Living With The Taylor's [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seventeen: "Anything for you."

Question: Do you have a close cousin or family member?

Chapter Seventeen: "Anything for you."

I wrap my cousin in a hug, quietly sobbing in his arms as he holds me tight.

Philip is my cousin from my mom's side of the family. He is 21 and a junior in college and my closest family member besides my mom. I don't see him that often since he's in college, but we see each other during the holidays. We text and talk a lot and we're very close. I tell him basically everything, and I don't know what I would do without him. He's sort of like the brother I never had.

"She's gone, Philip. She's really gone," I sob into his chest.

"I know, P. I know," He says, choking up. I pull away from his chest and he leads me into his apartment. He closes the door behind him and pulls me over to his bedroom. We sit down on his bed and he puts an arm around me.

"Sometimes I feel like I have no one else to talk to. I feel as if you're the only one left that I fully trust. Even though I have my friends," I tell him.

"Well, I'm always here to talk. You know that. What's on your mind?" He asks in a hushed tone.

"It's just, I miss her. A lot. It's already been a week but I still miss her. I need my mom. Who am I going to talk to when I need advice about guys, or if I'm having girl issues? I feel like I can talk to you about anything, but not everything. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it. There are certain things that I could only talk to my dad about. How did you get here anyway?"

I give my cousin a small smile, "I snuck out and took the bus here."

He laughed, "Only you would be that smart."

We laugh, and it feels good.

"Hey, it's going to be hard. There will be worse days than others, but I promise it gets better. It always does."

"How do you know that?" I look into his big blue eyes.

"Well, if it's hard, call me. I'm always here to talk. I promise."

I smile, "Okay."

"So what made you leave in the first place?"

His question made me remember what Ryan said, and why I ran away. Tears start to form in my eyes. "Ryan, one of Brenda's sons. He said some pretty bad things that made my situation horrible. I just had to get out of there. I couldn't be around him anymore. I really just needed to be around someone I trust and I know I could talk to. I needed to be around you. And being here, with you, I already feel better."

He smiles, wrapping me in a tight hug, "Being around you makes me happy, too. I'm glad that I'm here for you to talk to. About most stuff anyway."

I pull away, giving him a small frown. "My panic attacks came back."

Philip's eyes widen in shock. "What? When?"

"Right before the funeral."

"Are they as bad as last time?"

"I don't know. I only had two of them."

"What do you think triggered it?"