I’m starting to feel a little better about being here. I still don’t like it, but I like my room, and I like looking out at the ocean. Trystan’s rude and obnoxious, but I get the feeling he can be nice too. Or it could all be an act. I haven’t figured him out yet.
“Then what?” he asks. “What happens after a year?”
“I turn eighteen and go back to New York.”
“To college?”
“Probably not. I can’t pay for it.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Move in with Axl. Find a job. Then later maybe get married and have a kid or two.”
“Left the boyfriend behind?”
“Unfortunately,” I say with a sigh.
“You really think you two will stay together?”
I look at Trystan. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“Living on different coasts? For a year? It’ll never work.”
Furious at his comment, I jump up from the bed and face him. “Axl loves me. He wants to marry me. We’ve already talked about it. Being apart won’t change that. If anything, it’ll make us closer.”
“Whatever you say.” He smirks.
“He’s not going to cheat on me,” I say, my heart beating faster. “He’d never do that. He loves me.”
“Guys have needs.”
“So do girls.”
“But girls can ignore them. Guys can’t.”
“That’s bullshit. And sexist.”
“I give it three weeks. A month, max.”
I point to the door. “Get out.”
“You guys were doing it, right? Before you left?”
“We’ve dated for two years, so yeah, obviously.”
He shakes his head. “The guy’s not gonna go without it after getting it for two years straight.”
“We weren’t doing it until—” I stop and take a breath. “Why am I talking to you about this? Just get out.”
“And leave you all alone on your first day here?” He smiles as he lies down on my bed, his long, lean body stretching from the top to the bottom. “What kind of cousin would I be if I left you all alone?”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, staring down at him on my bed. “Would you get out of here?”
He doesn’t answer, his eyes closing.
He’s so annoying, and I’m really pissed at him for saying that stuff about Axl. Still, I kind of like having Trystan around. I feel out of place here and lonely. It’s nice to have company, even if it’s Trystan.
I go into the walk-in closet and see the clothes I shipped out here, along with some new ones. There are a few dresses and skirts, some button-up shirts, and lightweight sweaters.
