Hidden Between Us

Chapter 5: Cousins, Chaos, and Gossip

“Family is loud, messy, and impossible but somehow, it’s home”

Sienna's Pov

I woke up to Liam yelling from downstairs about some bullshit and turns out he came to scream it by my door.

"Siieeennnaaa! You took my cookies!" he whines opening my room door

"What?" I groaned, rolling over. "I took my cookies, not yours."

"Lies! I saw you!"

"Fine, okay, maybe I grabbed yours too," I admitted, hiding under the blanket. "But you left them on the counter. It's basically self-defense."

Liam gasped dramatically.

"Self-defense? You're evil!"

"Evil? Me? I'm the protector of snack integrity, thank you very much," I muttered.

He stomped his feet "You're impossible!"

I sighed and swung my legs off the bed. Mornings were always like this.

My phone lit up and it was a message from my cousin, Theo

P.s

T: Breakfast together, outside??

I quickly reply

Sure I'll be there in 10

I looked up at Liam, he was still looking at me like I stole gold bars from him.

"I'm going out for breakfast with Theo get out pls"

"Can I follow?" Liam asked suddenly, bouncing like he had secret missions to complete.

"ugh, yes, whatever," I muttered

"Excellent," he said as he ran downstairs. We headed out and a few blocks later, Theo appeared around the corner, leaning against a café wall, smirking.

"Well, well, the queen of sarcasm and her chaos apprentice," he said, nodding at Liam.

"Stop calling me that," I groaned.

"Your brother is extra," Theo said, eyes twinkling with amusement.

We grabbed breaky and drinks and immediately dived into gossip.

"Did you hear about Aunt Marge?" Theo asked.

"Apparently she's hiding a bunch of old letters from Uncle Peter. Claims they're 'top secret.'"

"No way," I said, laughing. "She's been hoarding love letters since college?"

"Exactly. And the best part?" Theo said. "She mailed one to herself by accident last week. Uncle Peter found it on the porch and thought she was cheating."

Liam snorted. "He believed it? He's gullible!"

"Barely believable," I said, shaking my head.

"For real and Aunt Lucy?" Theo continued. "She tried hosting a dinner party last month and the soufflé collapsed. Not just a little. It looked like a volcano. Everyone was crying... from laughter."

"Classic Aunt Lucy" Liam said, eyes wide. "Drama and chaos forever."

We laughed so much that my tummy hurt

"You guys missed it all cause you didn't come" Theo added

"yea, something came up that day" I replied and then leaned in

"Jenna is planning a new blind date. Charts, Timelines, excel sheets or is it compatibility she's treating it like a mission to Mars."

Liam nearly fell off the chair. "Charts and timelines for a date? Jenna is insane!"

"And that's not all," I added, smirking.

"Apparently the guy she picked works at a chocolate factory. She thinks that makes him romantic."

Theo burst out laughing. "Romantic? He makes chocolate, not poetry."

Liam clapped his hands. "Poetry is boring anyway. Chocolate is better!"

We kept going, story after story, laughing until our stomachs hurt. Every anecdote naturally led to the next. Aunt Marge's letters reminded us of Uncle Peter's obsession with crossword puzzles. Aunt Lucy's souffle reminded us of our cousin, Jenna's disastrous baking attempts. Each story unfolded like a chain reaction, hilarious and slightly chaotic.

Finally, the meetup ended, and I checked my phone. Sophie messaged me

Hey! Book's waiting. Can you come pick it up tomorrow?

I grinned.

Tomorrow is perfect maybe you could show me that novel at ur library you told me about 🫣

Theo was texting someone when I looked up and then he said he had to go. I guess something came up.

Theo waved goodbye, Liam did a theatrical bow, and I walked home thinking... life was messy, loud, chaotic, hilarious, and perfect in its own way.

Tomorrow, Sophie's book, more gossip,more chaos and maybe, just maybe, a few surprises waiting