“This is going to be a blast. Really can’t wait!” I chirped, forcing enthusiasm into my voice as the car hummed along the highway. The summer sun filtered through the tinted windows, but I kept my eyes on my phone, scrolling through nothing just to avoid the chaos behind me.

“Hurray, hurray, yacht we come! Hurray, hurray, yacht we come!” My siblings belted out from the back seat, their off-key harmony grating like nails on a chalkboard. Karen, the ringleader at fourteen, was leading the charge, her voice cracking with that pre-teen bravado. The twins, Mia and Leo, eight-year-old terrors, clapped along.

“Can you… please shut the fuck up?” I...