Julia Conklin and her family move to their vacation beach house in Cousins every summer, where she met Jeremiah, her childhood crush. He has always been her best friend, but she wishes to be more every birthday. But, sometimes, secrets can push ever...
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023 back to cousins
"Dude, seriously, what are we doing here?" Julia groaned, having no choice but to follow after her brother. He had stolen her from the comfort of her bedroom, insisting that they had to go to Taylor's house of all places. She was reluctant. No, more like she didn't want to. But, she had no choice when he began dragging her from her bed.
"Belly isn't actually with Taylor," Steven informed, turning to her from the driver's seat. She furrowed her brows as if she had no idea.
"Yeah, she is," Julia retorted, trying to hide the fact that she knew exactly where Belly was. But, she couldn't break her promise. The information would have to he pried out of her.
"No, she's not," he fought back. "I just saw Taylor at the mall, Belly wasn't with her."
"Oh," Julia mumbled, realizing there was no point in hiding the fact if he already knew. She knew her little sister would be furious, but Steven deserved to know. "Yeah, she's not with Taylor."
"Wow, great observation," he scoffed, climbing out of the car and rounding her side. Julia got out shortly after, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm.
He turned to look at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. "So? Where is she, then?"
"Uhh..." Julia scrunched her nose up nervously, not knowing which route to take with breaking the news to him. She knew her brother missed his best friends dearly and couldn't wait for the moment when they finally contacted him back, but he would be disappointed to know that she willingly let her sister leave.
However, she didn't get the chance to answer when Taylor swung the front door open, a scowl forming on her lips.
"I need to talk to my sister. Now." Steven knew that Belly wasn't there, but he also knew that Taylor didn't know he knew.
"She's not here right now," Taylor quickly thought of a lie, shrugging her shoulders nervously. "She just went to the store. For... twix."
"You were just at the mall," Julia brought her brows together in confusion, noticing how Taylor shuffled on her feet nervously, trying to come up with an excuse.
"So, earlier, she was getting Auntie Anne's, and now she's getting Twix?" Steven crossed his arms, a look of disbelief behind his eyes.
"And?" Taylor groaned, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. "We're on our periods. Get over it, you baby." She furrowed her brows at him, ignoring how he scoffed in disbelief at her excuses.
"Okay," he nodded. "So, then why did she send me a text earlier saying you guys were cry-watching Titanic at the very same moment I saw you at the mall? Hmm?" Taylor scoffed, words lodged in her throat. She couldn't think of a lie, Julia could tell. But, at the same time, she couldn't blame her. She wasn't exactly honest, either.
