The Hidden Pocket {ruel van dijk}

chapter fifteen.

Charlotte sits across the table from me with a demeaning smirk smeared across her face. It isn't too obvious, but from teenage girl to teenage girl, it is quite visible.

She's been looking at me like that since we got to dinner about an hour ago. It's hard to enjoy the view of the ocean from the terrace of the restaurant with her glaring at me. It's also decently creepy.

Even when I look down at Hazel to brush her untamed hair from her face, I can feel the burn of her stare on my cheek.

I notice that our parents are deep in a conversation about mortgages or something of the such, so I take the opportunity to call out Charlotte.

"Is everything okay?" I ask with a calm demeanor.

Her expression doesn't change. "What do you mean?" She asks, fairly innocently.

"You've been staring at me this whole time. Do you want to say something?" I'm careful to not raise my voice at her around our parents.

"Oh, I'm just curious." She says slyly and takes a sip of her water.

"About?" I ask, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms.

"You and Ruel."

"What?"

"Don't be coy, Gen. I was at the party last
night. I saw you two dancing together." She says with pride. I roll my eyes at her.

"Ok?" I say questioningly. "That's it then, we were just dancing together."

"You know what I'm talking about." She hisses. "I saw what happened right before you ran out of the place crying."

"I was not crying!" Is all I say, it's the only part of what she said that I feel comfortable responding to. I don't know what she's playing at.

"What happened, my dear cousin?" She asks with so much hidden intent that I'm not even sure if I should continue the conversation.

"Charlotte, I'm not telling you anything. I've literally known you for maybe a week. At most. I've only seen you two other times before this. Frankly, if you weren't my cousin I wouldn't even be speaking to you. So please leave me alone." I say. I look down at my hands that sit in my lap and pray that she does not say anything else.

"Fine." Is all she says, going back to eating her salad.

The awkward aura sticks around for the rest of dinner. It seems like I'm counting down the minutes until we leave. My family is flying back to California tomorrow morning, so hopefully this is the last time I will have to be around Charlotte.

:

The next morning is rough.

I wake up to the sound of Hazel crying because she wants to stay in Sydney with me. It broke my heart when I had to tell her that she has to go home with our parents.

She fell asleep shortly after her fit, giving my dad another 50 or so pounds to lug around.

I walk my parents out to the curb where the driver is parked to take them to the airport about an hour or so later. The driver is loading up the luggage when my mom starts to cry as well. It's only a few tears on her cheek, but it's weird to see her cry. I want to tell her to stop, that she is being silly, but I myself am feeling somewhat the same. I won't cry, though. That's just not who I am.

My mom and dad kiss me on the head before getting into the back of the car.

"Be good, darling! We will see you in a few more months! Make sure you're staying on top of your studies, even though you are still on break." She says comfortingly from the rolled-down window.