The Hawaiian morning sun blazed in the sky, casting shimmering golden light across everything. The sky was a piercing blue, dotted with a few drifting clouds. The air pressed down heavy and thick, much hotter than California.
The Moreau family had just arrived in Hawaii. Stepping out of the airport, they squinted into the blazing sun and headed toward the car park, where Rose had said her sister would pick them up.
"This is so fucking horrible, Mom! I swear, the Hawaiian sun is actually trying to murder me. Like, hello? I didn't sign up to be roasted alive," Nessa whined, fanning herself with her hand.
Rose shot her a look. "Nessa, watch your language."
Nessa flipped her hair, rolled her eyes dramatically, and muttered, "Whatever. It's too hot to be holy right now."
Tim laughed as he casually draped an arm over Nessa's shoulder.
"Nessa, could you shut up?"
She gave him a deadly side-eye.
"I could, Tim… but then who would speak the truth in this family?"
"Nessa, just shut up," Adrien added sharply, which made Nessa glare at him.
"Nes, you've been whining the entire ride," he said. "Can we have one moment, just one, without you complaining?"
She scoffed, flipping her hair again.
"One moment, Adrien? In this heat? Be serious."
Later, they reached the car park, and Nessa spotted a woman leaning on an old, worn-out green van. She looked like she was in her early forties.
Nessa could guess that was Rose's sister because they looked exactly alike, from the blonde hair to the expressive blue eyes. Except what differentiated them was that the woman had a mole under her left eye while Rose didn't.
The woman lifted her hand and waved, a smile breaking across her face. Rose's expression lit up instantly.
"Molly!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and engulfing her sister in a tight embrace.
"Molly, how are you doing? How're the kids?" Rose asked, breathless with joy.
"Doing great, big sis," Molly replied with a warm smile, hugging her just as tightly.
They hugged for a moment before pulling away.
"I've missed you so much, Molly," Rose said, her voice soft.
"I've missed you too," Molly replied. "Gosh, the kids are so excited to have you all here for the summer."
"I'm happy too," Rose said, turning back to her family. "Adrien, Steven, Timmy, Milo, and Nessa, come meet Aunt Molly!"
Steven grinned and flung himself into Molly's arms, hugging her like a giant teddy bear.
Molly laughed. "Oh my gosh… is this Steven or Adrien?"
Rose threw her head back and laughed loudly. "That's Steven, Molly."
Steven pulled away, pretending to frown. "I can't believe this. Aunt Molly doesn't even know me from Adrien," he said, gesturing between himself and his brother.
"Oh, please, tell me I don't look like this fool," Adrien said, shaking his head lightly.
Molly chuckled. "Oops, sorry kiddo,"
"Steven, baby," Rose said, tiptoeing to ruffle his hair, "she hasn't seen you guys in years. How do you expect her to know who's who?"
Steven groaned, smiling. "Mom… you know I hate it when someone messes with my hair! It took hours to get it just right."
Kayla came over and nudged him in the elbow.
"Oh, shut up, Steven. I don't know why you even care about styling your hair. For fuck's sake, you're not a girl."
Rose and Molly laughed.
"Rose, who's this girl?" Molly asked curiously.
"Don't bother," Steven said jokingly, winking at Kayla. "She's an asshole. Not worth your time."
"Hey!" Kayla snapped, eyebrows knitting together. "You're the asshole! In fact, a miserable one."
"Okay, okay, no fighting," Rose said, raising her hands. She looked at Molly. "Molly, I'd like you to meet Kayla. She's Kathie's daughter. You know Kathie, right?"
Molly nodded. "Yeah, I do. Oh my, she looks so much like her mother."
Rose motioned to Adrien. "This is Adrien."
Since Molly already knew Steven, Rose introduced Tim and Milo as well.
Milo and Tim hugged Molly excitedly.
"Geez, you're so big and tall now," Molly said, grinning.
Rose chuckled and motioned to Nessa, who stood close to her dad. "And this is Nessa, Molly."
"Oh my… is this Nessa?" Molly asked, surprised as she pointed at her niece. "She's grown so much! I remember when I last saw her, she was just a newborn."
Nessa forced a smile. She hated these overly warm family reunions.
Family hugs. Joy. Blah. Can we move this along already? she thought.
Molly came forward and hugged her tightly. Nessa tried to gasp for air, but there was none to be had. Her lungs burned.
Geez… are this woman's hands made of steel or something? she thought, glaring at Rose.
Molly finally let go, and Nessa sucked in a big gulp of air.
Molly and Thomas exchanged greetings warmly.
"Molly, I brought some friends with us," Rose said, introducing Freddy and his family. "I'd like you to meet Charles," she added, grinning as she motioned to Freddy's dad. "You remember him, right?"
Molly laughed and nodded. "Of course! You, Charles, and Kathie are like the original trio. You've been friends forever. And you always bring them over!"
"Yeah! I remember the time Charles came over and I totally forgot to tell him we had just bought a bulldog," Rose said, laughing. "He got chased by it, and it was hilarious! Charles… he was so fat he could barely run. If you saw him that day, it was pure chaos."
Charles and his wife, Ivy, laughed along. Molly and Thomas erupted into a fit of laughter.
"Hey! It isn't funny!" Charles spoke, torn between scowling and laughing.
As the parents laughed and chatted, Steven chimed in, while Adrien and Kayla were locked in a serious argument, glaring and throwing sharp little insults at each other. Freddy, meanwhile, was lost in his phone, oblivious to the chaos around him.
Nessa's hand flapped faster and faster as she fanned herself. The sun was relentless, roasting her mercilessly. She looked around, were they all immune to this heat? How was everyone acting like the sun wasn't slowly frying them alive?
Her body was drenched in sweat, her legs beginning to ache. I cannot handle this, she thought, already reaching her limit. The adults kept chatting, completely oblivious to the fact that someone, namely her, was standing here dying slowly in the sun.
Without another second, she cut Charles off mid-sentence.
"Ugh, p-lease! Could we please enter the car? You guys can talk about your boring childhood stories later. The sun is literally burning my ass off here!" Nessa groaned, fanning herself with renewed vigor.
Molly smiled warmly. "Ooops, sorry Nes. Come on, y'all." She peeled herself off the van and searched for the car keys in her pocket. Once she found them, she unlocked the van.
"You guys, hop in."
Nessa's face drained of color. This cannot be happening, she thought, horrified.
"Wait, hold on!" she called, causing everyone to pause. "A-are we really gonna use this?" She gestured dramatically at the van.
The van's green paint was fading in patches, revealing dull white steel underneath. It looked tired, old, and pathetic.
Molly tilted her head, confused. "Yeah… what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Nessa blinked incredulously. "What's wrong is that we're about to use this van! Look at it! It looks so—"
"Beautiful," Kayla interjected sharply, smiling at Molly. "Come on, are we ready to go, guys?"
"Yeah, y'all should hop in," Molly nodded and slid into the driver's seat.
Nessa turned to Kayla, whispering in desperation, "Are you seeing this? This van?! Honestly, is it so hard to afford a decent car? This is embarrassing!"
Kayla gave her a light nudge. "Nessa, behave for one second. It'll do all of us good."
"Behave?!" Nessa hissed, glaring at the van. "We're literally going into this… this van! Honestly, couldn't we just have a normal car?!" She groaned again, shaking her head.
"As I said, Nessa, behave," Kayla sighed, massaging her temples.
Nessa pouted, muttering under her breath, "Whatever…"
Everyone climbed into the van, excited and happy… except Nessa.
She was definitely not happy. Aside from the fact that they were about to ride in a worn-out disaster of a van, she ended up wedged between Freddy and Adrien.
Adrien glared at her, giving the unmistakable "behave or else" look.
Freddy, on the other hand, was glued to his phone, acting like she didn't exist.
Nessa hissed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
Molly tried to start the van, but it refused. She tried multiple times, twisting the ignition over and over.
Nessa's face twisted. Great.
"Sorry, guys, for the inconvenience—"
You better be
"—This van can be really annoying. I fueled it this morning, but I wonder why it isn't working. Honestly, I'm planning to get a new one soon," Molly continued, still trying.
"Oh, Molly, no one's complaining—" Rose began.
I am! I'm fucking complaining!
"—So, take your time," Rose added warmly.
Finally, after many attempts, the van roared to life. They set off on the road, heading for a four-hour journey.
The van coughed here and there, jolting Nessa slightly. Boredom gnawed at her, so she started singing one of her favorite Taylor Swift songs—Cruel Summer.
Adrien's brows knitted tightly, and his eyes narrowed into slits. He turned sharply to her.
"Nessa, could you stop singing? You're invading my thoughts with that… croaked voice."
"Excuse me?" Nessa's eyes narrowed. "Firstly, I do not have a croaked voice. Secondly, I'm singing because I'm bored. What do you expect me to do? Sit silently and roast in this oven on wheels?"
"So? Being bored doesn't give you the right to disturb others. Nessa, I don't want to hear your voice one more time."
"You don't tell me what to do, Adrien!" Nessa snapped angrily. "Mom!"
Rose sighed. "Adrien, leave Nessa alone. If I hear either of you again, I promise you won't even see your phones. Now, be quiet!"
"B-b-but mom—" Adrien started.
"Enough! I don't want to hear it, Adrien!" Rose cut him off.
"Nessa and Adrien, why are you always fighting? You're giving your mother stress," Thomas intervened. "Adrien, leave Nessa alone. Just mind your business."
Adrien crossed his arms, fuming, glaring daggers at Nessa. Nessa, of course, stuck her tongue out and smiled victoriously.
Yeah, it was very immature of her. But she loved the way a vein bulged on Adrien's forehead.
Her victory smile faded quickly when Freddy's phone beeped beside her. Curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked at the screen, only to see he was texting a girl saved as "Oliv" with a cute, blushing emoji.
Nessa turned away, heart sinking.
Wow. Just… wow.
To make matters worse, the van coughed violently and finally stopped on the road. Molly twisted the ignition, but it was no use.
Nessa clenched her teeth. Worst. Day. Ever.
"Geez, fuck this van," Molly muttered, banging her fist on the steering wheel. She turned to glance at everyone, forcing a small smile.
"Oops, sorry, y'all. I guess… we'll have to get down. This van is quite faulty and needs a mechanic urgently."
That was the last straw for Nessa. She snapped.
"What?! I can't get down and bake under this scorching sun! I could literally roast to death!"
"I'm sorry, Nes, but we have no choice," Molly sighed, climbing out of the van.
Nessa groaned, about to protest again, but Kayla jumped in quickly.
"No problem, Aunt Molly," she said, smiling sweetly.
Nessa shot her a glare. Kayla just shrugged lightly.
Ughhhhhh. I swear, everyone is just perfectly fine under this sun, except me. Why is my life like this? Nessa groaned inwardly.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Three hours passed by. They stood under the sun while Molly frantically called for a mechanic. The parents strolled off to a nearby supermarket, buying snacks like nothing was wrong.
Nessa popped her soda with a dramatic hiss, and took a long, exaggerated sip. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, glaring at Freddy laughing with Tim and Milo.
"So… what you're saying is that Freddy is cheating on you, huh?" Kayla's eyebrow arched. "How are you sure about that, Nessa?"
"Because I saw it. He was texting some girl and smiling while doing it!" Nessa bit her lip, fuming.
Kayla glanced at Freddy, who was still obliviously laughing with Tim and Milo. She looked back at Nessa.
"Hmm… Nessa, the Freddy I know would never cheat on you. He's not that kind of guy."
Nessa huffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "Well, he did. Right before—"
"Ms. Molly!" a deep voice cut in. "Sorry I'm late."
Molly's face instantly brightened. "Oh, Ross! What kept you so long?"
"I had to do something urgent before coming here."
Nessa instinctively turned toward the voice, and her jaw dropped.
Standing beside Molly was the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen.
"Oh my, that guy is handsome," Kayla whispered, eyes widening. But she snapped back to the conversation and looked at Nessa. "Anyway, are you sure, Nessa? Maybe Freddy was just talking to one of his friends."
Kayla kept talking, but Nessa's mind and soul were no longer with her. She kept staring at the guy, and damn, was he extremely hot.
The sunlight struck his dirty blond hair, turning it into glowing streaks of gold that fell messily across his forehead. His eyes were striking blue and suited his attractive face that could've made a Greek god weep with envy.
With just a single sight at him, Nessa forgot how to breathe.
Who would breathe when a guy this hot existed?
Molly explained the problem with the van. The guy nodded, walked over, and flipped the hood open. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing tattoos that wrapped around his forearms.
When her eyes caught the muscles on his forearms, she almost fainted.
Now this what you call a man, Nessa swooned to herself
"Nessa? Nessa, are you hearing me?" Kayla asked, snapping her out of her daze.
Nessa blinked and tore her gaze away, though her brain lagged behind.
"Yeah… of course," she lied, forcing a smile.
Kayla continued talking, but Nessa wasn't listening anymore. She kept sneaking glances as the guy worked, muscles flexing with every twist and turn.
Then, right in the middle of her staring, a wicked little idea popped into her head.
And she grinned inwardly, devilishly.