Fucked Up Family Pt. 01

Every so often, I work on a story and think, 'this is the most depraved thing I'll ever write.' Then, a few months later, I create something far, far worse. So here we are.

There's some watersports going on in the upfront, but eventually it settles down to more wholesome pursuits.

Everyone here is over the age of 18.

*

As James Campbell looked over his shoulder to back the car out of the driveway, he glanced at his three children, sitting primly in the backseat. It made him sad. As serene as the siblings seemed in the moment, James knew the trio would be at each other's throats before they even got to the highway.

His oldest daughter, Alexis -- long dark hair hanging down to her chest and deep green eyes -- was looking out the window like she was planning her escape route. Her younger brother, Austin, was on the other side. He had blond hair like his Mom, close-cropped, and blue eyes like his Dad. He stared out the other window, almost a mirror of his oldest sister. If the two of them knew they were matching each other, they'd probably move simply to spite each other, James thought.

Only his youngest -- Molly, just turned 18 -- smiled slightly at her Dad as he looked back. Molly's eyes were blue like his, but so pale they were practically gray. Like Austin, she had her mother's golden hair, but it fell in ringlets all the way down to the middle of her back.

James sighed and tried to concentrate on driving. They'd just bought the new SUV. It made way more sense for caravanning three older children, but maneuvering the thing was a bit of a production. He felt more like a school bus driver than a Dad.

James felt a hand on his leg and looked over. His wife, Christine, smiled at him warmly. Unlike most 39-year-old moms, she had actually slimmed down compared to when they'd first met. Christine proudly proclaimed she had less than 15% body fat and, boy, you could tell just by looking at her. Even her hair -- blonde like Austin and Molly, but straight and jaw-length short -- looked almost sharp. James smiled back at his wife. She might look tough, but he knew she was still the kind, caring woman he'd met in high school.

James had been a football jock and Christine was a science geek, but, somehow, they'd found each other. The couple was always careful, of course, but inexplicably Christine got pregnant anyway. The doctors said something about James having 'unusually potent sperm.'

Christine was devastated. She was still in high school and her whole life was in front of her. But giving up the baby didn't occur to either of them. Instead they quickly got married. Christine stayed in school and James went off to get a job.

They named the first baby Alexis. Austin and Molly soon followed. The third pregnancy was the final straw and Christine had her tubes tied. It was safer for everyone that way.

Despite the setback of having children young, both parents were extraordinarily successful. Christine was one of the leading ophthalmologists in the state and James was a high-level executive for a major pharmaceutical firm. The kids hadn't suffered for their parents' careers, either. Alexis, Austin, and Molly were all attractive, intelligent, successful children with bright futures ahead of them.

Yet for some reason James still felt oddly unfulfilled. He'd just turned 40 and, for the first time he could remember, his age was weighing on him. Maybe it was that the kids -- now 21, 19, and 18 respectively -- were moving out of the house. Although, the way they'd been acting lately, he was starting to wish they'd just go already. We need to get a dog, he thought.

"You seem distracted, hon," Christine said, her hand still resting on her husband's leg. Her fingers lightly teasing at his hair, "Everything OK? You want me to drive?"

They'd only gone a few feet down the road. The campsite was still hours in front of them. James already felt tired. But he smiled and shook his head. Something about giving up the wheel felt like surrendering. So he made himself sit up a little straighter, took a big gulp of his coffee, and focused on the road.

The car was actually quiet for a while and James began to relax. Maybe they would have that nice family trip after all. But as soon as he pulled onto the highway, just as he'd feared, the kids started arguing.

"Stop touching me, perv!" Alexis said, slapping at her brother.

"How can I be touching you if I'm all the way over here?" Austin said, slapping back.

"I don't know, maybe you're using your extra-long perv fingers or something," Alexis said. She reached across the seat and gave her brother a good, hard pinch on the arm.

"Or maybe you're just extra fucking crazy," Austin said and tried to pinch his eldest sister back.

"Ow! That was me, you jerk!" Molly said, slapping her brother.

"Stop hurting your baby sister!" Alexis said, and hit him, too.

"Moooom Daaaad, the girls are picking on me," Austin said.

"God..." Christine said, turning around to glare at her children, "This is the last trip we're going to have together for a long time. Can't you all, like, get along for a little while?"

"How much further do we have to go, James?" Alexis asked.

James ground his teeth and gripped the wheel tightly. This was his eldest daughter's newest thing: calling her parents by their first names. Her way, in her words, of being 'adult.'

"Mommy and Daddy are baby words," Alexis had said.

Christine told him it was only a phase and he should ignore it. But it made James nuts and Alexis seemed to know it, which only made her do it more. What was so wrong with calling him Dad, seriously?

"It's another two hours, Alexis," James said.

"Ugh, James I told you I want you to call me Lexi," Alexis said.

"Maybe if that was your name he'd call you that, Sis," Austin said.

"At least I'm not named for some stupid stoner town in fucking Texas, Bro," Alexis said. And then the arguing in the backseat started all over again.

James rubbed his eyes like he was trying to grind them out of his head. He'd planned this lake trip for months. One last family trip together before they all abandoned him to old-man-hood. The trunk of the new car (And the seats. And the roof) was filled with new tents, camping equipment, fishing rods... At one point, James had joked that he felt like he was buying a brand-new life. Now he wondered if that was true.

And, worse, if he had failed.

*

Christine thought the fighting would get better once everyone settled in for the ride, but, if anything, the kids only bickered more. Worse, her husband seemed to be physically pained by every angry word. Christine swore she could hear his teeth crunching over the roar of the engine. She reached over and patted his leg again.

"You're so tense, hon," she said, "And you've got such low energy. Don't worry, I think I have just the thing."

The whole car groaned, James included. The family was well indoctrinated on the nature of Christine's health program. It had started after her residency. After all those crazy hours (not to mention the three kids), she'd become addicted to caffeine and junk food and it showed. She'd found herself flabby in all sorts of places, started getting acne like she was 15 again, just hated herself. The person she saw in the mirror.

So, Christine started exercising a little. Then a lot. She changed her whole diet. It was constant work, but she was in better shape now than she'd been in her entire life. But Christine wasn't content to keep her new lifestyle to herself. She felt so much better and she wanted her whole family to feel the same way.

She loved that her husband still had an athlete's body, and with her help, he'd kept himself trim. The couple both worked out together and their competitive natures kept things fresh. Sure, James had some crinkles around his eyes and his hair was going silver at the sides, but otherwise he could easily have been mistaken for ten years younger.

Their children were all also in excellent shape, though Molly had put on a little baby fat through puberty and was still sloughing some of it off. Still, Christine thought, why feel good when you could feel even better?

So, the whole family had done crossfit together and went paleo for a while. Did all kinds of cleanses and took special supplements. Christine thought of herself as a kind of family chemist, experimenting with different combinations till she found the perfect one.

"You all complain about the pills now," Christine said, "But when you have twice the energy and none of the mopes, you'll be thanking me."

"Or we'll all be crapping our brains out," Alexis said, "Remember the cranberry cleanse?"

"Oh God," Austin said, "I still get nauseous whenever I see a bottle of Ocean Spray."

Well, Christine thought, at least the kids were agreeing on something. Even if it meant they were all united against her.

*

It was only three hours of driving, but by the time they pulled up to the campsite, Austin was already done with the vacation. His big sister, Alexis, was up his ass the whole drive and the rest of the family seemed happy to fill in behind her. Even his Mom, usually his champion, had seemed perfectly happy to sit back and let his sisters have their way with him.

As soon as his father stopped the car, Austin leapt out like he thought the engine was about to explode. He stood off to the side and stretched. Soaked in the momentary freedom. Even through his anger, Austin found himself glorifying in the view. Not the lake -- the lush valley, the rush of the distant waterfall, the clean smell of grass and pine. No, there was another, far more enchanting, scene that Austin was entranced with. One he couldn't stop enjoying, no matter how wrong he knew it was.

Alexis got out of the car first. Lexi, he corrected himself, though he didn't know why she'd decided to take start calling herself that. Like it made her a different person or something. Austin thought it was so fake, which was why he insisted on calling her Alexis, no matter how many times she corrected him. Austin hated his sister, truly, in a way that only siblings could despise each other.

That's what made his current obsession so much harder (and boy were those words appropriate). Because as he glared at Alexis with hatred, Austin also ogled her with lust. It wasn't a conscious decision to feel this way (quite the opposite, in fact), but even now, watching his older sister get out of the car, Austin wondered how he ever could not appreciate his sister.

Alexis was tall, almost Austin's height, and thin like their mother. Raven black hair and bright green eyes. She had almost no chest, but she still had a great body -- her long legs, in particular. Austin imagined them wrapped around his waist many times while he was...

Well, there was no point in dwelling on it.

Molly got out of the car next. Austin's baby sister was almost the opposite of Alexis. About a foot shorter than him with broad shoulders and flowing blonde curls, Molly was curvy as hell. She didn't appeal as much to Austin, he liked his girls skinny, but he could still appreciate his little sister's massive tits and plump, prominent ass. Molly didn't feature as often in Austin's fantasies -- and when she did she was more of a side-feature (if you get the meaning) -- but he still enjoyed watching her.

Finally, Austin saw his Mom coming around from the front of the car. She was about Molly's height, but she had Alexis' body, all the way. Better than Alexis', being honest. His mother was a machine. Muscular and taut with these deep green eyes that seemed to burn right through you. Austin appreciated Molly and he wanted Alexis, but his Mom? Austin thought she was the most sexy, incredible woman he'd ever seen.

Christine looked over at her son and seemed to catch him staring. Austin quickly glanced around for a distraction. Reflexively, he pulled out his phone and flicked it on. Nothing. Not even the echo of a signal reached into the park. He was walking around with a big black brick in his pocket for the duration of the trip. Damn.

Austin's father came over and looked down at the phone.

"No signal?" James asked, he sounded as excited as Austin was distraught, "Good. We've got better things to do than stare at screens all week."

Together, the two men unpacked the car and set up the tents. There were three of them: one for the parents, one for the two girls, and a single for Austin, himself.

As they worked, Austin did his best to focus only on the natural spectacle surrounding them. They had a secluded spot about a ten minutes' walk to the water. Bathrooms and showers were also about ten minutes away in the other direction. The campsite was surrounded by trees. There was a small picnic table, a charcoal grill, and -- most importantly -- no people. It really was beautiful. Frustratingly secluded and silent, but beautiful.

While the men set up the campsite, the women worked on putting lunch together. Austin's stomach growled. His father gave him a knowing smile. Austin only hoped he looked as good as his Dad at 40. The man was fit, tan, and the little bit of silver in his dark hair only made him look distinguished rather than old. Austin knew that most of the guys at school lusted after his sisters. He also knew a good many that drooled over his Mom. But he'd yet to meet a girl who didn't absolutely swoon when they saw his Dad. Austin couldn't help but be jealous of that.

Austin looked over at his Mom. She was leaning slightly over the table, causing her perfect ass to poke out like she was getting ready to be taken from behind. Her little tits hung down in her light blue t-shirt. The muscles in her arm, strained. His Dad got to be with that woman whenever he wanted. Oh, Austin definitely couldn't help but be jealous of that...

Austin felt a hand on his shoulder. His father. Austin's heart seized like his Dad was squeezing it rather than his arm.

"Enjoying the view?" his father said. Shit fuck shit!

"Yes, it's ummm, very nice?" Austin asked.

"I love this place. The lake. The trails. It's so peaceful. Tough to find a place with no people these days, you know? For us to be together as a family with no one else around, I don't think you understand what a rare treasure that is."

Austin's chest loosened. He stood a little straighter.

"Yes, Dad," he said, "I always liked coming here when we were kids."

"I know you've been having trouble lately. That whole mess with the party..."

"I told you, Dad, that was Finn. Not me."

"And the car..."

Austin looked down at the ground. He didn't have an answer to that one.

"It's perfectly natural after high school to wonder where your life is going. Especially if you aren't getting a degree."

"College isn't for me. I know you don't get it, but at least try to respect my decision, OK? Do you really want me wasting a hundred grand on something we both know I won't succeed at? Besides, Chef Paul says I've got real talent."

"No, I know," James said, "I appreciate you being honest with us. With yourself. Which is kind of what I'm trying to get at. Your mother and I are both very proud of the man you've become," Austin's father took both his son's shoulders in his hands now, looked him straight in the eye, "Despite everything else that's been going on, we know that you're becoming a respectable, responsible young man. You're going to make some girl very happy someday."

"Is this the grandkids speech, Dad?" Austin asked, "Just because you and Mom were already working on your second at my age..."

His father laughed. "No. It's the 'I'm honored to have you as a son' speech. Grandkids? Eh, they can wait a few years yet."

Austin's father clapped him on the shoulder, and then the older man walked over to the picnic table. Austin smiled. Suddenly the valley seemed far brighter than when they'd arrived.

*

James sat down at the picnic table feeling good about himself. They'd made it to the lake in record time. The camp was all set up. Nothing to do now but relax and enjoy his family.

James had meant every word he'd said to his son. He really was proud of the boy, of the man he was growing into being. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was a little jealous, as well. James remembered being young, but he didn't recall ever being as studly as Austin with his broad, muscular chest and playful, boyish smile.

Every now and then, James thought he caught his wife appreciating their son, as well, but he quickly arrested his thinking. Maybe his suspicions came from the fact that James, himself, often found himself eyeing their female offspring. As his daughters joined him at the table, James had to concede that both had grown into young beauties. Alexis (he knew he was supposed to call her Lexi but he couldn't) was almost as tall as him with long black hair and an athletic build like her mother's, but with some of the younger curves still intact.

His youngest, though, Molly -- his baby girl -- she was something else. Her blonde hair, running in ringed rivulets that practically kissed the middle of her back. She was shorter and rounder than either her mother and her sister, and it gave her assets that overwhelmed the others by far. Christine talked like Molly was fat, which was ridiculous. The girl's stomach was almost as flat as her mother's. She was just curvy and... Damn. All James saw was a healthy young girl with a knockout body that any boy would beg to be with.

Christine put a tray of food down on the table, then sat down on the bench next to her husband. Austin reached for a sandwich, but Christine pushed his hand away.

"Prayers, really?" Austin asked. James chuckled. The family was religious, yes, but not devout. He believed strongly in God and His church. But you heard about some real crazies out there (This one story he'd been told about a woman from a nearby parish who'd essentially impregnated her daughters to stop her son from masturbating was particularly disturbing. It gave James the shivers just thinking about it). He was proud that the Campbells weren't a part of stuff like that.

"No, honey, first I want you to take the supplement," Christine said, "I think we all should."

The kids all groaned in unison. Even James felt a little whine slipping out of his mouth.

"Come on guys," Christine continued, "You're all clearly worn down and the day hasn't even started yet. Don't you want to be energized?"

"Energized, yes. Constipated? No," Austin said.

"Or worse, the other way around," Alexis said, "I know the bathrooms are usually clean here, but I don't want to spend all week in one."

Molly didn't say anything, but she looked off to the lake like she was thinking about making a run for it.

"It's not that kind of cleanse," Christine said, "Dean gave it to me down at the health shop. You'll just pee a little more, that's all."

Christine was always trying new things from her favorite health nut, Dean. James was almost positive they weren't fucking, but (like with their son) part of him had to wonder. Of course, James was being overprotective of his wife. Something about getting older was making him act oddly, he knew it. But that didn't mean he knew how to stop.

Christine cleared her throat loudly, then glared at her husband. Oh yes. United front and all that.

"If your mother thinks it's a good idea, we should try the supplements," James said.

"OK, Daddy," Molly said, "If you say so." She smiled at him obsequiously and he couldn't help but grin back. At least someone was still Daddy's girl.

"OK, Christine," Alexis said, "I'll take one."

"Heck I'll take two," Austin said. Christine smiled, but gave her son one pill like everyone else.