-FORTY NINE-

I was struggling.

And that was an understatement.

Despite the girls asking me to come over to their's to get ready for the ball, I refused. I refused purely because I got lazy and now as a consequence, I was regretting it all.

There was nothing that seemed to be going right. The only good thing was that I hadn't underestimated was my ability to mess up so I had started getting ready a lot in advance. But like I said, that was just about the only good thing.

My hair was nothing short of a bird's nest and my makeup was horrendous. It was the second time I had rubbed off my eyeshadow. At this rate, I was pretty sure that I was going to rub off my eyelids.

I groaned as I grabbed my makeup wipe and tried to remove the remnants of the colourful eyeshadow I had tried to replicate through a tutorial online. How do they do it so easily?

I had been happy enough when I had come home after my heart to heart with Kade at the park a few days back. The boy in question had been really responsive and open with me since then and I couldn't be happier. He seemed a little more carefree as well. He wasn't filtering out what he was supposed to say and that made me way giddier that I probably should've felt.

Though, the reality did come crashing down when I realised that despite us being closer, our dates to the ball were people we definitely didn't want to go with, now.

Darren had been texting me since a couple of days and while I had been polite while responding, I had a feeling that if I didn't make my intentions of going with him clear, this would create a mess no one would like.

As if on cue, my phone vibrated. Just when I expected it to be Darren, my face lit up when I read the name as well as the text.

Mom: Cam is going to call you in a little while. Giving you a heads up.

A huge smile lit across my face. I had still been talking to mom here and there. although it wasn't as much as I'd like. But with Cameron the calls were sparse. I missed him so much that sometimes I still went into phases where I wanted him back from the army.

It took a lot of talking to myself and Delilah down the road to get myself back from those thoughts.

Honestly, I missed my family. A lot.

I had only seen mom through occasional video calls and even though she reminded me that she was happy and doing well, I knew she struggled behind the scenes. She had thrown herself into the work so much that it really was starting to take a toll on her.

The sad part was that I knew it was also because she still missed dad. We all did, but our methods of coping and moving forward were different and I hated that I couldn't help mom or Cameron by being their support system.

I shook myself out of the slightly depressing thoughts and chose to switch my attention back to the makeup wipe in my hand. I blinked away the glaze that had come over my eyes.

I sighed. Let's get this done with.

I picked up my eyeshadow palette again. I eyed the stunning dress lying on my bed. All the excitement I had to wear that piece was going down, seeing how I was barely able to do justice to it with the lack of my makeup skills.

I really should have taken up Madison's offer to get ready at her house.

Before I could assault my eyes with the makeup brush once again, a few hard knocks on the door made me jump in surprise.

"You can come in, the door is open!" I yelled, turning to the door.

Olivia's head poked in through the door. I blinked in surprise. I had not been expecting her at all.

While Olivia and I had cleared up our misunderstanding, she was still awkward around me. We greeted each other whenever we passed and passed smiles (mostly me) here and there but she hadn't seemed to be comfortable around me.

I couldn't figure out what was going on in her head despite trying to talk to her. Isabella had positively vanished off the face of this earth so I couldn't even go set her straight. I had no clue what had been going on and these past few days I didn't even have time to give attention to this issue.

I did feel a little bad about it, considering it was family we were talking about.

"Hey, you busy?" she asked, looking uncertain as she bounced on her heels. This was probably the first time in weeks she had initiated the conversation.

"No, no. Come on in," I said, motioning for her to come in.

She followed and stepped in my room. She eyed my dress and then my discarded makeup wipes on the ground. "Nice dress. Going to Allison's ball?"

I nodded as I watched her push the dress a little to the side so she could make some space to sit. She fidgeted with her hands, looking everywhere but at me.

There was awkward silence hanging in the air and I didn't know what to do. So, I waited for her to make the first move.

After what felt like an eon, she spoke. "You going like that?" She motioned towards me, my face and head specifically and she eyed my mess.

An unexpected blush rose to my cheeks. "Well, I don't wish to. My makeup skills clearly need improvement," I chuckled, a little embarrassed.

Olivia nodded, a little smirk tilting up her lips. "Your hair too."

I rolled my eyes but chuckled. "Yeah, yeah."

There was another awkward pause. I watched her as she bit her lip, her hands wringing uncomfortably.

I realised that she probably wanted to say something and was trying to find the right words or how to start the conversation. It wasn't just a random visit like I had imagined before.

"Is everything okay, Olivia?" I asked, getting a little nervous with what she had to say.

Her head jerked up. She chuckled a little nervously. "Yes-yeah. Everything is good."

I waited for her to speak further, choosing not to probe in case she decided not to talk to me at all. I fidgeted with my eyeshadow palette in order to distract myself and keep myself busy.

"Um, I just came to say, like to tell you that I took care of Isabella. She won't be a problem anymore," she spoke.

I was a bit surprised, concerned and amused at the same time. "Um, Liv, that sounded a little... I mean I hope you taking care of it didn't involve anything, well, illegal?"

Olivia's eyes widened when she realised that what she said was essentially what a character in a movie would say when they killed someone.

"NO! No, that's not- I meant she's gone now. No wait- not like gone as in dead but like gone as in gone far away. Like she won't create any more problems because she's gone gone. For good. How many times did I just say gone?" She rambled and I couldn't help but laugh.

That caught her attention. I watched as she turned a little red and muttered something under her breath before crossing her arms and looking away.

That made me laugh even more. "It's okay. I got it. I'm glad she's gone."

She glared at me.

"So, does that mean we're good? No more awkwardness?" I asked, genuinely hoping that this meant progress towards a better bond.

She shrugged nonchalantly and I knew just by her expression and her relieved posture that it was definitely a step forward.

I smiled.

"Anyway, are you going to do anything about the disaster that your face is? Or is that the look you're going for?"

I rolled my eyes but groaned. "Don't ask."

"Well?" She crossed her arms and raised and expectant eyebrow.

"Well, what?"

"Do you need help or no?" She pointed her finger at the mess.

I immediately jumped up in excitement. "YES, please!"

Olivia shook her head at me but I did catch a smile peeking out despite her attempts to hide it.
***

"Liv, can I look?" I asked for the hundredth time.

I was pretty sure she was never going to help me out again. I was already sure that she was ready to poke my eye out with one of the mascara wands.

Apparently my make up products were not enough for the "perfect" look according to Olivia. So she got her own product. And let me tell you, right when I thought I had a lot of make up I realised I had absolutely nothing on my cousin.

She could fill a suitcase with the amount of different brands and products she fished out. I didn't even know there was a thing called a brow gel. 

"Kyra, if you say that one more time, I swear to God I will burn you with the curler," she said and I almost believed her with the tone she was using.

Olivia had turned me the other way so that she could work on me without me peeking into the mirror and objecting to just about everything. I had to admit that I was doing it a little more than I should have but the contour lines look terrifying when they're not blended.

I was afraid that I would end up looking like I came out of a horror movie.

And it wasn't even Halloween yet.

"DONE. Finally," Olivia almost yelled when she got done with the last curl.

I could feel the relief rolling out of her in waves. I guess I annoyed her really too much.

I was a little nervous to turn around. It had taken a lot of time for her to decorate my face and hair and if it wasn't good, I didn't know what I was going to do because Darren was going to be here in another half an hour.

I guess it had be either this or going barefaced or not going at all. And I would rather go looking decent enough.

"Why aren't you looking now? You were on my ass about it the entire time I was doing your makeup and hair," Olivia rolled her eyes.

I shook myself out of my frozen state and have her a sheepish smile before turning around. What I saw in the mirror left me dumbfounded.

With so many products applied on my face, I had thought that I would probably look like a joker but I was far from it. It almost looked like I had barely applied anything, the makeup accentuating all my features.

My eyes carrier the hues that complimented the dress perfectly and my lips were a neutral shade to balance out the colours. I looked fresh and I felt beautiful.

My hair was in soft waves, with a side pinned to make it look a little more sleek. I loved it. Did every regular teen other than me have this skill mastered?

"Wow, Liv. I gotta say you really have a knack for make up. You could literally be a professional," I complimented.

I could see a faint blush pooling in her cheeks as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I would sure hope so seeing I do want to be a professional makeup artist."

Now that was a surprise. I had no clue she was into makeup as a possible career.

A genuine smile graced my lips as I looked at her proudly. "Well, you know what, Liv? I'm pretty sure you're going to be a totally fantastic one!"

She turned even redder if that was possible. "Whatever."

I could see that even though she was trying to play it off, she really appreciated it.

My heart warmed when I looked at my cousin. I couldn't believe how I had let out relationship turn to what it had. I knew the worth of family more than anyone. Mom and Cameron were already far away from me. The only family I had been left with were the Martins.

And I was going to make sure that this time, nothing would come between me and Olivia. Trying to make the most out of this first baby step towards a better relationship, I crossed my arms and looked at Olivia a slow, mischievous grin taking over my face.

"So... how is Ryder?"

Five seconds later, I had a red tomato headed blonde running after me with a pillow in hand- most probably to smack the shit out of me.

I probably hadn't laughed like that in some time and it was one of the best feelings ever, even when I knew that I was probably going to be throttled to death in some time.

Ah, gotta love family.

*******

Heyooo!

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. It was a filler but I thought it was needed.

Q: Would you rather have a lot of cousins no where near your age or only one cousin brother / sister around the same age?

A: I think I might pick the latter? Only if we get along really well, though. Otherwise the first one.

Thank you so much for your patience and love.

Happy Reading ❤️