Linus, like usual, hadn't gotten much sleep. Since he'd been sent to live with his uncle and cousins for the next few months, he'd been kind of out of sorts. The nine year old felt sick and sleep-deprived, but he climbed out of bed anyway, staggering exhausted and bleary-eyed into the bathroom only to bump into his 17 year old cousin Forrest, who was rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Linus overreacted to the surprise, stumbling backwards and colliding with the door.
"Aah!! S-sorry, I didn't see you! I'm sorry, Forrest! I'm sorry!" The poor kid apologized at least six or seven more times, his light brown eyes welling up with tears. He'd always been a bit overemotional, and Forrest kind of scared Linus. Linus's father, Forrest's uncle, was also an alcoholic, and Linus had a few bad experiences...