A/N: Hi there. Originally this chapter was very long and as you could read so far written in several POV's. I decided to split the chapter into several. This might happen again.
Tobias' POV
I stare in wonder as does everybody else as the four men and Beatrice, Caleb's sister, recite their lines and drink their drinks. I wonder what this is all about. For the first time I look at the girl. She isn't tall, she is rather petite, unlike Caleb who is tall and muscular. She is blonde and her eyes are bluish, but it's hard to tell, because she had been crying a lot. Her skin is a little tan, but not much. She stands tall, like she belongs between the men and she probably does. Not because they are related, but because they consider her their equal. I know for a fact that she is only fifteen years old. Caleb told us she will be sixteen by the end of this month, the 30th to be exact. But unlike anyone one else here, she received one glass of scotch and she was allowed to drink it. No one said a word.
"I wanted to ask you something" she says, her voice raspy.
"What is it, sweetie?" her father asks.
"I wanna do what mom wants me to do" she says.
"Alright. It is too late to enroll you now, but too soon to do it for next year. How about we'll go to the school on Monday and talk to the principal?" her father asks and she nods. She doesn't smile, she just looks incredibly sad. I have never seen anyone look so sad.
"We also have a surprise for you" her mom says as she approaches her from behind and hugs her. "Your dad and a few other parents decided to run a camp for some of the kids at your brother's school. We think it would be a good idea for you to join" her mom tells her smiling.
"Do I have to?" she asks looking over her shoulder. She doesn't sound like a spoiled brat, but more like it's too hard for her to even think of doing it. Her mother furrows her eyebrows and looks up for a moment to seek help from her husband.
"Honey, you love the outdoors. Don't you wanna spend some time just relaxing outside?" her dad asks her.
"Yeah, Bee, come on. It will be so much more fun if you come. That way I'll have someone there who I actually like and don't have to pretend" Lynn says approaching her cousin. I'm not sure if she just said that to cheer her cousin up or if she means it. She is more of a loner. But then again, I don't like to share much about myself either.
"I don't want to, Lynn. You guys go. Have fun. I'll bore you anyways" she says looking away sad.
"You're kidding?" Matt asks. "From all these kids you are probably the most interesting" he says. I would feel offended, but I'm sure he wants to cheer her up. Besides I don't really care if people think I'm interesting or not.
"Hey, I'm interesting" Shauna says.
"In your dreams" Matt replies.
"I'm head cheerleader" she says pushing her chest out.
"Oh, my, head cheerleader" Matt starts mocking her in a fake, ridiculous British accent.
"Stop it" she says smacking him. We all start laughing at their antics, until my gaze falls on Beatrice. She untangled herself from her mother's embrace and started leaving the room. I watch as her mother tries to stop her, but just as she reaches for her daughter, her husband grabs her wrist and shakes his head. They both look after her as she disappears up the stairs.
"Did she leave already?" Caleb asks as he finally notices his sister's absence.
"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll convince her to come with us. How about you kids go bowling or to a movie?" Mr. Prior asks. "My treat" he says and most of my friends cheer. We leave the house, even though Caleb insisted he wanted to stay, but his mother made him leave. I get in my truck and Caleb sits next to me, while Lynn, Shauna and Zeke sit in the back. We decided to drive to the bowling alley.
"What do you think really happened?" Caleb asks no one in particular.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused.
"Matt said her friends died. What friends? I never heard her talk about any friends."
"Just because she didn't talk about them to you doesn't mean she didn't have any" Lynn says defensively.
"I didn't mean it like that" he says.
"I know, but you have this wrong image of your sister that you started advertising in school" Lynn says.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asks and turns around to face her. It's easy for him to do that since she sits right behind me.
"You see her as the shy ugly duckling" Lynn starts saying.
"I never said she's ugly" Caleb defends.
"Yeah? When did you ever tell her otherwise? Anyways, Bee is more than just your baby sister. She is a champ. Do you have any idea how hard it is to climb a mountain?" Lynn asks.
"Yeah, dad took me, too" he says sarcastic.
"You mean that one time when you kept whining that your sorry ass is freezing? Yeah, that was hilarious. No, you dickhead. It requires a lot of discipline and hard work to be able to climb a mountain. And that, my dear cousin, wasn't a real mountain, a hill, maybe, but not a mountain."
"What do you know?" Caleb asks angry.
"I know that Bee loves mountain climbing and that she is really good at it. She even won tournaments. If you thought your parents got her the mountain gear and the new laptop than you are wrong. She won a shit load of money and bought all that stuff herself."
"I didn't know that" Zeke says. Neither did I. "Why didn't you ever tell me, babe?" he asks Shauna.
"I didn't know. Are you sure, Lynn?" she asks her sister.
"Of course I am. If you guys would have been less mean to Bee and a little more involved in that girl's life you would have known" she says and crosses her arms over her chest, turning her head and looking outside the window. No one says anything for a while, until we get to the bowling alley. We get out of the car and get inside to rent shoes and start our game.
A/N: I would like to know your opinions so far. Please review.