Thursday mornings are Aimee's favourite days in Byron Bay. Every other day, the restaurant is so busy that she needs to pitch in with waiting tables. But, Thursday the restaurant is closed, and, particularly, in the mornings, it's eerily quiet when her uncle and cousin allow themselves to sleep in. Aimee takes advantage to have some time alone with the old piano. With no listeners, Aimee plays to her heart's content and lets the music flow through her hands.

That particular Thursday, Aimee wakes up early and slowly grabs her brother's set of keys. His uncle has given him a set of keys now that Callum is regularly cooking in the kitchen as the sous chef. She slowly makes her way out of the house that her grandfather built, which sits on a property that overlooks the restaurant as a backdrop, and uses the key set to grant her entrance to her own private stage.

The acoustics in the restaurant are perfect when it's empty, and it allows the sound to resonate almost as clearly as in a small concert hall. Her hands find the keyboards of the piano comforting and it allows her to reconnect with the inner melody that constantly plays in her head.

Even though she no longer performs for audiences, her brain longs for musical relief and Thursdays are the perfect escape. Aimee plays with the piano as a prodigy child plays with a Rubik's cube, in a constant inner path to overcome self-set challenges. Three hours pass by with her hands finding each tune as if she's finding her own heartbeat.

Josie enters the room, already expecting to see her cousin playing her beloved piano. She silently leans on the door frame to listen intently to each note. Aimee delivers the last notes of her composition and she looks up to Josie.

"Is that the same guy as last week?" Josie asks.

"No, this is not Chopin." Aimee smiles. "This is my composition."

Josie walks inside the room. "You composed that? Wow, that was beautiful, cous."

"Thank you." Aimee looks at the paper where she doodled her composition.

"We thought you should be hungry by now, seeing you came here at the crack of dawn and there was no actual evidence back in the kitchen of you actually eating anything."

"How long have I been here?"

Josie looks at her watch. "We've been up for two hours, but knowing you, you've probably been here for at least three to four," she smirks, amusedly. "You hungry?"

Aimee gets up and folds the piece of paper in her hand. "Starving".

"You got the keys with you? We need to lock up."

Aimee reaches for her brother's keys in her pocket and hands them to Josie.

"I was thinking we could go out tonight, the three of us. There's this really cool place, The Northern, that has awesome live music."

Both the girls walk out of the restaurant and Josie closes the door and locks it.

"I want to get to know you guys better. All my life it was me and dad. And then suddenly, bam, I have you guys."

"Yeah, I know... We knew we had an uncle when your dad came around London that one time, but honestly, we never got my dad to say much about your dad and you were a surprise to us, too."

"It's just so freaking odd, this entire story."

Aimee nods, and they make their way down the stairs.

"Anyway, are you in?" Josie asks.

"Absolutely."

Josie jumps excitedly. "It's going to be so fun! Do you think Callum will be up for it?"

Aimee is about to answer, but a vehicle interrupts their conversation. The red Mercedes-Benz pickup truck goes up the dirt road towards the car park.

"Is that Liam?" Josie asks. "What is he doing here?"

"Maybe he wants to make a reservation..."

Josie snickers. "They have people for that."

Liam parks and exits the truck. He is wearing blue khaki pants, a tight yellow shirt, and some dark shades. Aimee hasn't seen him for a week, and his beard has grown again a bit more, framing his face.

"Hey Liam, how can we help you?" Josie waves at him.

He waves back. "Hey, was hoping to catch you guys." He glances at Aimee but quickly focuses his attention back on Josie before making his way to the back of his truck.

"Should we go there?" Aimee asks and Josie shrugs. Liam takes an electric blue bicycle from the cargo bed.

"Whoa..." Josie's eyes open wide. "Is that a switchblade?" Josie runs to Liam and Aimee follows her.

"Bought you a new bike..."

Aimee opens her mouth to stop Liam from talking.

"Seen that I'm the responsible party for the wreckage inflicted on your old bike, it's the least I could do." Liam hands the cycle to Josie.

Josie glares at Aimee, confused. "I thought you said you had slipped and fallen off in a ditch."

Aimee looks to the ground. "Yeah, that's what I said, but actually I was gently pushed to the side of the road."

"You ran her over?" Josie raises her voice.

Liam rubs the back of his neck, embarrassedly. "It was an accident."

"Don't make a big deal out of it. I didn't tell you guys because Callum would throw a hissy fit."

Josie looks at the bike. "This is a $20,000 bike. I can't accept this." She pushes the cycle back to Liam, which takes a step back.

"What?" Aimee says. "How much was your old bicycle worth?"

"Not even a fraction of this." Josie pushes the cycle again. "I can't take this. It's too much money, Liam."

He holds his hands up. "Please, take it. It's the least I can do, and I know you love this brand. You keep ogling my bike every time we go to the mountains. I even got your favourite colour."

"You're okay with me taking this?" she asks Aimee.

Aimee lowers her gaze to the floor. "Yes," she responds softly.

Josie narrows her eyes at Liam. "This is not some downplay, because you think she will sue you?"

Liam raises his eyebrows.

"Because we will sue." Josie responds nonchalantly.

"Josie, what? No!" Aimee raises her voice and looks at Josie, that only shrugs in response at her. "No one is suing anyone here. It was an accident." Aimee looks at Liam. "I'm not suing you."

Josie throws her hands in the hair."Just checking." She checks the bicycle out by twisting the handle to the left and right. "This is pretty awesome, mate!"

Liam chuckles, "Now I can beat you fair and square."

Josie laughs, "Ah! You mean I can beat you fair and square" She looks at her cousin. "Let me take her for a spin. Aimes, five minutes." Josie climbs on the bicycle and takes off down the dirt road.

Aimee lowers her gaze to the ground. "I was trying to save up to get her a new one. Thanks for the gesture." She looks up and sees him watching her intently. "She is right. It's too much money."

Liam shrugs.

"Right, not for you..." she speaks in a hushed tone.

"It's a bit more sturdy than her old bike. It will be harder for you to fall from it." He offers her a cheeky smile.

"Oh, I will never get to ride that bike in my life. I know that."

They both laugh for a moment before falling in an awkward silent while glaring at Josie that is now circling the restaurant premises while whooping in excitement.

"I also got you something." Liam walks to the back of the truck and takes a beautiful wooden surfboard with white and blue lines.

Aimee takes one step forward and caresses the board. "It's beautiful, but I can't accept this. I've called it a day with the whole surf. After my runnings with the locals and almost becoming shark bait..." She eyes him amusedly. "I think surfing is not for me."

Liam shakes his head. "No. See, you had the wrong board, that was far too small for you. I saw your form. It's not bad for a beginner. With some lessons you can be quite good, but you need the right board..." He hesitates. "And the right teacher."

"I can't afford classes. All I was doing was based on what my dad taught me when we were kids."

Liam takes two steps towards her and grabs her hand to hold the board. "I want to teach you. I got you the board so I can tutor you."

"You want to teach me? The girl that you screamed at?" Aimee snickers. "That's rich."

"I want you to play his tune," Liam says softly with his eyes glued to the floor.

"I shouldn't have said what I did..." Aimee looks at the board. "It was stupid of me to say anything." She hands him the board back, but Liam pushes it back to her.

"Besides, we need to teach you how to avoid those rip tides, and just generally avoid things that can kill you."

"Like your road rage?"

Liam chuckles at her quip. "Tomorrow, 6 am, I'll pick you up. No more riding the bicycle."

Liam closes the cargo bed and gets in the car. He starts the car and drives away while Josie returns from her ride. She waves goodbye to Liam when she crosses his path and stops near Aimee.

She looks at the surfboard. "I thought you were done with surfing?"

"I guess I'm not?" Aimee says, unsure of what just happened.

One day Liam screams at her, the next he is being nice to her and offering to teach her to surf.

"How do you know him exactly?"

Josie leans to the right side of the bicycle. "Since forever. His family has always been good friends with ours. His parents go a long way back with grandpa when he was alive, and dad is mates with Charlie."

"Are you two friends?"

"With Liam?" Josie cocks her head inquisitively to her cousin. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason, just wondering..."

"Yeah, we're mates. We grew up together and went to the same school."

Aimee hums in response and looks at the surfboard in her hands.

"This is a small community. We all kinda know each other, hang around the same places, you know..."

"Izzie told me he was in Sydney for a while."

Josie scoffs, "Yeah, that's some messed up shit right there. Liam, he's a great guy, but he's a bit of a wild card." Josie climbs out of her new bike. "Can you carry that thing back home?"

"We are literally two minutes away from your house." Aimee rolls her eyes and laughs.

"Good, because I'm starving and I'm taking this beauty to the shed. You take the board back home, and I'll store with mine."

Aimee nods and starts walking down the road. Her thoughts running back and forth to his unexpected visit, his present, and his offer.