I thought the torture ended by Mark’s and Oliver’s aggressive debate, but I changed my mind immediately when I heard the next one,
“Rose, it must feel so nice to play the victim and make every guy take your side” Laina commented, her tone laced with hatred and jealousy. I was about to give her the peace of mind but Oliver beat me to it.
“What do you mean? Who is playing the victim?” I asked in anger.
“You always….” Laina, as always, tried to put the blame on me but shut her mouth immediately when she heard Oliver’s agitated voice,
“Can you just stop for once?”
At that moment, I was so done with them that I decided that I won’t go any further with them.
An idea popped into my head and I grabbed my leg.
“Ahh!” I screamed painfully.
“What happened?” Oliver asked, his voice full of concern and care.
Everyone stopped and, Mark, Oliver and Olivia came towards me.
“I think I sprained my ankle” I replied clutching my leg like I am in so much pain.
‘See, this is called acting baby’
“You can’t walk?” Olivia asked confusedly.
‘What else, b*tch?’ I wanted to shout but I kept my head down
Mark looked at me with narrowed eyes. Looks like he wasn’t buying it.
Stop looking at me with those judgy eyes, Mark Blue!
“Answer me in one word” He said looking straight in my eyes.
“Mark, what are you…?” Oliver tried to defend me but Mark held his hand to cut him off.
The beads of sweat started forming on my forehead and nose.
What the hell is he going to ask? He always catches me when I am lying! Darn him!
“Which leg of yours hurt?” He asked like he is playing damn rapid fire with me.
“Left” I replied quickly.
“Which ankle you sprained?” He asked again in equal speed.
“Right… I mean left”
‘Damn you bas**rd!’
I bit my inner cheek for getting caught again.
“Try something new, Rosey. You did the same act during my graduation too” Mark shook his head.
“I hate you” I said looking at him with a solemn look.
Ignoring my three magical words, Mark added with unbothered expressions,
“Everyone, keep moving”
I smiled embarrassingly and started walking behind my bloody brother avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially Oliver.
I heard Eva whispering, “What is wrong with her?” but I still didn’t react.
After some time, I made another failed attempt.
I intentionally fell on the floor and grabbed my knees.
“Mark, I lost my balance and injured my knees” I tried to make my voice sound as painful as possible. I even rubbed my eyes for some fake tears before falling down.
Mark didn’t even turn and replied, “You did the same during summer camp when you wanted to avoid group activity. Minnie told me”
“Minne, that wench!” I groaned in anger.
I got up and stomped my feet while walking behind my brother.
Being my stubborn self, I just couldn’t give up. Their whispers and mocking laughs were making me sick and I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
I kept one of my hands on the tree trunk near me and my other hand on my chest before I painfully whisper
“Mark! My chest is hurting! I cant breathe!”
“Rosey!” Oliver ran towards me this time.
‘Awww, he’s such a cutie! I wonder how he is still single!’ I really wanted to hug my kind Oliver as he still believed me after my two fake attempts.
Mark being an unbothered King, kept on walking.
“Mark, how can you be so mean? She is suffocating!” Oliver said in a concerned tone.
“She is acting, Oliver. That’s what she did when we went to Bali. You pay too much attention to her” Mark replied while shaking his head.
‘Wench, nobody embarrasses their blood sister like this! I always knew I am adopted!’
He turned towards Oliver and me and added,
“You know, what comes next? She will find a nearby lake and jump into it and pretend she is drowning. Don’t be surprised then” he said with a chuckle and turned around to walk again like he didn’t just dissolve my next plan.
What the… how the hell did he know me so well? I was literally looking for a lake.
“Just for your information, she can swim very well and she has two gold medals in swimming. She can even hold her breath underwater for three minutes, maybe more, and be careful of a ditch before she ‘accidentally’ rolls in it” Mark shouted as he was walking towards the front with my other cousins.
Oliver looked at me with an astonished gaze.
I noticed everyone was moving away only Oliver and I were left.
I stood straight, adjusted my clothes, and was ready to dash for another attempt but Oliver’s words made me stop in my tracks.
“Rosey, I really want to take you there. Can’t you just tolerate them once for me?”
“Okay. I won’t cause any trouble. I am sorry” I replied in defeat.
The look of sadness Oliver gave me really made me upset to my core. I shouldn’t have done that. It was he who planned this trip. I should have just ignored them like I always do.
“I am really sorry, I’ll ignore them like the bug that was crushed under my shoes five minutes ago” I promised.
“That’s my girl” Oliver said with a genuine smile.
He called me ‘his’ girl. I couldn’t help but smile back.
I can’t forget the fact how angry I was! Because of Mark, Oliver saw my shitty side which was clearly my fault but I won’t take the blame on myself and I will never forgive that bloody Mark Blue for that!
I removed my cell phone and typed in the search engine, ‘How to kill your own brother painfully at home without leaving a trace behind’
As I pressed the search option, it showed no internet connection.
I raised my cell phone and moved it here and there to catch a signal.
“Let’s go, guys” I heard Mark screaming from ahead.
“There is no network here” I said in disbelief.
“It’s a forest, duh!” Liana replied sarcastically.
“Rot in hell” I replied in a sing-song voice and kept on moving my cell phone, looking for a signal.
“Oliver, come here. Ignore her. She will follow” Mark said casually and Oliver sighed and ran towards him, leaving me alone.
As I observed the distance between them and me has increased, I tried to run towards them but my hand was still raised in the air and I was looking towards my cell phone screen.
I heard a weird noise from behind and turned back to look but found nothing. I shrugged my shoulders and turned back.
Suddenly, my head bumped into a gigantic tea branch and I fell on the floor.
I touched my forehead and looked at my hand covered with blood.
“Mark!” I shouted in fear.
I felt my eyes closing and next thing I knew, the darkness engulfed me as I tried to say the next word.
“Oliv….!”