A 4-week holiday at the beach.

With things as wild as they’ve been, summer break arrived without warning, but no one will her you complaining.

When spending time alone with Norah, you ask her why she went to the trouble of renting a cabin for a whole month for the four of you. Her answer is surprisingly straight-forward.

“I’ve come to terms with my feelings on this relationship over time. Well, your relationship with Shelly, to be more precise. It really bothered me at first, but now I see just how well you get along and I actually find it really sweet. So this vacation is an investment for all of us. I want us to deepen our bond as a group. As…”

“Family?” You complete.

She nods and gives you a meaningful smile, followed by a sweet, deep kiss.

At college, when you hand over your last assignment before vacation, your teacher, Mr. Ortiz, asks what you have planned. When you tell him of your trip to the beach he tells you he made a trip there recently, too.

“It’s a beautiful place, but it gets too crowded this time of year. If you’re willing to take a 20 minute walk from the place you’re staying, there’s an amazing beach almost no one goes to.”

Man, Mr. Ortiz would be your favorite teacher if he wasn’t such a salve-driver. His assignments are always the hardest.

The day before the trip, Shelly is very adamant about you staying as far away from her room as possible. She doesn’t seem mad or even upset, but she’s definitely keeping her distance. She’s back to normal the next day, though, so you have no idea what that was about.

You load Norah’s car with everyone’s bags and the auburn-haired woman insists that you ride shotgun, saying she’s not about to risk you all crashing because she got distracted because you couldn’t keep your hands away from either Vivian. Shelly, or both.

It’s a huge bummer for all three of the accused, but none of you argue back. You all know she’s right.

It’s a three-hour trip, so you try to make it a fun one. You take turns requesting songs and playing them in the radio through Bluetooth. Vivian proposes the rule that, if anyone wants to sing, they have to sing the whole song. Everyone agrees and you actually have a pretty good time singing along and laughing at those who make a mistake. You get laughed at more than anyone though.

Things change drastically and very suddenly when you arrive at the cabin. It’s late, around 8:00 PM, so there’s no time to go out. You work with everyone to get everything out from the can and into the cabin, but the girls are all very silent for some reason.

The place you’re staying in is simple, but cozy. It’s located around 10 minutes away from the main road and surrounded by thin forest. Other houses can be seen in the distance, but none is too close to each other. It’s a small wooden cabin with only two rooms, one with a double bed and one with two single beds. The kitchen, the dining room and the living room share one space, which reminds you to your own apartment. There’s a small TV, two loveseats, a table for four, and everything you need to make simple meals in the kitchen. There’s only one bathroom.

“Vivian, will you help me with diner?” Norah asks her daughter.

“Sure.” She nods. She rolls up her sleeves and goes to wash her hands at the sink.

“John, Shelly, will you please get the rest of the things out of the car and unpack them?”

“Yes, of course.” You reply.

What’s going on? Everyone seems so serious all of a sudden! Did you say something? You can’t remember. They don’t look angry though. What is it then!?

In about an hour, you and Shelly have everything set up and Norah and Vivian are done with diner. You eat the incredibly tasty stew in complete silence, and it feels like you’re the only one feeling awkward, as if the three girls know exactly what’s going on and just agreed not to tell you.

When everyone’s done with their food, Vivian finally speaks up.

She sighs heavily. “Well then.” She looks at you. “John, could you wait here a bit. The three of us need to have a quick talk.”

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT YOU CAN’T HEAR!?

You don’t give voice to your thoughts though. You just nod slowly and silently.

The girls leave for the master bedroom and close the door.

You wait there, still sitting at the table, for the longest 10 minutes of your life.