feelings looked at the mug in my hand. I was certain that this drink would be my downfall. Eventually, my only alcohol consumption was wine, hugo, and bubbly, which was a joke compared to the liquid in my mug, but I nodded silently and took another small sip. It would be fine. "And how do you like it here?" Brandon asked me after a while. My cheeks were already burning from the alcohol as Gray poured me something new every time my mug was empty. How many cups was that? After the third I stopped counting and that was a while ago. "I think it's right here... shit!" I said bluntly. That might be the last drink. Bekka gave me a worried look and Brandon put his hand on my shoulder as he looked lovingly into my eyes and said, "Yeah, I've gotten you've caused a lot of trouble, but Jolien, just stay away from Malio away, then it will definitely get better." I looked at him in silence. Because how could I stay away from Malio if I really didn't want to? My cell phone, which was in the back pocket of my dark jeans, beeped and I winced. "Everything okay?" Brandon's hand brushed my shoulder again and I gave him a short smile before I awkwardly fished my phone out of my pocket. The display blurred under the influence of alcohol and I had to blink a few times to see the text clearly. I stared at the message in disbelief. Even though the number wasn't on my phone, I knew immediately who the message was from. Make him take his fucking hand off your shoulder! I lifted my head and looked around, but there was no sign of Malio. Was my drunk mind playing tricks on me? "Are you okay?" Brandon asked worried. I staggered slightly as I tried to push past him, but twisted my ankle in the sand and almost fell if Brandon's arm hadn't slipped around my waist. At that moment I spotted his car in the parking lot. You said he never came to those fireworks! What was he doing here now? "Thanks, it's alright, I have to go to the toilet for a moment!" "Should I come with you?" Bekka asked and I shook my head violently. ,, No, that's not necessary. I'll be right back." I pulled out of Brandon's grasp, straightened my blouse, and headed straight for the parking lot. "What are you doing here?" I asked harshly, even before I reached Malio's car, where he was leaning casually and smoking a cigarette. I hated this car! It was just over! Who drove a car like that? ,, What are you doing there? Brandon? Are you serious?" He glared at me angrily and I laughed out loud. "Are you jealous, Malio?" "Are you drunk?", He tilted his head to the side and squinted at me. "No...I...Even if I am, it's none of your business!", I changed my mind mid-sentence . I swayed a bit again as I took another step towards him. "How much did you drink?" There was almost something worried in his eyes, but I probably misinterpreted the situation again. "That's none of your business either. Go ahead and get on someone else! How about Chantal ?" I hissed her name, unable to deny the jealousy behind that sentence. He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is your family still there?" I shrugged in response, digging my index finger into his hard chest with every word. "It's none of your business!" Only now did I realize how good he looked again. He wore a casual black V-neck sweater that showed off the contours of his tattoo and black jeans. But my drunk self didn't want to be lulled by his charms right now. Still, I whistled like a complete lunatic and said, "Wow Malio, you're really beautiful!" He looked at me in confusion and then suddenly grabbed my hand to stop the steady poking that still accompanied every word I said. "Can you answer my question?" He looked at me seriously. "Nope!" I said and pulled my hand away from him. I immediately regretted it and my insides rebelled, demanding his touch again, his warmth. "Whose jacket is that?" he asked suddenly and grabbed the collar of Brandon's leather jacket roughly. "Hey, stop it! It's Brandon's!" He glared at me even more angrily, which kind of amused me so I continued. "Maybe.." I ran my hand down his cheek. "Jolien." He growled dangerously, but I didn't care. The alcohol pumping inexorably through my veins made me daring. "Maybe..." I began my sentence again, running my finger down his throat. As his body shuddered under my touch and he gasped softly, I knew I had him right where I wanted him. I pressed my body closer to him, looked deep into his eyes and said as seductively as my drunken state would allow at that moment, "Maybe he'll fuck me today." I knew right away that I had gone too far, but I didn't care. Without warning, Malio grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, only to have me pinned against his car. "Don't provoke me, Jolien!" he said in a trembling voice. Tenderly, I pushed a few strands of dark hair out of his face and he inhaled sharply. "Would you rather fuck me?" I asked challengingly. "Jolien, stop it!" He whispered again and now I saw something other than pure anger in his eyes – namely lust. Although he pressed me against the car, I let my hand travel down his body. across his chest. About his stomach. I felt his grip on my shoulders loosen. Just before I reached his belt, I stopped and looked deep into his blue eyes. My fingers hooked carefully under the buckle of the belt. "Do you want it?" I asked again. I heard his breathing quicken and he leaned forward a little. Before his lips could settle on mine, I pushed past him, despite the screams of protest inside me. "Not today, Malio!" I hit him with his own words. For a moment he didn't say anything. He seemed completely taken by surprise, which made my triumph even sweeter. Even more successful. Then the mood changed and he just glared at me for a few seconds. When he finally wanted to say something, I rudely interrupted him. "Bye, Malio!" I casually raised my hand in farewell. "You've gone too far," he said coldly. I stopped abruptly. "Oh really?", I asked mock dismay and additionally touched my heart. "You think you got the upper hand because you hit on me once and then rejected me? Do you really think I care?" He glared at me angrily and took a step towards me. All of my senses were now beating the alarm. I knew the best thing to do was to leave as quickly as possible, but Malio's gaze held me in place. In a few steps he had closed the distance between us and pressed me hard against another car. "Go, let him fuck you, I know anyway that you're thinking of me." I felt my body, my middle immediately respond to his harsh words. He brought his face so close to mine that the tips of our noses almost touched. "The only difference tonight will be that I'll fuck you, hard and mercilessly, and I won't give you a single thought."