My younger cousin had just turned 18 a month before our story begins. It's August, we're both guys, and he's having trouble at home -- getting in trouble with drugs and alcohol. At the time, I was 23 and had a boring Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00 office job and a one-bedroom apartment, no girlfriend and average social life; no pets, and no extraordinary commitments outside of work. My aunt and uncle were at their wits' end and quickly running out of options. No one else in my family wanted anything to do with my cousin, but they also had a lot more to lose if they couldn't manage to keep him in line; no one wanted to take responsibility for him, so I stepped up and offered, but made it very clear that I was not in a position to be able to do so financially. Finances were not a problem for my aunt and uncle. As far as they were concerned, it wasn't their precious baby boy that was the problem, it was the company that he was keeping. Surely, a change of scenery is all that he needed -- he had simply fallen in with the wrong crowd. Yeah, okay.
My cousin was still in high school, about to start his senior year, and was already upset that he wasn't going to graduate with his friends. We grew up together, seeing each other every summer and winter break so we weren't complete strangers moving in together, but I knew it was going to be a challenge getting him to look at the bright side and to act right. His parents did all the legwork finding a school that would accept a transfer so close to the beginning of the school year and close enough to where I work that it wouldn't be too much of an imposition to me. There's no way two guys could live in the one-bedroom apartment I was in. They found a two-bedroom, two-bathroom "luxury" apartment within the school district and set very generous terms. They paid 75% of rent, all the utilities, and sent money for groceries and incidentals. They also sent my cousin a small allowance for things like clothing, food, and gas because of course they bought him a car once he got out here.
The whole situation was pretty cool because I got to save a lot of money. Granted, I'm basically a glorified babysitter, but I got to hang out with my cousin all the time.
His parents warn me not to give him a dime outside of what they're sending him because the moment I do, he's going to use it to go out and score. They also make it very clear that I'm to call them the moment he ever appears intoxicated or starts acting out at school by either getting into fights or his grades start to fall. Aside from that, I'm just to keep an eye on him and encourage him to join extra-curriculars, but not hover.
They all flew out, signed the lease for the apartment, and bought furniture, and a few other things to make it as comfortable as possible. They got everything settled with the school district while I turned in the keys to my old apartment and moved my stuff in and the circumstances were a little awkward, but I tried to make the best of it. My cousin was looking a little rough. He looked like he was in withdrawal and just looking for a fix. My aunt and uncle were on a return flight the next day, but before they left, they made it very clear not to keep any alcohol or "other substances" in the apartment.
My aunt and uncle head out, wish me luck, tell me to call any time, no matter what, and thank me.
My cousin still had about three weeks before school begins so we order a pizza, set up his XBOX (because of course they bought him an XBOX) and I told him I took the rest of the week off to help him get settled. Really, it was so I could keep an eye on him and to make sure he didn't run off and sell his XBOX so he could score. I asked him to fill me in on what he had been up to and what he had done to land himself as my roommate. Then we discussed "house rules" and what's expected of him and he understood and agreed. We decided to take him shopping for clothes the next day so we went to bed.
Turns out, we were the same size; all the way down to shoes. We had no problem sharing everything. Shirts, jeans, shorts, underwear, socks, shoes, and sometimes even girls. We kept the apartment pretty tidy, but we'd go in and out of each other's room to grab clothes and we'd do laundry when the hampers got full and just put things away where they'd fit. Eventually, there was no more "is this yours?" Things just got put away and we helped ourselves to each other's closets and dressers and we just had a pile of shoes we'd choose from. It was pretty great.
Fast forward a few months and my cousin is thriving. He's making friends, doing well academically, and we're even going to the gym at our apartment complex together in the evenings. I mention that baseball season is coming up and ask if he has any interest in trying out for the team. He expresses ambivalence because he's a senior, a transfer, and doesn't think he'll make the team. I tell him, "You won't know if you don't try. If you make the team, I'll buy all your gear and go to all your games -- home and away." He says, "All right, I'll think about it."
A few weeks later, he came home elated and tells me he made the team. He said, "I didn't tell you I decided on trying out just in case I didn't make it. I didn't want a pity party. You're already my nanny, I didn't want you to suck my dick just to make me feel better." I laughed and said, "Let me know the next time you're feeling down, and I'll see what I can do to get you up." He said, "Don't make it weird, bro. Let's go get all the shit I'm gonna need for the team."
