A FIREFLY IN FLIGHT || Quil Ateara

four; hot chocolate.

Rosemary was awake before she heard any movement from upstairs. The sun was just beginning to rise, shining through the thin curtains that covered her window. A morning chill had settled over the room, seeping through the framing of the house. I'll need to sleep in a sweater in the winter.

She stared up at the popcorn ceiling, looking for shapes in the pattern to distract her. La Push was very different from LA. There was the greenery, and of course the size and spacing of the town.

But the main thing was the quiet.

No matter what time of day, there was always something going on in LA. People going to and from work, coming home from a night out, road rage, unhappy children, drunken arguments and so many more.

There was hardly any of that here. She was pretty sure most of what she heard was from the wildlife.

Eventually, an alarm rang upstairs and it was immediately shut off. More silence. A little bit later it went off again; it had been snoozed. It was turned off again, and then again, and finally two people got up.

She was willing to bet it was Sue.

A minute later the shower turned on and someone was moving plates and mugs around in the kitchen; Harry. She smelled the breakfast before anything else; coffee, and there was definitely bacon cooking. That sent stumbling footsteps from the direction of Seth's room.

She listed as the footsteps from the bathroom made their way into the kitchen, and then there were hushed voices over the clanging of plates. Then; "Rosemary!" Seth yelled. "Get up here, it's breakfast!"

Not wanting to argue with him this early in the morning, Rosemary hauled herself off the air mattress and pulled on her sweater. Even with the carpeted floor her feet were still cold. She added fuzzy socks to her mental list.

The stairs creaked as she went up, but the air grew warmer and was accompanied by the scent of smoke. Someone had lit the wood fireplace in the living room. In the kitchen she was surprised to see she had been right. Harry was at the stove flipping bacon and fried eggs, Sue was pouring her coffee into a travel mug, and Seth was barely awake at the table.

Sue gestured to sit down while screwing the lid on her mug and then asked, "did you sleep okay?"

"I did," Rosemary nodded as she followed the direction. "Thank you."

"She needs a lamp," Seth mumbled, rubbing his eyes repeatedly. "And a clock. And clothes."

"And you need to go tell your sister breakfast is ready and she needs to eat," Sue said to him.

Immediately, his tired eyes were wide open. "Mom," he said. Clearly that was something neither wanted to do.

"Seth," she countered, one brown raised. They stared at each other for a long moment before Seth finally grimaced and rose from his seat. Sue then resumed what she was doing. "You can help yourself to the coffee, there milk and sugar somewhere...cereal in that cupboard, there might be some granola but I'm not sure. And there's fruit in the fridge."

"I'll go out and get myself groceries," Rosemary shook her head gently. "I really appreciate it but you've already let me in your house—"

"—eat," Sue cut her off.

Rosemary opened her mouth to object again, only to receive the same look Seth had gotten earlier. No room for argument. When she looked over to Harry for help, he was drinking his own coffee. His brows raised and his smile was hidden his mug. He didn't say anything but the sentiment was clear; you can argue if you want, but you're on your own.

Eventually, Rosemary was sat at the table eating eggs and fruit next to Seth. Sue was getting ready to head off to work, and was rushing both her kids so she could drive them to school and still be on time. Seth rushed down to his room to grab his things. Leah went out the door after her mom, taking a bite out of an apple as she went.