Friends To The End

Part 3. The Cousin

"I can't believe you're actually coming up here." I smiled as I leaned back in the fold out chair I was sitting on, down in the basement. "I know it's been so long since we've seen each other." She responded in an unbelieving tone. "Yea, 9 years is far too long." I chuckled and she gave me a long hum of agreement.

"I know, way too long... so there any hot girls up there you wanna tell me about." She asked in a smug tone, I blushed a bit as I immediately thought of Ellie. "I'm actually dating a girl that I might have here for dinner when you come over." I had to bite my lip from the excitement that I felt because that was actually true. Of course I was excited Ellie would get to meet my family, but more so I was excited that she was gonna get to come over. "Aww I can't wait to meet her!" I was also excited that my cousin was finally coming up to Ohio for the first time ever.

"Well to tell you the truth, I might be bringing a guy there to meet y'all too." When her words hit me I felt a weird twinge in the pit of my stomach and furrowed my brow. "Oh.. I didn't know you were dating anyone." I said with a little less enthusiasm, but she chuckled at my words. "Well we haven't talked in years Matt." She teased me and I chuckled back at her as we shared a long laugh.

"Listen I gotta go finish packing, but I'm excited to meet your girlfriend, plus dagnab boy you sound like a yankee." Her southern accent was laid on heavily at the end of her statement. I rolled my eyes at her words and gave her a small chuckle. "And you still sound like a hick." She laughed loudly, reminding me a lot of Johnny. "Well played Matty, love you cousin."

"Love you too." We hung up and I went up stairs to lay down on my bed, everyone else was either in bed already or headed there now. I turned my lamp off and closed my eyes while some old memories came to mind. I remembered leaving wherever it was that we lived in Georgia before we moved to Ohio, it's horrible I know, but I can't for the life of me remember where it was. I was 4 at the time so I didn't pay much attention to anything at that age, I do remember our cousin coming over though. Her and Maggie were as close as sisters, being about the same age, and the three of us used to play all the time. We moved up her because dad got a new position at his job, I guess I see now how that all turned out though. I don't regret moving up here though, I would never have met Steve, or Danny, or Johnny... or Ellie. Her and Maggie called each other often after we moved up here, but now it was more like once a month, if that. With the way mom and dad have been the past couple years, Maggie hasn't had the time like she used to.

I rolled over and blinked my eyes. Is that the sun shining through the blinds? I hopped up quickly and when I saw that it was the sun, I smiled massively. I took a shower (probably) too quickly and then brushed my teeth. After I rushed putting my clothes on I hurried down stairs, mom and dad were cleaning the house like crazy and I couldn't stop the resentment that I felt towards them. God-forbid the in-laws think we weren't a happy family, this was probably first time they'd cleaned the house in a year. When I walked into the kitchen I saw Maggie feeding Holly some breakfast.

"Is it still ok if Ellie comes over and hangs out for a little bit before Chuck and Marry get here?" Maggie looked up at me and she shrugged her shoulders. "Yea I don't mind, I mean ask mom and dad they're in charge right?" We shared a cynic filled laugh and then I was quickly gone, on my bike and headed towards Jimmy and Ellie's cabin.

They lived out in the woods like Jack did, but in a different part, or so I thought at the time. Their small cabin had five wooden steps up to a very small wooden front porch. I dropped my bike after the short ride and ran up the steps to knock on the door. The door swung up and I rushed in this time, wrapping my arms around her. She squealed as I did so and wrapped her arms around me tightly too.

"I missed you so much." I breathed into her hair as we we stood there squeezing each other to death and feeling the desperate love that came with the first real relationship in someone's life. "I missed you more." I smiled with my head on top of hers and inhaled that sweet cherry scent from her shampoo. We stood there for a while before I pulled back and spoke again.