Rough Waters

My dad brought us all into the living room. He told us we are sailing to Puerto Rico. Now, taking a boat to Puerto Rico would be an amazing trip. It seems exciting. There is just one problem: We HATE each other! Reasons:

Me (Brooke): I am angry with Bailey because she spread a rumor that I had herpes because the guy she liked liked me. She is angry because in her words “all the guys want me”. Ironically, I am a lesbian. Which brings me to my mother. I am angry at her because she said I embarrassed her when I came out. She says it was how I came out: I was arguing with my sister about the guy and I yelled at her “I like Girls!” very loudly...in a crowded Olive Garden. Finally, she will not let me drive my brand new car that my dad bought me. I feel she is punishing me for coming out. It is just collecting dust.

My sister (Bailey): She is upset with me over the guy and when she told everyone I had herpes, I lied and told everyone that she still wets the bed. We got into a huge fight and no longer sleep in the same room. She took my dad’s man cave which made him mad and I took the attic. She is also angry at my brother because he recorded our argument and put it all over social media.

My mother (Samantha): She feels my dad doesn’t respect her and never speaks to her on certain issues.

Dad (Derek): he is irritated that we took away his man cave and the attic, my brother doesn’t want to go into the family business and felt my mom emasculated him for demanding he not give me the keys to my car.

Brother (Derek Jr.): Mom smothers him, dad is embarrassed of him and me and Bailey told all the girls in the school that he cyberstalks them and shows up to the places they are at when he recorded our fight.

Yeah, we are going on a trip. What can possibly go wrong when you have five assholes together out in the water? My mother of course was livid. He bought an expensive vacation without telling her and we leave in two days. What person would be happy about this?

Everyone except my dad was agitated. This is very unnecessary and a waste of time and money for people who had literally haven’t spoken to each other in a week.

Wednesday: Day of the trip

We were all jammed in the car along with our luggage. The drive was only for ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity because no one talked. We got out and saw the ship. It was huge! Aurora was beautiful. The boat’s interior was extraordinary. White and light blue walls, coastal decorations, marble floors and an eternity pool and jacuzzi.

We began sailing. The water was a beautiful ble, the sky had no clouds and the weather was just right. It wasn’t bad until dinnertime. We sat at the table. We had no choice. Mom tried to be cordial and have a family conversation, but no one was in the mood.

“So, does anyone have anything to say?” mom said.

It was quiet. The tension was thicker than the fog out in the water. Bailey rolled her eyes at me. I spoke to her.

“Something you gotta say?” I said.

“If I did I would have said something.” Bailey said.

“You seem like you want to say something based on your eye roll.”.

“They are my eyes; I can do whatever I want with them.”

“Girls...” mom said.

“Got I hate your stupid face.” I said.

“Brooke!” mom said.

“I hate that you are still breathing” Bailey said.

“Bailey!” mom said. “You know what this is enough. We are doing this attitude on this trip”

“A trip you didn’t want to go on” Jr. said.

“Aren’t you going to say something, Derek?” mom said.

“They are siblings, what are you going to do?” dad said.

“You know what, I am leaving.”

Mom never left the table. She must have been livid. She slammed the door so hard, her glass of wine fell over. I think dad might be sleeping on the couch because we heard the lock. Everyone left the table upset. We left the food on the table. No one was hungry. I fell asleep and had a dream that I was swimming. The water was calm and still. I was floating and letting the sun bath my skin. Then, the water became rough, I was moving more rapidly to the point that I was drowning. I woke up to feeling the boat moving through rough waters. My mom knocked on my door.

“Brooke, put on a life jacket” she said.

“What is going on?” I said.

“The water is rough and I need you to put your life jacket on just in case.”

“Okay”

“I’ll go get Jr. and Bailey”

The water got more and more rough. As Bailey and jr. were walking, jr. fell into the water. It was rough. Jr. can’t swim and we all were trying to get him out of the water. Dad jumped in and tried to get him. The water was turning violent. So much so that it was making us fall. As dad got jr. on the boat, there was a huge wave coming towards us. We couldn’t escape it.

Aftermath:

I woke up, gasping for air. I was on a deserted island. Total shock was an understatement. I could barely walk but I was determined to, because all I cared about, was seeing my family.

“Mom! Dad!...Bailey...Jr…” I said, crying.

I ran calling their name. Hoping that one of them responded. The more I ran, the more that I began to cry.

“Mom!...Dad...Bailey...Jr…!”

Then, I saw my dad. He was gasping for air. I had never been happy to see someone like I was with my dad.

“Dad!” I said. “Dad! Over here”

He was trying to run but fell. I went over to go to him. I wanted to give him a big hug.

“Oh my God, Brooke! I am so glad to see you!” dad said. “ Where are the others?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up.”

“Okay you take that part of the island and I will look over there, meet in 10.”

“Okay.”

I became more and more anxious. While I wanted to find them, another worry came over me: How will we get back? I kept walking and walking. I was getting tired and began to eat some of these berries in the bushes. I devoured them. Then I heard a sound. It sounded like water. It was Jr. He was peeing.

“Jr?!” I said. “Jr. oh my God it’s you!”

“Hey whoa I am peeing!” he said. “It’s nice to see you too. Where is everyone?”

“I just seen dad. He is looking for mom and Bailey.”

“You guys still haven’t found them?”

“No, I just woke up!”

“Okay, I am done. Let’s go look for them.”

We met with dad 15 minutes later. The three of us were now looking for mom and Bailey. The island wasn’t small. We yelled for them. Hoping that they would hear. Hoping that they were alive. Dad told us to separate briefly. Within five minutes, I found Bailey. She was washing her hair in the water.

“Bailey!” I said

“Brooke! Oh My God!” Bailey said.

We hugged each other. Both of us began to cry. We haven’t hugged in years but i felt great. I missed my sister.

“I am so glad that you are okay.” I said.

“ I know I was so worried about you!” Bailey said. “I am sorry for everything I had done I never should have said that about you”

“It’s okay. I am sorry about what I said too. I just miss you!”

We hugged for 10 minutes. Dad and Jr. came over and hugged us as well. Now, we needed to find mom. My mind was racing. I wanted to talk to her again. I wanted to apologize to her. I wanted to hug her. We all looked around the island calling for her. We did not find her. We became more and more worried. The three of us were tired, but dad insisted on finding mom. He looked for hours. He called her name. He even went back and swam. It was night time. Dad sat on the sand. Devastated.

“I could have been a better husband.” he said.

“Dad…” I said.

“I never talked to her. Never included her in things. All she wanted was to be included.” he cried.

“I know” I cried.

I hugged my dad. It was the first time we were this close in god knows how long. Then, we heard Bailey and Jr. yell for us.

“Guys… look over there!.”

It was a cave. It was lit up as if there was a fire. We ran to it. Hoping. It was mom! She laughed hysterically and came hugging us. My dad would not let her go. We all hugged for a long time.

“Mom were you in this cave the whole time?” Bailey said.

“No, I was on the other side of the island. I went to get wood.” mom said.

“Mom, I missed you! I am so sorry for what I said” Jr. cried.

“It’s okay sweetie” mom said.

We gathered by the fire. She asked to speak to me privately.

“Sweetie, about what happened at the restaurant…” she said.

“Mom, it’s fine.” I said.

“No, I wanted to explain. I was not upset with you coming out at all. I am sorry that it appeared that way. I was embarrassed that you yelled out loud for everyone to see and I was embarrassed when we got kicked out…”

“Yeah, Olive Garden didn’t treat us like family that night.”

“But, I will never be embarrassed of you.”

“Then, why did you say I couldnt have the car?”

“I didn’t want you to drive because I am able to spend time with you when I drive you kids to school or activities. I didn’t want to take that away. But I was being selfish.”

“No mom I understand. I love you.”

“I love you too sweetie.”

We spent days trying to work together. We actually got along. My parents were not bickering, me and my siblings were working to find necessities. We spent days on the island trying to find ways to get off. We tried to make a boat out of leaves, wood, etc. We made rocks that spelled S.O.S. We were desperate and worried that this will be our lives. Then…

We saw a ship on the horizon! It was night time and we needed some way, somehow to get the ship’s attention.

“The ship is here! There is a ship out on the horizon!” Mom said.

“How are we going to get its attention?” Jr. said.

We looked around for something. Anything. Bailey came up with an idea. We made a fire. We had to make a big one for the ship to see. The ship saw us. They blew the horn. We ran into the water and yelled. We got off the island. We got back home and things weren’t normal; they were good. My sister and I share the same room again. Dad got his man cave back and had Jr. with him. My mother, Bailey and I spent time together. My parents were communicating better. I eventually got my car and drove Bailey and Jr. It took a deadly encounter with patchy water to get us here, but I am glad we arrived. Our family went through rough patches, but because of some rough water we are now smooth sailing.