My Cousin The Creep [WORKING]

The grown-ups called it "enthusiasm." My mom said he was lonely. My dad said he'd grow out of it.

If you have a cousin like Danny, don't wait for someone else to draw the line. You can love your family and still say stay away from me . You can forgive someone's past without offering up your future peace.

So I'm saying it now. Danny isn't just awkward or lonely or socially clueless. He's a creep. And the rest of the family pretending otherwise doesn't protect me—it protects him. my cousin the creep

Every family has one. Ours just happened to be named Danny.

I pulled away. He laughed. And then he followed me for the rest of the night—not running, not yelling, just there . Refilling my drink when I wasn't looking. Waiting outside the bathroom. Appearing beside me in every group photo like a ghost who'd learned to smile. The grown-ups called it "enthusiasm

My Cousin the Creep

But here's the thing about creeps: they don't grow out of it. They just get better at hiding it until they don't have to anymore. You can love your family and still say stay away from me

And that's the problem, isn't it? We do know how Danny is. We've always known. But knowing doesn't fix anything if no one says this isn't okay .