M A T I L D A
IT HAD NEVER FELT worse to be coming back here. As much as I want to be excited to be home, the circumstances prove that difficult. The academy and our school allowed Justin and I a few days off, to attend Nicole's funeral. Justin and I had flown out of Melbourne airport a few hours ago. The flight went incredibly slow, but we have just arrived in Brisbane. I'm excited to see my family again after so many months apart, even if it is only for a few hours.
Justin and I took my mother's offer and decided to stay in Brisbane with my parents for the night, before driving down to Byron Bay tomorrow. The funeral is in two days. After the funeral, Justin and I will drive back to Brisbane to catch our plane back to Melbourne.
"Wake up," I say, gently shaking Justin's shoulders. "We're about to land." Ten minutes later, Justin and I are walking towards the luggage pick up section. I spot my mum, waiting off to the side. Our eyes connect and she rushes over to us, pulling Justin into her arms. I watch curiously as they hug, my mum, not noticing my presence. I decide to give them some space, so I make my way to the luggage, grabbing our bag. I walk back over to find my mum and Justin deep in conversation. It's hard to believe that she despised him at the beginning of the year, and now, she treats him as if he were her own.
"Hey," I say as I approach.
"Matilda," my mum greets, pulling me in for a hug. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too mum," I tell her. "How about we get out of the airport now?" We make our way to the car park. We load our bags into the car and mum beings to drive home.
"Are Jodie and Hamish home?" I ask.
"No," mum says and I feel the disappointment arise. "They're in Sydney visiting Jodie's family," she tells me and I nod. Not long later, we pull into the familiar street and arrive at my home. Justin has never seen my home before. The house is a typical Queenslander blue and white house. We carry our bags inside and I lead Justin to my bedroom.
"What do you think you're doing?" my mum asks.
"Putting our bags away," I tell her. Can she not see that?
"Oh," she says. "You don't think Justin's staying with you do you?"
"You can't be serious," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Justin," she says. "Hamish's room is down the hall."
I groan in embarrassment. Justin throws me a wink before heading towards Hamish's room. I walk into my room, throwing my bag across the room and collapsing onto my bed.
Justin and I spend the remainder of the day running errands for my mum, giving me the perfect opportunity to show Justin Brisbane. Although it is not far from Byron Bay, Justin hasn't visited the city much. We walk along the river and catch a boat to show Justin the view of the city. After venturing the best places the city has to offer, we head back home and crash on the couch. Dad gets home from work and Pixie gets home from school shortly after we got home.
Mum, as per usual, orders pizza rather than cooking, making us promise her than we won't tell Scott and Beth. If they knew what we were eating right now, they'd probably never let us out of their sight until the year is over. We eat on the porch, looking out at the view of the lit up city in the warm Brisbane weather. I've missed this.
After dessert and a lot more talking, Justin and I head off to bed. We want an early night since we have to be up early tomorrow morning to drive down to Byron Bay. Justin wants to get there early to spend some time with his family, which is completely understandable. We get ready and I say goodnight to Justin outside of Hamish's room before returning back to my own room. I still can't believe that my parents are keeping us in separate rooms when we've slept together before and they were fine with it; I suppose; we weren't officially a couple then.
