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Her mother nodded, leaning back against the doorframe. She was wearing her silk dressing gown, her dark hair tousled from sleep. “Are you all packed?”
Paige jabbed a thumb towards the case behind her. It had been her mother’s, stashed away in the attic cupboard among the dust and mothballs, barely used. “Just about.”
Her mother shifted her pink lacy slippers until she finally said, “Have a nice time, yeah?”
Paige relaxed her shoulders. “Yeah, I will. Want me to bring you back any souvenirs? Some strawberry-flavoured rock?”
Her mother’s thin eyebrows arched. “You know I don’t eat sweets.”
Paige fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Right, sorry.”
“I’m going for a shower, so I probably won’t see you off. Stay safe.” She slipped away like a pink, lace-clad shadow and shut the door behind her.
Paige flopped back onto her bed, the ceiling swimming above her. “Thanks, Mum,” she said under her breath. It wasn’t like her mother didn’t care for her; she just had a hard time showing her feelings after her husband had left her. Paige had grown used to reading between her words and tight-lipped expressions for any glimmer of compassion. It was there, if she looked hard enough.
She sat up, her hair now tousled, and rubbed her eyes. “Crap,” she muttered as she heard her mother lock the bathroom door. “My toothbrush.”
Just over fifteen minutes later, a car horn blared somewhere outside, and Paige threw a glance at the window, spotting Olivia’s shiny red Citroen idling in the driveway of their semi-detached.
Paige’s mum was still in the shower—she could hear the rushing water as she wheeled her case past the bathroom door—so she left without saying anything, locking the door behind her and tossing the keys into her rucksack.
Olivia rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over the seat to give her a wave. “I’m here!”
Paige arched a brow, dragging her travel case over the gravel drive, pieces of loose stone chipping under the wheels. “I can see that,” she said dryly, popping open the boot of the car and tossing her case inside. Most of the interior space was already occupied by Olivia’s large white suitcase, but she managed to squeeze her luggage in beside it.
Slamming the latch shut, she circled round to the front passenger side and slid into the empty seat. The leather upholstery was already hot and sticky from basking in the sun, and Paige reached for the air conditioning, twisting it towards her. Cool air blasted her face, drying the perspiration on her skin. An open bag of crisps and a can of Sprite were already resting on the centre console, crumbs dusting the sleek black dashboard.
“Hey,” Olivia said with a toothy grin. “Glad you could make it.”
Paige clipped her seatbelt into place, folding her hands in her lap to distract her nerves. “You seem awfully chipper this morning.”
Olivia threw back her head with a laugh. “Of course I am. We’re finally going on vacation together. It’s about damn time, don’t you think?”
The two of them had been close friends since Year 3 at Hawthorne Community Primary School; that was a lot of summers that had been and gone without so much as a glimpse of the seaside.
“Ready to get on the road?”
Paige nodded, adjusting the strap of the seatbelt so that it didn’t dig into her stomach. She didn’t usually suffer from travel sickness, but her nerves were making her feel extra fluttery this morning. “Yep, all ready.”
Olivia’s gaze darted to the mirrors before she shifted the gearstick and began to reverse out of the driveway, gravel crunching beneath the tires. Paige gave a half-hearted glance towards the house—with its chipped porch, strangled with weeds and uncut grass—as they drove away.
“How was your mum this morning?” Olivia asked, her tone idle.
Paige leaned back against the headrest, flicking away a strand of hair tickling the base of her chin. “She didn’t say a lot.”
Olivia shot a sympathetic glance across the seat. “I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
“Yeah.”
They joined the line of early-morning traffic heading out of the city, and Paige bridged her hand beneath her chin, watching the neighbourhood pass by in shades of concrete and terracotta.
“Mind if I turn the radio up?”
Paige responded without turning her head. “Go for it.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Olivia’s hand reach for the dial on the dashboard, and the speakers began to thrum with low bassy tones. Paige sneaked a glance towards her friend when she started drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, a little out of sync with the music, and a small smile flitted across her lips. She really hadn’t changed a bit.
They pulled up to a red traffic light, and Paige felt Olivia’s stare shift to her.
