Sunday morning was quiet, so I took it as an opportunity to unpack my essentials. For the most part, I still planned to live out of my suitcase, but I took out my toiletries and some of my most used items of clothing, and arranged them all in the drawers of the small bedside table in the room.

There was minimal space to move around in and I was constantly knocking into hard corners and tripping over my own things. I had no trouble picturing the space as a study. It would have been much more spacious with a single desk and maybe a bookshelf or two. It definitely wasn't my first-choice as a bedroom.

I had to constantly remind myself that it was only temporary.

But the four robin egg blue walls seemed to close in on me, the complete opposite of the welcoming effect the paint had done upon my arrival. Eventually, I decided to exit the confinements of my miniature prison and go into the kitchen for some breakfast.

My stomach was grumbling and I was craving scrambled eggs on toast. I wondered if it would be inappropriate to raid the Reed's fridge. Maura seemed like the type of woman who would encourage visitors to make themselves at home. But then again, I had only met Maura face-to-face twelve hours ago and I didn't want to just assume.

When I entered the kitchen, Maura and Mum were sitting at the dining table in their pyjamas, a bottle of aspirin sitting between them as they sipped their coffee from large Styrofoam cups. The entire room was shadowed in darkness and—for once—absolute silence. I crossed the room and drew back the curtains.

"Oh my God," my mother shrieked, squinting up at me like a blind animal. "The light...it burns."

Maura looked slightly cross-eyed as she glanced up at the small sliver of sunlight coming from the window. Her lips twisted into a pained scowl as she lazily tapped the sunglasses perching in her nest of untamed hair until they fell onto the tip of her nose.

"Jesus Christ, I'm never going to drink again," Maura announced, resting her face in her hands.

"Honey, I completely agree."

Then the two looked at each other and burst out in a fit of childish giggles. The laughter was soon subdued though. The sound of their own chuckles had sent a ringing pain in their temples and they promptly frowned and groaned in discomfort.

"Thank God for drive through McDonalds," Mum said, keeping her tone softer. She took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, that reminds me; we got a couple of hash browns for you and Dust."

I crept towards the bag and took out the greasy goodness, the idea of eggs and toast disappearing at the thought of deep fried potatoes.

"Where is your son anyways?"

"He goes for a run every morning. He should be back any moment now. Ash, you're welcome to help yourself to anything. There's juice in the fridge. Are you an apple or orange kind of girl?"

The mention of juice had me salivating. "I'm not picky."

As I made my way to the fridge and found the juice, I realised there wasn't much left; maybe half a glass if I was lucky. I hesitantly shook the bottle, watching the remainder of the orange liquid slosh around. I had been a guest at the Reed residence for just over twelve hours and I didn't want to be the kind that drank all their juice.

I knew I'd be pissed if someone ate all the double coated Tim Tams without me.

Maura noticed my tentativeness. "Drink it all, hon. I can run to the supermarket this afternoon and buy some more. We keep a shopping list on the fridge. If you want me to grab anything, just write it down."

As I poured herself her drink, I couldn't help but notice how organised Dust and Maura were. They had a list on the fridge. A freaking list. When Mum did the groceries, all she did was circle items of interest on a catalogue. Then half the time she'd forget to take it with her when she went out.

"Hush, Maura. Ash and I can pop into town and do the groceries. We need to pick up her uniform anyways."

Apparently Maura was aware of my mother's forgetfulness, because she said, "Bring the list. Also, buy some of those chocolates with the creamy centres."

While the two talked about whether they should get strawberries and cream, or the limited edition hazelnut, the front door opened. Dust appeared a moment later, a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. He greeted everyone a good morning and headed towards the sink for a glass of water. Something was different.

"Morning, Ash," he said, catching my stare.

It took me a moment longer until I realised what was missing.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked, holding up my hand.

Dust's eyebrows drew together, his head tilting curiously.

I wiggled three fingers in the air.

A wave of recognition crossed his features and dipped his head, smiling. He gently closed his hand over mine, curling my fingers back into a fist. "I'm wearing contacts."

I retrieved my hand from his.

"Even though my vision isn't that great, I don't suddenly see extra fingers when you do that. It's just a little blurry if I don't have my glasses." He gave me another half smile. I was sure my cheeks were just as red as my hair.

He quickly turned his back and finished the rest of his water.

"Ash," my mother called, causing me to spin around and redirect my attention. "We should go into town while it's still early. Let me grab my keys and we'll head out."

She turned on her heel and left. Maura remained at the table, chewing nervously at her lip. She glanced at her neatly handwritten list on the fridge, drumming her fingers against her cheek. It only took another second before she abruptly stood, "I better get my phone and text your mother a copy of the list. She never was the best at remembering." 

I watched as she hurried out of the kitchen.

"Grocery shopping, huh? Sounds fun," Dust said from behind me. I turned and caught his smile before he shoved a handful of Nutri-Grain into his mouth. 

"Not with my mother."

"Cathy doesn't seem that bad."

At that exact moment, my mother re-entered the kitchen, half dressed in a crisp shirt accompanied by her pyjama bottoms. Her eyes swept over us, until she found the box of cereal in Dust's hands.

"Oh, Dust, honey, do you mind if I have that for just a second?"

"Sure." He handed it over. "Do you want me to get you a bowl-"

My mother wasn't listening. She just tipped the box upside down onto the counter, shaking it clean before she found what she was looking for. 

"Ah, there it is." She held up her bangle. "One too many drinks and I get hungry. This damn bracelet is too big for me, I knew it must have fallen in here. Sorry about your breakfast, love. There are some hash browns in the Macca's bag over there. I'll pick up a new box of cereal while I'm out."

Dust just smiled. "No worries. I won't accidentally eat one of your earrings if I try the Corn Flakes, will I?"

"God, I hope not." My mother laughed, but quickly sobered. "Actually, where did I put my snowflake earrings?"

She wandered off, mumbling to herself. I turned back to Dust and gave him a knowing look. He shook his head, laughing.

"Okay, you win. So she's not the most organised mother in the world. Mine's not the best cook." He paused. "But don't tell her I told you that. She'd be heartbroken if she found out her famous beef stroganoff isn't actually my favourite."

My lips twitched into a half smile. "I won't tell a soul. Our mums are so different. I can't believe they're friends."

 "I think they balance each other out."

Once I thought about it, I could see how true it really was. I guess the saying 'opposites attract' didn't just apply to romantic relationships.

As I pushed the trolley down the pet aisle, I squeezed every chew toy I could get my hands on. Beside me, Mum cringed.

"Do you have to do that?"

I paused in front of 'The Oinker' and gave it the strongest squeeze I could muster. The pig let out an impressive snort.

"You're doing this to punish me, aren't you?"

I didn't say anything as my mother gently took the trolley. Punishing her would be an indication of immaturity, and I didn't want to admit that my parents' divorce had affected me more than they believed. I could easily deal with the fact my mother and father's relationship had sunk. But the aftereffects were what really got under my skin.

"It's only temporary," Mum said. Then she paused and added, "The living arrangements, not the divorce. I'm surprised I put up with that pig for that long."

One of those aftereffects was that each of my parents seemed to bad mouth the other. I was stuck in the middle, trying to settle the fire, but only getting burned by the flames.

"Good god, I need ice-cream." My mother started wheeling over to the frozen section. "Want to get some of those little tubs?"

Mum promptly forgot about our original conversation and got swept up by limited edition Sara Lee collection. It was almost a curse that she lost her sense of direction so easily. She forgot an additional three items on the list because she hadn't brought a pen to tick them all off. I had to run around the supermarket last minute before we finally got everything. The woman behind the register looked relieved when she finally rung up our total.

"Pretty good timing," Mum said as we were packing the groceries into the car. "We have just enough time for lunch before we head home."

Home? I wanted to scoff at the word. 

I didn't say anything. Instead, I focused on hauling the bags into the boot and avoiding eye contact.

"How about we have pizza? Maura was telling me about this place not far from here that does the best cheesy garlic topping." 

"Well, I do love pizza."

"The crust is even stuffed with mozzarella."

Mum didn't have to say anything more to convince me. I was absolutely sold when it came to anything with extra cheese so as soon as we were done at the supermarket, we headed to Dino's.

I drifted dreamily inside, the aroma of freshly baked bread exciting my senses. We picked a booth at the far-end of the room. The red, vinyl chairs were warm from the previous customers and accompanied by the heat from the kitchen, I could already feel my thighs beginning to stick to its surface. 

"Hi, welcome to Dino's! My name is Georgina and I'll be your waitress this afternoon. Can I start you off with a couple of drinks?" a perky blonde asked before I could pick up my menu.

"Just water, thanks."

Mum quickly scanned through the options. "And diet Coke for me, please."

"No worries. I'll be back with your drinks in just a moment." She paused, her gaze focused on me. I stared back at her, trying not to seem unnerved. "That's such a beautiful necklace."

My fingers instinctively reached up and touched the small, teardrop pendant that fell between my collarbones. It had been a present from Austen and I hadn't taken it off since I had received it.

"Thanks, it was a gift."

"Well, whoever picked it out has great taste. I'm sorry if this seems like such a direct question, but are you guys new to town?"

"Do we really stick out that much?" Mum asked, laughing.

Georgina simply smiled. "We get a lot of regulars around here. It's rare that an unfamiliar face pops up."

"We're fairly local. Just from the other side of town," I said.

"My friend Maura recommended this place. And if the food tastes as good as it smells, I think I'll be a regular too."

"Maura? Maura Reed? Oh, she's great! I go to school with her son, actually. Dust is a great guy."

"You go to school with Dust?  My daughter, Ashley, will be starting there on Monday, won't you, honey?"

I smiled to confirm.

"Hey, if you ever need someone to show you around, come find me. You'll love it at Lyon. Well, I've rambled on for too long now." She laughed. "I'll go get your drinks and when I come back you guys can order something to eat."

Georgina abruptly left, leaving us be.

"She seems lovely," Mum said.

"She does," I said, picking up a menu. My eyes glazed over the words, not really reading them. "But I don't want to get too close to anyone just yet. This is only a temporary thing."

When my mother didn't answer, I looked up. She smiled hesitantly, shifting in her seat. "Of course, honey. It's only temporary."

It's only temporary, I repeated to myself. It's only temporary.