Forever and Always

12. Cousins, crushes and chaos

I had decided to take the rest of the weekend away from Kaleb. I couldn't get myself to face him without blushing like a fire hydrant. So when my cousins showed up, it was a welcomed distraction. Well sort of. See my cousin Jamie was great but her slightly older sister Kelly was intolerable. 

I'm not saying that to be mean but it's true. Last time she was here, things didn't end well. I live in a normal four bedroom, 3 1/2 bath house. 

I have my own room which is pale blue with silver accents and white furniture. I love my room. I decorate it with Polaroids of my friends, family and Kaleb and posters of my favorite band. I admit I went through a One Direction phase and I still have a small poster of them in their 2nd album cover hanging in a corner.

 I also have my own art room which on the third level. It's a smaller guest bedroom but for my 15th birthday, my parents converted it into a full on art studio. 

It had it's own bathroom and giant sink for washing my paintbrushes. It had a rack full of giant canvases and a medium sized desk pushed by the window where I did most of my sketches. 

There was a large easel with my half finished oil painting of a girl standing on the railroad with a camera dangling from her hands.  On my desk, papers were scattered everywhere and the sink had freshly washed brushes drying from the drying rack above it.

I had a couch set up at the far wall for photo shoots and in case I needed to crash during a late night project. Needless to say, this was my favorite room in the house. 

Last time Kelly came over, she wandered into this room. One thing you must know about her is that she's probably the most annoyest (is that even a word?) and nosy person you will ever meet. 

First of all, she wasn't supposed to wandering there. The third floor had my art room, one closet and a small attic like space where I kept my bean bag for reading next to the giant bookcase. Being the nosy person she is, she barged into my art room.

 I was downstairs eating breakfast like a normal person at 8:15 am. 

I don't know what urged her to do what she did but when I got back from eating, I found red paint splatters all over the walls and my newest paint pieces that I was going to submit to the arts festival at my high school.

 My parents rushed up stairs when they heard my screaming and sobbing. 

I know it might sound stupid and like i'm over reacting but I had spent months perfecting each and every one of those paintings and to have them destroyed in a matter of seconds devastated me.

 It took my days to scrub the red off the walls and my desk. 

I had to trash the paintings because they couldn't be recovered. The blobs of red paint dried into ugly bumps and made it difficult to sand them off without damaging the canvas board.

In the end, I found out that she was jealous of Kaleb and me hanging out so much. That's another thing. She had the biggest crush on Kaleb since 9th grade.

 She always made desperate attempts to flirt but when Kaleb wouldn't pay attention, she would shrug and try again the next day. It was annoying and finally, Kaleb stopped coming over when she was here. 

Their last visit was 2 years ago. Kelly may have been a nightmare to deal with but Jamie was actually one of my closest friends. It was a shame that the two of them were related because everytime Jamie came over from Pennsylvania, Kelly came along with her. 

So imagine my surprise when I wake up Sunday morning to discover that my dearest cousins are here to stay for the next two and a half weeks for my uncle's upcoming wedding. 

I ran outside to hug Jamie. Squealing with happiness at finally being able to see her after two long years. I grabbed her bags and ushered her inside the house. For a moment, I almost forgot about the she devil trailing behind Jamie's parents and I was at peace. 

And then, a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard piped up. "Hi everyone. I'm hereeee!!" 

I groaned in frustration and turned around with a clenched smile to greet the ever lovely (not) second cousin of mine. Someone shoot me now. 

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Comment. Vote. Tell me what you think. No Kaleb in this chapter but fingers crossed and he might make an appearance next chapter. :)