Timeless

Alex

By the time we'd be having lunch at school, we were leaving the stables and heading towards the house for some food. Before the stables, Casey had dragged me through a massive garden that, without the flowers, could've been a football field. Casey called the big building the main house since many of the outlying buildings also had bedrooms in them.

Casey was definitely enjoying my reactions to the fact that his family owned so much property. He had even explained that other relatives lived in the house and other buildings.

"So what does your dad do?" I asked for the hundredth time.

"He's just an attorney or lawyer or something. My family owns the whole property and has since around the time the Europeans arrived on this continent," he finally answered.

"Have Shay and Liz been here?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"No. I guess I didn't want y'all to be my friends just because my family is rich or something."

I just stared at him, knowing he'd get it.

Casey turned and headed down the hall, clearing his throat as if uneasy. We walked up to the second floor and he opened a door to a large, messy bedroom. "I know you won't change your opinions of me. This is my room. I meant to clean it, but..."

"Didn't expect company?" I supplied. He nodded. "Unlike Liz? She's always focused on status or money. And Shay? I doubt he'd be like that." I had chosen to ignore the feeling that Casey wasn't being completely honest.

"You've never asked for anything. Shay has and didn't pay it back," he said.

"That explains some things," I said, eyeing his clothes. They were a bit ragged and worn. "So, who did you want me to meet?"

"How-? Oh, right. Instincts," spluttered Casey. "Uhm, well, my cousin is going to start school with us soon and I wanted him to have someone to talk to other than just me."

Just then, a guy who looked around 18 what I originally thought was a bathroom, but seemed to be a closet. I had been right, the damn thing was huge. He was holding a maroon t-shirt with a logo I didn't recognize, not that I actually recognized many.

The guy wore black jeans and had deep brown hair. He was also shirtless as he said, "Casey, you need to get your closet-." That's when he realized Casey wasnt the only one there. I noticed his eyes were a pale sapphire blue, huh.

Suddenly, I knew his name, "Zak?"

Surprised, Casey turned to me, but seeing the look on my face, he covered, "Yeah, this is Zak, my cousin I told you about." Turning back to Zak, he demanded, "Why are you taking my stuff? Again!"

After a second, Zak said, "So you must be one of the friends Casey talks about. Must be Alex, then."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He seemed very familiar. Before I could ask how I might know him, or even how he knew my name, Casey interrupted.

"How about that run, Alex?" This both confirmed Zak's statement and distracted me from my obvious urge to question him.

"Sure," I said. Turning, I walked out.

They argued for quite a few minutes before Casey met me by the stables. I had known the argument was brewing and wanted to dodge it.

"You knew that would happen," Casey accused. "You could've warned me before taking off."

"That was your warning," I said, walking towards the trees. "Since you have a destination in mind, you go first."

The growl from Casey was almost animalistic. "That is beginning to get annoying. You first, fortune teller."