Enzo

"Enzo, come here," Papa called to me. I hadn't known they were coming too—no one had told me. As I walked closer, I saw Tio Jandro and Tio Pablo talking with him.

Tio Jandro had dark hair and dark eyes like Papa, while Tio Pablo had brown hair and brown eyes. It was clear that Tio Pablo cared a bit too much about his appearance; he looked like he'd dressed to show off how handsome he was. Cardo also looked like his father, Pablo.

"This is my youngest son, Enzo. He was very young the last time you saw him," Papa said to them.

"Wow, he looks exactly like you, man," Tio Pablo said, hugging me tightly.

"How old are you now?" Tio Pablo asked.

"18," I replied.

"Oh, my son is also 18... I think," he said, looking around. "Hey, Cardo, are you 18 or 17?" he called out loudly.

"I'm 18," Cardo answered. He was talking with Raphy's half-sisters.

After that, I had to chat with my tios for a few minutes to keep them happy.

"Come on, man. You've talked with them enough. Let's go talk to Tio Jandro's sons. They're so full of themselves, though—they act like they come from some kind of royal family. Royal family of my butt," Cardo said, chuckling. I chuckled with him.

"Hey, Enrique! Do you know this dude?" Cardo asked a guy who looked around Louis's age. He was dressed pretty decently, and I could tell he was one of Tio Jandro's sons.

"This is Enzo. I know him," he said, looking at me.

"Oh, okay," Cardo replied.

"Then let's meet the other three," Cardo said to me, trying to pull me away.

"Hey, hey, where are you going? Let's talk," Enrique said to me.

"Well, no. He needs to meet everyone first," Cardo told him.

"Who the hell are you, his papa?" Enrique asked, smirking.

"We're buddies now," Cardo said, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

"In that case, be careful, Enzo," Enrique said to me. I looked at Cardo with confusion.

"Don't worry about him. He's an idiot," Cardo said.

Then Cardo introduced me to all the other important people, and we slipped outside the house, like it had all been planned beforehand. Raphy showed up out of nowhere to join us.

"Let's go," Cardo said, and the three of us climbed into his SUV.

Finally, we drove out through the gate.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Let's hit the beach. Here are some drinks," Cardo said, handing us each a bottle. Raphy and I took a sip.

Then we saw Cardo grab another bottle and start drinking while driving.

"Yo, what the hell are you doing?" Raphy asked, his voice tense with fear.

"What?" Cardo asked, sounding confused.

"Don't drink and drive, man," Raphy said, looking scared. Cardo started to laugh.

"Do you know how many times I've been in accidents while driving?" he said, still laughing. Raphy and I exchanged shocked looks.

"No," we both said.

"This is my fifth car, dude. Fifth car," he laughed like an idiot, sounding oddly proud of his accidents.

"What the hell, dude? Let me drive, you idiot," Raphy said.

"Come on, I didn't kill anyone. Only one guy broke his leg and stayed in the hospital for three months. That's it. His leg even healed after a year. He can walk now. So relax," Cardo said.

"Give me the car. I'll drive," Raphy insisted.

"Cardo, we don't want to end up with one leg. So if you're going to get us into an accident, either kill us on the spot or make sure we come out unharmed," I said firmly.

Raphy looked at me with fearful eyes, while Cardo just laughed loudly.

"Sure, dude. Sure," he said, still laughing.

"I think he's going to kill us," Raphy whispered to me.

"Don't worry, man. The beach is only ten minutes away. You know what, Enzo? Don't bring this baby along next time," Cardo said in an annoyed voice.

I glanced at Raphy, who now looked angry.

"Do you even have a license?" Raphy asked, clearly frustrated.

"Oh, that's a funny story, actually. Let me tell you after I have a bit more to drink," Cardo said, taking another swig from the bottle.

"Stop drinking while driving, you idiot. And you're going way too fast," Raphy said.

"Here's what happened. I failed all the driving tests," Cardo said. Raphy and I exchanged another look. This could be our last day on earth.

"But I have a license. Do you know how?" he chuckled. "Papa made a fake one for me," he said, laughing louder.

It was actually a funny story, so I laughed along with him. When I glanced over at Raphy, he looked devastated.

"Come on, dude. He hasn't drunk that much," I said, taking a drink myself. Raphy stayed silent. Maybe he'd never come with us again—if he managed to get home alive today.

Cardo was a funny guy. I liked him. Raphy was too serious; I think he worried about things too much.

Raphy

We arrived at the beach around 7:30 pm. It wasn't crowded, with only a few people scattered in the distance.

Enzo and Cardo were similar in some ways; both drank a lot and smoked cigarettes. They kept asking me to drink too, but I only smoked a few cigarettes. I'd already decided I would drive us back. I didn't want Cardo driving and risking our lives.

Cardo and Enzo started singing loudly, each with an arm around the other, wandering up and down the beach. They tried to jump into the water about a hundred times, and I kept dragging them back onto the sand.

"Who the hell is making all that noise?" I heard someone say, and when I turned around, I saw Toni, Romeo, and Paco—guys we knew but weren't exactly friends with.

"Oh... it's that crazy Perez jerk," Toni sneered, and Cardo turned to look at them.

"Hola, pathetic Cruz brothers," Cardo said, spotting them.

"I saw your Papa on the beach last night with a girl your age," Toni taunted, smirking. Cardo's expression darkened with anger. His Papa had a reputation for dating a lot of women, which was why his Mama had divorced him. After that, he'd tried to settle down, but most of his relationships didn't last more than a few months since many women were only interested in his money.

"And your Papa still has to live with that fat bitch," Cardo shot back, making Toni clench his fists.

"And where's your Mama, Cardo? Did she leave because she caught your Papa with another woman in his office?" Toni countered. If they ran out of insults, it was definitely going to turn into a fight.

Cardo stepped closer to Toni, but just then, a man approached us.

"Hey, boys, don't start a fight here, or I'll call the police," the man warned. He was a big guy, and both Toni and Cardo backed off for a moment. The man stayed for a few seconds before walking away.

"Who the hell is this?" Toni asked, eyeing Enzo from head to toe as if he were something delicious.

"Why the hell do you care, dog? Why are you licking your lips while looking at him?" Cardo shot back.

"I didn't lick my lips, you jerk," Toni replied angrily.

Finally, I finished smoking my cigarette and tossed the butt aside. "Okay, boys, let's go. It's time for dinner," I said to Enzo and Cardo.

"And Toni, stay the hell away from them," I added, gesturing for my two annoying cousins to follow me.

Enzo and Cardo trailed behind me, singing away. I quickly realized they weren't even singing the same song, and the discord hurt my ears.

"Can you at least sing the same song?" I said firmly, raising my voice in frustration.

"We are singing the same song," Cardo insisted, launching into a nursery rhyme while Enzo belted out an English song.

"Yo, that's Toni's car," Cardo exclaimed, pointing to a vehicle and sprinting toward it.

"Come on, Enzo, let's pee on it," he said, quickly unzipping his trousers and starting to urinate on the car.

Enzo laughed and followed suit.

"Come on, Raphy," Enzo urged.

"Eh... no thanks! I'm good," I replied.

Cardo was laughing so loudly that I feared we'd get caught because of him.

"Hey, do you want to get caught?" I asked.

He put a finger to his lips—the same finger that had just touched his penis—and pressed his lips together, struggling to contain his laughter.

"That's gross, man," I said, while Enzo burst out laughing at Cardo's antics.

As soon as we emptied our tanks, Toni and his crew charged toward us, yelling.

"Hey, you dogs! We saw what you did!" They rushed at us, grabbing us and starting to beat us. We fought back, ripping our shirts and punishing each other like wild animals. Finally, a few men intervened, breaking us apart and scolding us for making noise.

"Go away, you thugs," one man growled. We quickly got into our vehicle and left the beach.

We arrived home before 8 PM. As soon as we pulled the car inside, some of the girls in the family were outside and saw us coming. They noticed our ripped shirts and the dirt and blood smeared across our bodies.

"What the hell happened to you three?" one girl asked.

"None of your business," Cardo retorted, trying to stumble through the front door like a stupid drunk idiot.

"Come here," I whispered, pulling him aside to the back entrance. We snuck in quietly and asked Enzo to go to his room and change into some fresh clothes. I took Cardo to my room to give him some of my clothes that I had bought but hadn't worn yet.

We both came out and looked for Enzo, but he still wasn't there. I told Cardo to mingle with the crowd and act like nothing had happened. Of course, he would, but it was obvious he was drunk.

"Enzo," I called, knocking on his door.

"Come in," he replied, and I opened the door. "Wow, what's that smell?" I asked, noticing the whole room smelled really nice.

It looked like he had just come out of the shower.

"Did you take a shower?" I checked my watch; it was now 8 PM. Dinner would start soon.

"Yeah, I was sweating and stinking," he said, changing his clothes.

"Okay, whatever. Just hurry up," I said and left his room.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed me. "Where the hell is Enzo? I've looked for him everywhere." It was Pedro, and he sounded both angry and worried.

"Oh, he's taking a shower," I said.

"Shower?" Pedro gave me a questioning look.

"Yes, he said he was sweating and smelly," I explained. Pedro regarded me suspiciously, considering that the whole house was air-conditioned.

"Oh, we were in the garden. It's kind of hot. We played some... football," I added, smiling.

"Oh... okay," he said, turning to go to Enzo's room. He opened the door without knocking. He really should learn to knock before entering.

I spotted Cardo and Tio Pablo having a conversation in a corner. It looked like they were arguing about something. They were debating quietly, too far for me to hear exactly what they were saying, but Cardo seemed upset, and Tio was trying to calm him down. Well, they always fought and argued; it was their hobby. Nothing new there.

"So, you disappeared," Papa said, suddenly appearing behind me. I startled and turned to face him.

"Yeah, disappeared like Mama," I shot back after a split second, and his expression changed.

"Don't ever talk to me like that," he said angrily.

"I'll try," I replied, quickly leaving before he could ask anything else.

"Raphael, where the hell did you go? Your Papa looked for you everywhere. He was really scared," my stepmother said as I brushed past her.

"I was in the garden," I said, not stopping to explain further. I heard her trying to say something, but I didn't wait to listen.

Enzo and Cardo joined me again.