Nick & Bailey

1. Bailey

"You have to be fucking kidding me!"

"I know, right?!? He's a such a douchebag! Why did I not see it when we were dating?"

I'm so glad I have Mandy in my life. She's not only my cousin but also my best friend. I tell her everything, including my recent boyfriend—correction, ex-boyfriend—drama.

"Because you were too busy basking in his sexiness," she teases.

I roll my eyes, but I know she's right. Justin was so smooth and charismatic when he wanted to be.  It was easy to overlook some his unfavorable douchey characteristics, like when he left me alone at a party that he was supposed to be my ride home from. I had to call a taxi, which my parents saw drop me off. I was grounded for a month.

He stood outside my window everyday while I was grounded. Sometimes, he would throw rose petals. Sometimes, he would recite poems he had written me. He eventually convinced me that he had had to leave the party when he did because his grandmother had called him—which I now know wasn't true. But I forgave him. I was so blind.

It was my last straw when I heard through the grapevine that he and Rebecca Thompson had been secretly making out after football practice every day. When I asked him about it, he didn't deny it. Instead he somehow switched the argument to be about how I didn't "trust" him—like it was all my fault.

That was it. I was finally seeing the light. We were done. I was done caring about him. I had wasted a year of my life on him, but I was ready to move on.

The "not caring" lasted around 24 hours when I heard he and Rebecca had started having sex. He and I had been broken up for two days.

This may not seem like a huge deal, except for the fact that Justin refused to have sex with me the entire time we dated. When I heard about Rebecca, I was hurt, and embarrassed, and pissed.

"So what did he say when you confronted him?" Mandy asks, sprawling out on the bed in our grandma's guest room.

"He said 'Bailey, I couldn't have sex with you because you are special. I love you. Rebecca doesn't mean anything to me.' And then he tried to KISS me! Can you believe that shit? He's still trying to get back together after he fucked someone else."

I look at Mandy and see she's trying not to laugh. "It's okay to laugh. I'm over it," I shrug.

She immediately bursts out in loud, cackling laughter. "I'm sorry. That dude is such an idiot."

I start giggling and eventually join her in rolling on our backs, unable to contain our laughter to just our mouths.

Once we are able to compose ourselves, Mandy asks, "So what does Ian have to say about it?"

Ian is my twin brother, and he's on the football team with Justin. The two of them went from being simply cordial with one another to actually being genuine friends over the coarse of Justin's and my relationship. Though I'm sure he never heard any of the rumors about Justin cheating, or he would have told me.

"Ian doesn't know. I haven't really told anyone but you."

Before she can respond, we hear a knock on the door. "Grandma's going to her Bridge club, it's time to play."

It's Mandy's brother, Max. It's a tradition for all the grandkids to stay overnight at my grandma's house once a year around the holidays. We've all done it for as long as I can remember. We're all in our teens now, but that doesn't stop us.

"Ian isn't here yet," I say as I open the door. "We have to wait for everyone."

"No, he just got here. Now come on, I think I've finally figured out your spot."

Mandy, her two brothers, Ian and myself play hide and seek during our sleepover every year. This is another thing that I can't remember starting. It's just something we've always done. I feel like the older we get, the more seriously we take it. It's kind of ironic. My grandma's house is old and huge, so the hiding spots seem endless.

A few years ago, Grandma inadvertently showed me a secret door underneath her basement stairs. Just looking at it, it appears to be a book case. But you can actually swing it open into a small room. It's been my hiding spot ever since, and no one has ever found me. Eventually, they yell that they give up and I make sure none of them see where I emerge from.

I start walking down the hall to the family room where I can hear voices, Mandy close behind me. I see all the boys circled around the coffee table: Ian, Mandy's brothers, Max and Liam, and...Nick.

What the fuck is he doing here? He's my brother's best friend, but he's my arch enemy. Ever since we started junior high, Nick has not only been unfriendly, but he's also gone out of his way to terrorize me.

They all look up when Mandy and I round the corner. I clear my throat, "Um, Ian, can I talk to you for a second?" I make a point of not looking at Nick as I wait for Ian to follow me to the kitchen.

When we are out of earshot, I whisper, "What is the asshole doing here, Ian? This is supposed to be family only."

He looks confused. "Says who? Grandma said it was fine if he stayed. He's having hard time at home right now. He doesn't get along with his stepdad."

"I wonder why. Maybe because he's a vile human being?"

Ian rolls his eyes. "Whatever. You've barely even known him since junior high. You need to give him a chance."

I snap, "A chance? What about when he super glued all the cheerleaders' pom poms together last week? I was up all night fixing that."

"I'm guessing he didn't know how much work it would take to fix it," Ian says, shrugging and avoiding eye contact with me. "Listen, he's here. I'm not going to make him leave. You're just going to have to deal with it."

A voice interrupts us from the doorway. "You guys ready?"

We both turn our heads to see Nick standing with his hands in his pockets. How much did he hear? Actually..I don't care. I've never hidden my hatred for him.

The worst part about him is that he is so attractive, and he knows it. He doesn't even try. Today he's wearing faded jeans, a plain black t-shirt and a backwards baseball cap. He's looking directly at me, smirking. I have to resist the urge to hiss. He's so cocky.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," Ian says.

He looks at me sternly. A clear warning to not say anything to Nick. I nod subtlety back. As much as I don't want Nick here, I'm not going to let him ruin this weekend.

The rules are simple. We all draw straws, and whoever draws the short one becomes the first seeker. In today's case, that happens to be Ian. Once he finds the first hider, that person becomes the seeker, counting to a hundred to give Ian a chance to hide. It goes on and on until someone decides to end it.

We have had games last for hours in the past. And now that we are older, our hiding spots are getting more and more creative. Last year, Max actually pulled back ceiling tiles and hid in the kitchen ceiling. The only reason he got caught was because the dust up there gave him a sneezing fit, and Mandy heard him.

That's why we can't play when my grandma is home anymore. She puts restrictions on our hiding spots, understandably.

Ian flops himself on the couch and throws his arm over his eyes. "1...2...3..."

And we're off.