Everything has been absolutely perfect since Ty quit drinking. We’re raising Ella together and he’s acting like a father. We’ve been going out and doing things together, and he hasn't had any strange late night phone calls. He’s actually dating me, telling me how beautiful I am, and how much he cares about our family. He’s going to work and staying focused. Of course, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m not an idiot. I know this isn’t going to last forever.

The ringing doorbell draws me back from where my mind has taken me. Opening it, I am surprised to see my cousin Julie standing on the doorstep. I haven’t seen her in almost a year and now she pops in out of the blue?

“Cami, oh my God, you’re looking so good!” she says, pulling me into her embrace.

“You look great too, Jules,” I reply as I pull away. Sure she looks great, she always does. But what the hell is she doing here?

Standing there with her sends a twinge of jealousy through me. Her blue eyes sparkle in the light, even under the cover of clouds, and her clear, tan skin is just unbelievable. My aunt did a good job finding her dad, who was some Italian hunk. She won in the gene pool; between my aunt and the Italian sex god, they created one hell of a knock out.

“I should have known you’d be in a dress,” I mutter under my breath. She hears me and shakes her head at me with a smirk, causing her dark hair to blow in the cool breeze. Julie has always been pretty, but damn has she bloomed into a voluptuous beauty.

“It sure is cold down here. I thought Tennessee was supposed to be sunny and hot.” She wraps her sweater around her.

“It’s only January, so it’ll start warming up soon,” I reply, leading her into the house. I shut the door behind her before starting my questions. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Ty and I finally have our lives together, and here is the other shoe. A perfectly manicured bombshell. It’s not that he’s cheated before, not on me at least, but I get the feeling he’s done it. To other girls. I don’t want to fall into that category.

“Oh you know, just thought I’d come visit.”

“That’s bull and you know it. What happened, Julie?”

“Well, I mean… I kinda lost my apartment back home.”

“Uh huh… what’s his name?” There’s always a guy, with her. I cross my arms, waiting for her response. Sometimes, there’s more than one.

“Oh, it wasn’t like that, Cami, come on. I’m not some slut.”

That determination isn’t really up to her. I love Julie, but she treats guys like garbage. Hopping from one to the next with no interest in their feelings. It’s pretty sad.

She sighs. “Fine, Louie. He was nice and all, but God, Cami, he wanted to get married and some shit. I can’t be held down by some loser. That’s not me.” And there it is—nice guys always finish last with Julie.

“So what’s your plan? Show up here to crash with me?”

“Yeah, if that’s ok.” She puts up her hands. “Just for a little while. I mean, I’ll get to spend some time with you guys. It’ll be great, a couple weeks to get me back on my feet.”

I shake my head, but I know I can’t say no—you don’t say no to family. “Fine.”

She’s all bubbly and excited as I text Ty.

My cousin Julie has to stay here for a little while. Sorry.

He doesn’t text me back, must be busy at work. He finally found a job that pays well and suits him. He’s an electrical apprentice with a big commercial business. It means he travels a lot with the company to jobs, but everything is taken care of. His food, hotel, everything. And he’s working twelve hour shifts so he can be home with us more.

Julie sits down as I make some tea. Luckily, Ella is at preschool, so we’re not interrupted. We chat about our lives for a while before I hear Ty’s truck pull up. She and I walk outside to greet him. I don’t want him feeling like she’s already taken over. Even though our living room looks like it. Her coat on one chair, purse on another, cell phone plugged into the wall. She has more stuff than our toddler.

“I take it you're Julie,” he says, stepping out of his truck, clearly trying to avert his eyes away from her chest.

“Yep, this is me,” she says with a giggle and tucks her hair behind her ear coyly.

Ty smiles and looks at me. “Umm… do you have stuff?”

“Yeah! It’s in my car.”

I watch intently as she bends over to pull out a box and a suitcase, which Ty takes from her.

“Well, we better get all this stuff inside,” he says, lugging it through our open door.

They walk in, and I stand there in the doorway with my arms crossed. Drawing in a slow breath, I shake my head and close the door behind me. No matter what I try to do, I can't shake the green-eyed monster within. The way they talk, shamelessly flirting with each other, pisses me off. It’s like I no longer exist.

“Cami? What's wrong?” Ty asks, coming up behind me and rubbing my shoulders.

“Nothing,” I reply, virtually through my teeth. He pulls me into him, hugging me tightly. I smile as his warmth encompasses me. After we have dinner together, I excuse myself to put Ella to bed. She already loves Julie, who’s read her about six stories and braided her hair. I try to let go of the nagging feeling that won’t leave me and have a good evening catching up with Julie, but soon, a terrible headache creeps up, and I use the excuse to head to bed. It’s already after midnight and I fully expect Ty to follow after me shortly. I fall asleep as soon as I crawl under the sheets.

Rolling over in bed, hours later, I realize I'm still alone. The coldness of his side of the bed jars me to full consciousness. Getting up to use the restroom, I hear laughter coming from the front of the house. My urge to pee is forgotten as I scamper down the hallway.

A terrible thought crosses my mind, “No,” I whisper to myself as I round the corner to the living room.

Ty and Julie are sitting on the couch, talking. The more I observe, the more I realize just how close they are. Ty is sitting there in his pajama pants, shirtless, while Julie is in shorts and a tank top that leaves nothing to the imagination. I clear my throat as I walk towards them and they both jump up.

“Sorry, I woke up and realized you weren't there. I thought something might be wrong, but clearly it's not,” I say turning to go back to bed.

I check on Ella before going back to my room, but she’s sleeping soundly, as if our family isn’t falling apart in the living room. I'm angry as I crawl back in bed. Every possible scenario plays out in my head while I lay there, staring into the darkness. The bedroom door creaks open and I turn over, facing the wall. Ty climbs into bed and snuggles up to me. Laying there limply, I make no effort to reciprocate. He kisses my temple and pulls me closer.

“Cam,” he whispers. I don't respond, because if I do, he’ll hear the hurt in my voice. “I love you,” he says and kisses my cheek.

Laying there in the darkness, I listen to the slow rhythm of his breathing before sleep finally finds me once again.