‘Great I’m caught!’ she thought miserably to herself. The car that came up along side of her parked next to the curb. She was too scared to look at the car in fear it was her mom or dad.
After what seemed like a lifetime she turned slowly to look at the car. She sighed a huge relief when she saw that it was just an older lady with a younger guy in the car having a conversation.
She continued to the bus station and found her bus. She gave the driver her ticket and found a nice seat in the back. She grabbed out her notebook and began to write in it. She trusted that her notebook would keep all of her secrets.
‘Yay! I’m finally off to Orlando to see my cousin! And I made it free and clear so far. I wonder if Lin Lin told my parents? I hope she didn’t. Or maybe Lily did… Crap that wouldn’t be good. I don’t understand why my parents were circling my school the way they were. Do they do that cos they don’t trust me? Or cos they knew I was planning to escape for a while? Maybe I should’ve left them a note on my desk….maybe not cos then I’d definitely get caught.
I swear that car nearly made me pee my pants! No joke for real! I was so scared that I was going to be “grounded” for the rest of my life or put on house arrest. We’re pulling out of the station now, thank God.
I don’t think I should’ve run those 3 blocks there. I’m not feeling so well. Maybe it’s just my nerves and excitement. If anything bad happens my parents will NEVER let me out of their sight.’
After writing in her notebook she closed it and put it back in her backpack. She then turned to look at the scenery that passed her by.
~ 4 hours later ~
After getting off the bus she began to search for Lily. All sorts of thoughts passed through her head. Like what if she didn’t get my email? What if she doesn’t want me here? What if my parents are on their way? She then turned around at the sound of her name.
“Hey Erin!”
“Lil!” she ran over and gave her cousin a huge bear hug.
“You ok?” Lily asked a bit worried.
“I’m fine maybe a little tired, but I’m great none the less.”
“Well you look a little pale,” Lily then reached out to touch her forehead, “and a bit clammy as well. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine. Trust me!”
“Ok ok. Let’s go shall we?”
“I can’t wait to see your new house!”
“You’re going to love it! It’s right near the beach.”
“Cool!”
“Umm did you bring more clothes?”
“I did but it was hard to run with a duffle bag.”
“Oh dear. Maybe my neighbor can take you shopping while I’m at work. BUT you’d have to keep a low profile while you’re here. Lord knows what I’ll tell your parents if they call me asking where you are.”
“Did I mention that I love you and that you’re the BEST cousin in the whole universe?”
“You are such a kiss ass!”
“I know” she said with a smile.
~ 20 minutes later ~
“Well here we are! Home sweet home!” said Lily stretching out her arms wide.
Erin’s jaw nearly fell off. “You said you lived NEAR the beach not ON the beach!”
“Is that all you can say?”
“No. It’s beautiful!”
“I’ll show you where your room will be then I can take you next door to meet Angel. She’s about your age. She has a twin brother too. They’re really nice. They really helped me get settled and acquainted with everyone in the neighborhood.”
“Cool! Damn! This place is huge!!!!”
“Stop the cussing!”
“What cussing?”
Lily gave her a stern look.
“Oh that cussing. Ok” she said laughing lightly.
“Here’s your room. I’m going to change and I’ll be back. Make yourself at home.”
Lily hurried off down the hall to her master bedroom to change into her work clothes. She worked at a local television station as part of the crew, and on occasion she would get to do reports (which she ultimately wanted to do).
Erin just stood in awe at the size room she was in. It was double the size of her room at home. It had a walk in closet, its own bathroom, and a window seat. She’d always wanted one of those. She went over to the window, moved the curtains aside, and sat down. She wasn’t prepared for what she was about to see. Her room had a perfect view of the beach and ocean despite it being on the side of the house. It was such a beautiful day and the sun hit the water just in all the right places for it to sparkle. She could also see into the neighbor’s yard. By the looks of it they had a boat, ok two boats, and a huge back yard that led to the beach. She saw someone leave the house but before she could get a look Lily was back.
“You ready? While I was getting ready I called Bob to see if he could help keep an eye on you while I’m out. He said it’d be fine and that the twins were both home. So maybe you guys can catch a movie or something. Do you have money on you, or do you need some?” Lily told Erin.
“I’ve got some.”
“Ok let’s head over.”
They walked down the stairs and Lily locked the doors.
As they were walking over Lily told Erin “When I get back from work I’ll come over here and get you. If you need me Bob has all the contact numbers. If I’m going to get back really late you can just stay the night ok?”
“Ok but I don’t want to impose on people I don’t know.”
“You won’t be. He offered. He knows sometimes I can get back really late. He always checks to make sure I’m ok especially since it’s me all by myself.”
“That’s really nice of him.”
“Yea it is.”
When they got to the door Lily rang the doorbell. A tall blonde boy answered the door.
“Hi Lil! Ya know we should just get you your own key, or make a rule that you can just walk in.” said the boy laughing.
“Hi Aaron.” she said rolling her eyes. “Aaron this is my cousin Erin”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to forget that name. It’s nice to meet you” he said shaking her shaky hand.
“Well are you going to say something?” asked Lily noticing that her cousin was just staring.
Aaron just blushed. “Why don’t you come in, my dad’s in the kitchen.”
“Hey Bob! This is my cousin Erin.”
“Hi it’s nice to meet you Erin. You’re more then welcome to stay here anytime. My door is always open.” he said smiling.
“Aaron can you go get your sister please?” asked Bob.
“Yea sure dad” With that Aaron went out to the backyard in search of his sister. Erin’s eyes just followed him right out the door.
“Well I think someone has a crush” said Lily.
“Yea I think so too” agreed Bob.
They both looked at Erin.
“What?!” she exclaimed.
“You have a crush on Aaron” explained Lily.
“I do not!” she said turning twenty shades of red.
“Sure ya don’t. I’d love to stay and chat but I got to get going. Behave and listen. I’ll see you later tonight.” Lily said giving her cousin a hug.
“See you later.” Erin said returning the hug.
“Have a good day today. I’ll keep a good eye on her don’t worry. They’ll be staying in today anyways.”
“Ok sounds good. Bye!” Lily said walking out the door heading to her car.
“Dad?” called Angel.
“We’re in the living room!” he shouted. “Angel, this is Erin, Lily’s cousin I was telling you about earlier.”
“Oh hey! It’s nice to meet you.” said Angel.
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Well I’ll leave you three alone to figure out what you want to do, but please let’s keep the activity here.”
“Alright dad.” said Aaron and Angel.
“So what types of things do you like to do?” asked Angel.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Just be warned that towards the end you'll see that it'll get a bit confusing with names. You'll see what I mean. I didn't realize until I was writing it. I may go back and change the main girl's name. Let me know if you think I should especially for future chapters :-) Happy reading!
