my cousin's best friend

chapter twenty-one

The weeks slowly passed into months, which I didn't really mind.

When the first day of school started, it wasn't as bad as I thought it to be. Although not all the kids were nice, a few actually talked to me.

Soon enough I had my own friend group who I talked to daily. Which helped me occupy my time because of how often my father was gone at work.

My birthday rolled around in the end of December. Nobody was home that night so I celebrated alone. Even Toby didn't call, even though he said he would.

But, him not calling gave me the chance to see how much I had actually changed.

My hair was now cut right at my shoulder blade, naturally highlighted from my time spent in the sun with my friends.

Without my father around, I had become more free with what I was doing. I wouldn't sleep most nights because I was up late talking or face timing with my friends.

If the nights were bad, I would open my window and climb up onto the roof, gazing out at the stars above. Multiple times i had accidentally fallen asleep up there, but my father was never home to discover that.

He never was home. And on the rare occasion when he was, he was either sleeping or doing paper work. And even though he was stressed with the pressure of his work, he never took it out on me. And I respected him for that.

Toby called a few times throughout those six months, which was very enjoyable. His voice always brought up my spirits, and most of the time that was needed.

Whenever he talked, it made me think about that vacation I had took to see him. And as much as I wanted to know how Tommy was doing, I never had the courage to ask him. I was afraid of what his answer was going to be.

And as much as I hated to say it, I still loved Tommy with all of my heart. Not a day went by without looking at the photos taken of him and I. Multiple people at my school asked why I had the photo there, but I never responded to the painful memory.

Once the month of May came around, the last day of school was like a freedom from every responsibility that had plagued me for the past eight months.

"Okay, we can all agree that we're getting together tomorrow evening, right?" My best friend Emily stated, wrapping her arms around me and the other member of our trio whose name was Bailey.

"Yes, my dad won't be home tomorrow night so I'm open all day," I responded.

All three of us parted our separate ways on the way home.

Once I reached my street, I saw a for sale sign with a marking that said it was sold at the end of our driveway.

Great, that could only mean on thing.

As I opened the door to my house, I heard my father walk up the stairs from our basement.

"Cam, I know that this is very unexpected, but I need you to cooperate with me," He said, holding a huge bag of clothing in both hands.

"Yeah, what is it? I mean i have plans with my friends tomorrow, but I'm sure I can work it out with them another day," I responded.

"I don't think that will work. You see, my work started up in England, expanding the business. And I was lucky with the opportunity to get the chance to go work there," He exclaimed, the crinkles around his eyes and mouth exposed. Something that I hadn't seen in a very long.

"We're going back there?" I asked, completely astounded by what he had just said.

He shook his head saying, "Yes. I know that its very sudden, but I thought that you would like it. Do you? I know you just got set up here with school and everything, but I know you absolutely loved your time over in England," He murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, its fine. I'm pretty happy about moving. I like change," I responded.

We both stood there in an awkward silence.

"Well, I guess I should pack all my clothing then. When are we leaving?" I asked.

"Tomorrow evening, if that's alright. The house sold much faster than I had planned," He said quickly.

"I can work with that," I said running up into my room, pulling out the largest suitcase I could find.

I started a face time call with Emily and Bailey.

"Cam whats wrong, why do you have a suitcase out?" Emily asked.

"I'm moving to England!" I exclaimed, a smile spreading across my face.

"What! No way," Bailey replied, the same expression on her face as Emily's.

"Wait, then you'll get to meet all the cute British boys. Maybe you'll date Louis Partridge," Emily stammered.

"Slow down girly, you know he's to hot for me. And plus, I have someone else in my mind," I replied, packing as much clothing into the suitcase as I could.

"Cam, you can get any boy you want. Just make sure you keep in touch while you're over there. Okay?" Bailey stated.

I nodded my head and ended the call almost immediately after.

I was going to see Tommy and Toby again. And maybe this time, I wouldn't mess things up.

Word Count~ 915