"What?" I snapped. "She's coming here? Like...to England...like, here?"

My Dad rolled his eyes, "Yes. What's the big deal, Luca?"

"The big deal?" I demanded in exasperation. "Why is she coming?"

"She's your cousin." My Mum reminded me, digging into her mashed potatoes as I sawed at a piece of stubborn broccoli. "I told her she could stay with us, so you have to play nice."

"Fine." I spat. "But I'm not spending time with her."

"Yes, you are." My Dad laughed at my ridiculous comment. "Introduce her to your friends, take her into town, do whatever it is you teenagers do."

"Mama." I turned to my Mum pleadingly. "Alsjeblieft?"

"She's your cousin - she misses you."

Rosa was my sixteen year old cousin from the Netherlands. Dragging her over to England was like dragging my sins over too. My secrets, my past. My parents had refined the art of avoiding the topic and pretending we moved over here for merely a 'change of scenery'. But we all knew that wasn't true.

It's what I told people too. Yeah, I lived in Holland until I was eleven, when my Dad was offered a job over here. We all wanted a change, so he took it. Simple and easy.

But Rosa being here just rubbed my nerves and made my hair stand on end. I'd slammed the door shut on my past a long time ago, leaning up against the wood and forcing it to stay forever closed. Rosa was relieving that pressure, she was opening that door, even if it was only by a crack.

I complained to my parents for a little longer until my Mum started scolding me in Dutch. I knew that I better shut up if I wanted to hold onto my rights to breathe in this house.

The next two days flew by, as if I was being punished, pulling me closer to the date of Rosa's arrival. She was meant to land at three PM. My parents were picking her up from the airport at four. She'd be home by five. I was pacing my room, picking up random books, flicking through the pages and tossing them aside again. I shouldn't have been so nervous. She was my cousin. We'd always been close, especially when we were little. As we grew up, we drifted further and further apart, but were held together by the blood that ran through our veins.

But I had a new life now. A better one. I had friends, I had football, I had looks and popularity and Theodore. I stopped dead in my tracks after realising the words swirling around in my mind. I had Theodore. What did that even mean?

I didn't have time to dwell on it, however, before the front door was being shoved open and closed again, the sound of excited chatter wafting up the stairs, piercing into my skin. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a minute, and headed downstairs.

"Luca!" Rosa exclaimed, rushing forward to lock me in a tight hug, "Ik heb je heel erg gemist! Je hebt m'n smsjes nooit beantwoord! Hoe gaat het met je?" She rambled incessantly, pulling back, holding me at arms length to examine my face. I took a moment to take in her features too. Her short, golden hair, tousled and untamed, her sharp silver eyes and creamy skin. Just how I remembered her.

"Yeah, sorry, my...my number changed." I lied, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "I missed you too." I smiled forcefully.

Her brows twitched into a frown before she smiled sweetly, "Oh, it is English now?" She asked, her accent thicker than mine.

I nodded, "Yeah, kind of." I sighed.

"Well, that is okay." She agreed. "How are you?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I replied as my parents lugged her bags upstairs, leaving us alone in the living room. "You?"

"I am good also." She grinned. "I have not seen you for years. You are missed in Holland."

I found that hard to believe. After what I'd done, I wasn't wanted there anymore. On top of wanting to leave, we didn't have much of a choice. I was about to reply to my cousin before being cut off by Vera, running into the room to throw her arms around Rosa. The two started chatting in sloppy Dutch as I nestled back into the sofa.

I jumped up at the sound of the door ringing, needing an excuse to exit the conversation as I rushed to the front door. I threw it open, my brows furrowing in confusion after revealing a pair of sparkling blue eyes and curly hair, "Sam?" I asked.

"Hey." She grinned.

"What're you doing here?"

"I'm bored." She shrugged, shoving past me to delve deeper into the house.

"Wait, Sam-"

But she'd already reached the living room, freezing as her gaze landed on Rosa. "Who are you?"

Rosa leapt up energetically, swooping over with a wide smile, "Hello." She greeted. "I am the cousin of Luca, who are you?"

"Sam." She replied skeptically.

"Rosa." She countered. "You are very beautiful." Rosa continued, "You are Luca's girlfriend?"

"No, Rosa." I groaned in embarrassment. "She's just a friend."

"But she is very pretty, no?" Rosa frowned at me, "Why is she not your girlfriend?"

Sam chuckled, "Oh, I like her." She smirked.

Rosa laughed and started interrogating Sam further about her personal life. Sam didn't seem to mind and the pair chatted animatedly before my Mum reappeared in the living room, glancing between the girls with bright eyes, "Sam, it's nice to see you." She declared.

"Oh, hi, Mrs Bakker." Sam smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had company."

"Oh, it's no trouble." She waved her hand to dismiss it. "Why don't you introduce Rosa to the rest of your friends, Luca?"

I moaned unwillingly, "Do I have to? I think we're good here for now-"

"Go. Now." She ordered.

"Fine." I agreed reluctantly. "I'll just show Rosa her room quickly." I said, instructing Sam to stay downstairs. She did as told, with a small salute as she wandered over to talk to Vera. I trotted upstairs, Rosa hot on my trail as I led her into the spare bedroom. Before she could even say a word, I slammed the door shut and stared at her menacingly.

"Rosa...please, just...just don't say anything about..." I trailed off, unsure how to word my request.

"Luca, what is this?" My cousin asked quizzically, "Why we speak in English? Why not your Mother tongue? Dutch is-"

"Dutch is for when I'm in Holland." I cut her off. "Look, I've got a new life now, and I don't wanna bring up the past, okay?"

Her face was blank for a moment, and then it fell in realisation, "They do not know?"

I shook my head, "No. My friends don't know anything." I couldn't hardly bring myself to say it. I was so ashamed.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want them to know." I hissed. "It's in the past."

"But they are your friends, no?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion, "They love you, no?"

I wasn't sure if that were true or not, but I nodded nonetheless, "Sure." I answered, "But...please? Don't say a word?"

Her eyes scanned my face for a long time, the silence of the room squeezing at my heart, sending it pounding into a frenzy of fear. "Okay." She nodded, and smiled sweetly.