The couple had been at Casey's parents cabin for only a day. Instead of staying at their regular house, the older folks decided to take a small vacation and camp out at their cabin near the lake. Schlatt didn't realize how much money Casey's family had, considering she was always humble about it.
Casey was lounging in a chair, her tan body revealed in a bikini. She had air pods playing music softly in her ears as she soaked up the sun. Jonathan was snoozing next to her. He was laying on a towel underneath a large umbrella that shielded his body from the sun. He already had a sunburn from sun bathing with Casey, so he decided he wouldn't nap in the sun.
Darren, Casey's father, plopped down next to the couple, catching the attention of the pair. "You two seem cozy." He pointed out.
Casey pulled out her headphones, "I don't know what you said but I assume it wasn't entirely important?"
Schlatt sat up, wiping a small bit of drool from his bottom lip. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat his hand on Casey's thigh subconsciously.
"Mind moving that?" Darren snipped, motioning towards Schlatt's hand. Face paling, he awkwardly removed his hand from Casey leg. "Thank you."
Casey rolled her eyes at her dad. She didn't feel like starting an argument, so she grabbed Schlatt's hand and pulled him toward the water. She'd rather be bored in the water than have to deal with her father nit-picking every action her boyfriend made.
Schlatt sighed at the cool water. There was only a small patch of sand, which was about thirty feet long. It would never compare to the beach, but it would suffice. "I can't seem to tell if your dad likes me or not."
"Me either." Casey admitted, dipping her hair into the water to fix it. "He's very protective of me, especially when it comes to dating. I appreciate it, but sometimes I wish he'd let loose a little."
Schlatt nodded in understanding. He laid his back in the water and allowed his body to float. His chest stung from the heat of the sun, but the peaceful sound of water surrounding him and Casey mindlessly throwing rocks at him made it bearable.
Eventually, the family found themselves at the table chatting amongst themselves. Casey and Schlatt had showered (very separate—her father made sure of it) and were munching on trail mix as everyone else conversed.
Being around a large group of new people was kind of a struggle, and Jonathan felt a bubble of anxiety floating in his chest. Hopefully they didn't bring the conversation onto him, because he wasn't nearly as good as Casey was.
She talked effortlessly to his parents, confidently describing her pursuit of success at school. Casey was always amazing at balancing her academics with her wild side, which didn't seem to affect her grades at all. She could stay up until four in the morning drinking and still
make her 8 am class just fine.
But Schlatt?
He had a crippling anxiety issue and was battling OCD. Not so much anymore, considering he had stopped going to therapy as much. Unlike Minx, Casey never forced him to go. Every now and then, Casey would suggest to visit her when he seemed to be going through a bigger rough patch. Other than that, she knew her boyfriend was a big boy who liked to be treated as such.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" Casey softly spoke as she crunched on the trail mix. She kept her voice soft in order to keep the attention from being pulled toward them.
Schlatt gave her a small smile, "I dunno. Just life, I guess."
Casey tilted her head with her eyes slightly narrowed as she found herself more interested in his thoughts. "Care to elaborate?"
"Life's just so different now, ya know? It's gotten a lot better since high school, and I can thank you for that." Schlatt replied, cheeks tinting softly in subtle embarrassment. Casey was amazing— probably the best person he'd ever had in his life. "Everyone is constantly walking on eggshells around me, and I hate it. You treat me like a person, like a real person."
Casey smiled, eyes watering a little. She was so proud of the man in front of her. The little accomplishments were always important to her, and she always let Jonathan know. All she wanted was for him to be happy.
"I love you." She whispers with a blush.
Jonathan whispers it back, hand meeting hers under the table. She gives his hand a tight little squeeze before turning her attention to her siblings, who were currently arguing about a new topic that neither Casey or Schlatt had listened to.
— Schlatt POV —
The large family surrounding me can only be described with one word: energetic. Whether it was trying to see who could build the best sandcastle or who could make the best side dish for dinner, they always were full of a bright energy that I had never knew existed.
Casey finally let loose and stopped feeling the need to stick by my side at every moment. I felt bad, considering she had a great relationship with her family. Eventually she stopped asking me if it were okay for her to join them, thankfully. Every time I told her that she didn't need to ask me, and that she should enjoy spending time with her family, even if it didn't include me.
Somehow I've been sucked into an intense game of Uno. I was sat in the corner of the room, next to Casey and her older brother, Calan. He seemed quite loved amongst the siblings, but wasn't necessarily talkative towards me.
I was left with three cards, with a yellow three in the center stack. I had two blue cards and a draw four, so I gave Calan an apologetic look before slapping the card down and choosing the color blue.
He shot me a subtle glare before picking up four cards. I chuckled awkwardly and leaned a little closer to Casey in intimidation. Who knows why I'm a bitch about this, but I'd rather allow him to feel in control than hate me.
After around twenty minutes of cards being added to piles and siblings smacking each other, I finally got rid of my last card. The siblings were too worried about getting each other than me, so I was pretty much left alone.
"Well, look at you!" Casey cheered, giving me a half hug. The other siblings reacted in a mixture of fake grumbles and cheers.
Casey's little sister spoke up, interrupting the cheering. "I'm hungryyyy." She complained, rubbing her stomach.
Laughing, her mom stood up and began preparing dinner. Everyone happily conversed, including me this time. I didn't expect it to be so easy, considering how intimidating all of them seem.
Things are getting easier, which is a nice change for once.
-
i am alive lol
i accidentally published the last chapter before it was ready (i didn't get to edit it obviously) but none of ya'll commented about it 💀
oh well
