THE UNFAITHFUL MAN

Once the flow coming out of my mother's mouth has dried up, she begins to discuss the choice of radio with my father.

I put my headphones back on my ears and shrug at my older brother who rolls his eyes. So I focus on my music and start a new album. I nod my head but get woken up by my phone vibrating on my thighs. The screen displays a new message from Enora. After the Bahamas, Tahiti and Hawaii, she is now leaving for Reunion Island. Some people are luckier than others. I hope she will think of bringing me a pineapple. Once my message wishing her to crash in the Indian Ocean is gone, I try to get some sleep but the sound of my rumbling stomach prevents me.

- I'm hungry," I say to the car.

- You already ate three hours ago," my mother complains.

- Nap time makes you hungry! Do we have any chocolate by any chance?

- I want some too, Mom," adds Louka.

- Okay, but only a square," replies my mother, who despite her many reproaches never refuses us anything.

I grab my square before Louka eats it and swallow it in a few seconds. A minute or two later I start to stress as I scratch my arms. I never scratch my arms. Not since we cut almonds out of my diet. Big red patches appear and I start to swell up around my ankles. Seriously? Did this really have to happen to me now? I try to tell someone, to speak, but as I expected, no sound comes out of my mouth. Taking a deep breath should help me. But the air doesn't reach my lungs. I try as well as I can not to succumb to the anguish but dizziness also makes their appearance and my concern turns into terror. I really can't hold my breath very long. A few seconds or more. Is my life really just a few seconds? I lean towards Louka, ignoring Logan who is between us because I know he wouldn't notice. In any case nobody reacts because Louna sleeps or at least tries to sleep. I approach slowly because my body hurts me more and more and I have only one desire it is to tear off me each square centimeters of my skin. I try to catch my breath, but nothing reaches my lungs. I begin to think that if no one notices me, I will soon leave this world. Then, strange as it may seem, a small sputtering sound comes from my mouth, followed by a bit of drool dripping down my chin.

- Logan, I'm trying to sleep," Louka says, mistaking me for the idiot who is our little brother.

He opens his eyes with the very probable aim of ordering Logan to be quiet or he abandons him somewhere but he sees my state and pests while shouting. My father brakes again and we are all, once again, thrown forward. A concert of horns is heard and several cars pass us, probably insulting us behind their windows. We start off again slowly and my mother turns around to ask us to be quiet. She sees my condition and yells again.

- Philippe! Stop immediately on the side of the road!

My father cuts all lanes when he sees my condition in the rearview mirror and a thunder of horns is heard again. As soon as I got to the edge, Louka ran out of the car and almost got hit. Cars avoid him but he gets a lot of insults. My mom takes a bottle of water from the trunk and opens my door. Louka takes me on one of his shoulders and puts me on the ground. I see the water bottle open and spill on me. I can't do anything. The water freezes me in place. The patches on my body start to disappear though, but my body has to eject the stored almond and I lean to the side to vomit after taking a sip of water. After that, my mother hands me a bottle of water which I grab before getting up with Louka's help. My father wraps me in a towel he took from the trunk along with some spare clothes.

- We'll stop at the next highway rest stop so you can change, he explains.

I swallow some water that I spit out to rinse my mouth and I get back in the car. I settle against the window and Logan finally realizes what is happening around him.

- Why did we stop? This is not the way to get to the cousins' house," he sighs. And why are you all wet, Aline? Don't touch my PSP.

- Aline has an allergy to almonds, my mother answers in order to make him shut up.

- And she can't watch what she eats?

Louka glares at him and Logan rolls his eyes.

- All right, I'll shut up.

- I'm so sorry, honey," my mom apologizes with tears in her eyes. I'm always very careful about what I buy, but your brother insisted on buying this booklet at the rest stop where we stopped three hours ago.

- No problem, I'm safe.

I close my eyes to hide the tears that threaten to show their nose and lean my head against the window, taking a breath of air. The fear that seized me a few moments ago is gone but the feeling of lack of air remains and makes me anxious. Once on the area, my father fills up the tank while my mother buys some cakes -without almonds- and I go to change in the toilets. Back in the car, I open a package of cookies and check my phone. I chat with Amy for a bit before she ditches me for Joshua, her new boyfriend. I go back to sleep again with the music in my ears. When I wake up, I'm not far from my cousins' house. I look at the scenery and everything around the car is admittedly a bit of a wonder. I have been coming here since I was a child, and yet I am always amazed at how green and fat the grass is, how high the trees are, and how gray the sky is, just like in Paris. Once I take off my helmet, I hear the local radio announcing an orange alert for heavy rain. I sometimes envy my cousins for living in this big house on the edge of the cliff, but when they tell us all what they have to do to get to the smallest town 30 minutes away by car, I tell myself that my life is not so bad. Anyway, they tend to never forget the bread.

- Mom? Can I wake up Louka, I ask mischievously.

- When we get there, let him sleep. But you can take Logan's console if you want," she said hopefully.

- No thanks, the last time I went on a mission like this I ended up with a terrible headache and a sore hand, I justified myself.

- It is beautiful to dream, sighs my mother without much conviction.

Not being able to have a little fun annoying my brothers, I refocus on myself and the memories I have of this place, the laughs with my cousins and the good times. At least with this, time passes faster. The house finally stands in front of me and once stopped my parents get out to start emptying the car. I decide to wake up my brother who took a good hour to find sleep:

- Louka? Louka? Wake up," I whisper in my most soothing voice.

He opens his eyes and looks at me strangely, then comes to his senses.

- We're here," he asks, leaning against the window.

- No, there are still two hours to go, I say, keeping my face as neutral as possible.

- But then why do you wake me up, you are boring Aline. Mom, he adds to complain.

He looks at me with a killer look when he doesn't get an answer and then turns his head towards the window to go back to sleep. A few seconds later, he opens his eyes again and exclaims:

- But we're here!

- Of course you did, you idiot, otherwise mom wouldn't have let me wake you up," I explain.

I don't wait for him to reply and get out of the car. I take my two suitcases which wait quietly beside the car and I go towards the door of the house when a huge dog jumps on me.