"Moon and stars." I laugh at my mum as she releases me from her tight hug.

She just cried.

I wasn't surprised.

"Yeah yeah." She mumbles, leaning into my Dad's side as Rayne gives my Dad a hesitant grin.

We were like an hour late.

Which doesn't look great when they know that we went back to the house together before we came here. Honestly, they all think so many things. We just drove slow and then we were just laughing and talking as I slowly got an overnight bag together.

Rayne takes my bag from my shoulder and I laugh as he jogs up the stairs with it, trying to escape the suspicious looks from all our parents.

"Where's Ivy?" I ask.

"Kitchen. Come on bub." My Dad says to me, pushing my mum's hips so she walks and I just crinkle my nose up at him calling me Bub.

It was cute when I was like six. Bubba is a little outdated now.

Apparently, it's not for him.

"Ivy?" I call out and then grin when she is already sat up at the counter her arms outstretched for me. I grin and walk into them, hugging her tightly.

Ivy was always like a second mother to me. She forces me to tell people that I am her Auntie even though my parents and Rayne's parents are just best friends.

"Hi Kid how was it?" Jackson says, stirring something for my mum and my mum, now emotionally back together, nudges him out of the way and she takes over. I just stay leaned in Ivy's arms as I take in the adults.

"It was amazing. But I missed you all."

"We missed you too." Ivy laughs and my Dad sends me a small smile, nodding.

"You should have seen your Mum and Dad, they didn't know what to do with themselves."

"Good practice for when I move to Uni." I grin and my Dad narrows his eyes at me.

"Don't say that, your mum will start crying again."

"Oh Goodness." I laugh and she sends him a glare but then nods, looking at me.

"Probably true. I was awfully bored this month."

"Mum you work anyways." I laugh. "I just gathered you'd paint more."

"Yeah but then I painted a picture of you and got sad again." She chuckles, turning her back to us to carry on with dinner.

"What we having?" I ask and step away from Ivy, but I jump up on the counter besides her.

My parents were young, so were Ivy and Jackson. Like my Mum and Dad had me at 18 and Ivy and Jackson adopted Rayne and August when they were like 25 I think? I am not sure, but everyone is like 36 now. So although yes, they are our parents, they weren't, I don't know, they weren't old and boring I guess.

My dad laughs at me and Ivy, sat up on the kitchen side and he just leans against the opposite one, looking at my mum's food.

"Vegetarian Lasagne." She says and I grin, happy that we were having something veggie and not me just having to have a supplement.

"Yay." I mumble and my Dad purposely scrunches his nose up at me in distress.

He wasn't happy about the vegetarian move. Like he obviously supported it, it's my choice what I put in my body and what I don't. But he most definitely did not enjoy vegetarian food.

But my mum cooks it so well, like it's delicious so he can't complain.

He just misses meat apparently, when there is none.

"Where is Rayne?" Ivy asks and I nod to the door as he was just walking towards us.

"Where's Lottie and August?" I ask.

"Outside by the water, he was training, I think she was just swimming."

August swims. Like properly. It looks intense. I don't really know much about it. Like I said, he's sorta disappeared since he moved to the city. The city is only a twenty-minute drive from us, but he moved away and so we don't really just run into each other anymore.

"Oh okay." I say and Rayne squeezes my knee before walking out the big open back doors I am guessing to go and grab his siblings.

"So Emersyn tell us everything." Ivy says and my mum nods, putting the last touches on the lasagne and then shutting it in the oven.

"Tell us everything baby."

I just grin.

"Oh goodness." My mum hums, eyeing my grin and I roll my eyes.

They always think it's about a guy, when I am this happy, it never is.

"So you aren't going to like this." I start and my dad makes this pained noise. "No listen." I laugh. "It's made me wanna travel properly." I state and my mum turns properly, her eyebrows raised.

"I don't mean I want to stay at resorts and go on tours with guides and buy key rings or postcards. Although I have a magnet for our fridge at home." I laugh and then look at my mum. "When I say I want to travel I mean I want to explore another country and become part of it."

My dad raises his eyebrows, nodding for me to continue.

August and Rayne come in, August in swimming trunks and I just avert my eyes and continue as if the boys didn't just interrupt my little monologue.

"I want to discover small coffee shops in Germany, Italy, France. I want to walk on beaches in Australia and browse old book shops in England. I want to hike the Great Wall of China and go cliff diving in Hawaii."

My dad's lips part, probably to tell me that I was most definitely not allowed to dive of a cliff. I interrupt him.

"I want to meet people who are not like me, but people who I can like and listen to all the same. I want to take pictures of things and places and people I meet. I want my mind to be in constant awe of life on earth. I want to see things with new eyes. I want to look at a map and be able to remember how I was transformed by the places I've been to, the things I've seen, and the people I've met. I left a piece of my heart in Portofino, and I want to leave little pieces of my heart in so many places. And I wanna write about it all."

I am smiling and the adults are just staring at me as if I've grown another head.

I sigh. "Okay what?"

"Nothing." My dad chuckles and walks towards me, pulling me to his side and he places a quick kiss down on my head. "You just sound grown up."

"Still the writing then?" My mum says, smiling brightly at me and I just roll my eyes and nod.

I may have been through a lot of hobbies.

I- I don't settle well.

I like to explore. I just never knew my need to explore was more about changing environments than it was things in my life.

For example I've been through a painting phase and then I just got bored, like it's nice and fun to do but it's not what I wanna do forever. Not like mum.

I went through a dancing phase. I can dance but damn the shoes hurt and it's just so much effort.

I went through a singing phase, Again, I can sing but the attention is a bit much. You have to like the attention to sing properly. Nope.

I learnt how to read palms, read horoscopes. I know more about the night sky than I do myself honestly, and I taught myself how to make clothes. That wasn't as fun as I thought. Materials are expensive. Baking- boring once you've done everything.

Like I said, I can't settle.

But reading, writing has always been my number one, something I love so much.

"Yep still the writing." I grin.

"When are you planning to go on these adventures Emersyn Rose?" My dad says and I just give him a little careful grin.

"Oh god." He mutters. "Why are you girls so unpredictable?"

"No listen I am still going to Uni." I say laughing at him and he raises an eyebrow at me, settling back over by my mum.

"But..." I say. "Not in September."

"Pardon?" He says, his voice edging on stern and I smile sweetly, hopefully sweetly, oh goodness.

"Well I contacted them, and I can start a semester later. Like I can do things online or I can catch up or something. I will show you all the emails later, but basically... Instead of going to Uni in September... I think ima go to France. And then Brussels, Germany and then Prague and then..."

"And the finachial side of this?" My dad interrupts my trail amused and I shake my head at him.

"You don't need to give me a dime." I promise. "I still have money saved, we really didn't spend anything in Italy. She cooked for us, she never charged us keep and we didn't really spend money in the town, we spent most of the time in the water, talking to locals, writing about the feeling of everything out there." I say. "Anyway so I already have money saved and I still have my job, I will just work all through July and August to save up more."

My mum nods at me and Ivy nudges my shoulder with hers. "You shouldn't really be travelling all on your own Em, it's a dangerous world out there."

I narrow my eyes at her, why'd she say that in front of my dad? He's already protective enough.

"I know. But I am smart." I say. "Like I-"

"Smart's doesn't mean anything." Jackson says. "How would you keep yourself safe?"

"There's danger everywhere, that's part of the beauty of life." I say and when this doesn't comfort anyone I say "I promise you all I will figure that out."

"Emersyn you've always been such a good kid, go for it baby. We'll talk about everything later?" My mum says and I grin, my Dad however sends a panicked look between us all.

"But what about University Nove?"

"She's still planning on going. And we never went to Uni. Neither did Ivy." My mum says.

I grin again. I was surprised. That she got on board so easily honestly.

"Mm." My dad hums, looking at me hesitantly and I just send him a soft smile.

"Don't worry dad, we have two months to get you on board."

"Well there's not much I can do to stop you." He admits and I just shrug.

"Yes but obviously I'd never do anything to purposely stress you out." I say and Ivy wraps an arm around my shoulder.

"See you have a good kid, my kids stress me out and I know they do it purposely half the time."

"Rude mum." Lottie says as she walks back through the doors, her hair wrapped in a towel as she had obviously just been in the water with her older brother.

"Well Mrs 'I just got detention because I threw a book at a guys head' I am sorry but you stress me out." Ivy laughs and Lottie just rolls her eyes at her mum and sends me a grin.

"Em." She exclaims, rushing to my side and I smile, sharing her excitement as the thirteen-year-old wraps her arms around my middle and hugs me. "And I am sorry mum but he deserved it, you know he did."

"Yes baby, but you cant just-"

"You did the right thing." Jackson nods and Ivy groans loudly, her eyes raising to the ceiling and she shakes her head in disbelief.

Lottie just laughs into me and then pulls away. "I missed you this week, I don't understand why they didn't just wait a week so you could come."

"I know right." I laugh back at her. "They must hate me."

"Literally." Lottie mumbles and I just smile at the younger girl. She had dark hair just like her mum but her eyes were this scary green colour from her dad.

"I like your hair." Lottie says, her eyes taking in the new curls and I just smile down at her.

"I broke my straighteners like the first week." I laugh and look round at my mum hesitantly, they were a gift from her.

"How on earth Emersyn?" She says, collecting glasses to set the table. My dad and Jackson start to help whereas Ivy and I stay sat up on the side, Lottie leans up against it and Rayne and August by the doors.

"Um, well first you see... Oh goodness." I laugh and my dad looks round to meet my eyes.

As in 'tell us what happened Emersyn'.

"Well... So first of all they weren't working okay? Well I should tell you I dropped them after this girl Ophelia gave me them back and I heard them crack but I just thought it was fine I don't know. But yeah so they didn't work after that but I still tried really hard for them to work so I put them on and left them to heat up a little and well it turns out they were really broken because then they caught on fire mum. Like full on fire and so I unplugged them obviously but they were still...."I pause and look up at everyone and Rayne is just heavily amused but my parents seem horrified.

"It's okay I wrapped them in a towel and then threw the burning towel with them in over my balcony into the pool..." I say throwing literally everyone who was staring at me a sheepish smile.

"And so yeah after drowning and being on fire, I am pretty sure they were dead. I um didn't try plugging them in again after that."

"Emersyn Rose." My mother sighs and I just grin.

"Sorry?"

My dad laughs, his brows both raised in slight surprise and he just goes back to setting the table.

"Anyway Lottie." I say looking at the thirteen-year-old. "That's why my hair's curly- I haven't straightened it and well it hasn't had any heat in like three weeks."

She nods.

"Also don't ever try to plug in clearly broken straighteners." I add. Life advice you know?

She blinks. "I know this Emmy."

August snorts at that and my head shoots up to meet his eyes. He was leant against the wall, looking awfully bored and I notice he has cut his hair.

The last time I saw him it was pretty much the same length as Rayne's, but he always had it braided into cornrows. Now it was much shorter, to his head. I wonder why he cut it all off.

God Rayne could never.

"Problem?" I ask and he meets my eyes and shakes his head.

"No."

I nod, looking away from him quickly and to Jackson who purposely trying to get Ivy's attention.

Ivy was in her own world, happily watching everyone set up the table.

"Ives." I say, nodding to Jackson.

Then I jump off the counter and grab the salad bowel and serving spoons, helping to lay the table outside with my mum.

"You look brighter Emmy." She says softly, her hand finding mine. "I am glad you are feeling better."

I grin.

"It's like I can see the world in colour again. Those last few months of school were harsh."

"I know." She smiles, squeezing my hand in hers. "Let me know if it's ever too much again. You know where we are."

"Of course." I whisper back, smiling at her and she just suddenly grins.

"Damn it, your father and I missed you. We didn't know what to do with ourselves." She agrees with what Ivy said.

"I missed her too." Rayne says, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, essentially strangling me from behind. My mum just grins, laughing at his roughness and I choke, pulling his arms away from me.

"You are such a boy." I mumble, batting him away from me.

My mum escapes and we take a seat.

"I was lost too." Rayne admits. "I realised I don't know what the fuck I am going to do when you go to uni."

"I might go travelling again first." I say and he frowns aggressively. "In September not during our summer." I laugh.

"Yes it's our summer." He says and I laugh, reaching for his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll spend time together don't you worry."

"Good." Rayne says.

And I just smile, the outside porch literally leads down to the beach and the ocean is only what like twenty meters away? The sound, the smell, it feels so much like home.

I do like home. I love it even.

I was just excited to start living less quietly, I guess.

Whatever that was going to mean, I wasn't sure.

"So any guys on this Italian escapade?" Rayne says and I laugh, shaking my head.

"Sadly not. Well obviously there were guys but nothing happened."

"Boring." Rayne mutters and leans back in his chair, throwing his legs over mine and I just raise mine to lean on another chair, both of us getting comfy in the early evening.

I had thrown a hoodie over my summer dress so at least I was warm enough.

I lean my head on the back of my chair, watching Rayne as he looks back at me.

"What about you?" I ask. "Anything fun happened?"

"Nope." He agrees, but his voice is off and instead of returning my smile he looks down at his lap uncomfortably.

"You aren't being truthful." I whisper slightly amused, slightly concerned. "What's happened? Have you met someone?" I ask.

"Nah the girls have been boring this summer."

"Rayne." I roll my eyes and he chuckles, shrugging his shoulders.

"Honestly though."

"So what have you been doing if it's not hooking up with girls?"

August walks out then, giving Rayne a nod and he jogs down the stairs back towards the sea, now fully clothed.

"I do more than hook up with girls Emersyn." He laughs and I just shrug.

"Well usually you are with me or you're with your-yanoe. So I just gathered if I wasn't here you'd be letting loose."

He swallows and then just shrugs.

"Let's move this conversation along." Rayne says and I just shrug, my eyes lifting to over our porch and curiosity gets the better of me.

"What is August doing?"

"Who knows. I guess just grabbing his and Lottie's things."

"Oh okay." I say settling back down. "I am so tired." I admit. "I need coffee or like-"

"Vodka?" Rayne offers and I just laugh and shake my head.

"You know we can't when-"

This was a no hard-drinking house apparently. It's always is at Rayne's they don't ever have any alcohol in the house. Whereas my mum and dad drink occasionally. So here we have wine, that's about as crazy as it gets.

"I have a bottle. Thought we could escape to my room or down the beach later tonight." Rayne says and I just shrug.

"Don't bring it in the house." August says walking back up the stairs to us, his deep voice shocking me slightly. He never really talks to us. Well I suppose to me.

Rayne nods once and I watch shocked as August takes a seat at the end of the table. I used to be so immune to his presence but now the twenty-one-year-old makes me slightly nervous. The last time I saw him was Christmas and that was brief anyway.

"You can join us later if you like." I say gently and he raises a brow at me.

"No thanks."

I nod, scrunching my nose up and Rayne chuckles at the rejection, poking my shoulder in amusement and also trying to cheer me up.

That is always how it goes. I try. August rejects.

It's been that way since I was a kid.

I smile. It is sort of funny.

"You sure?" I ask him.

"I am sure."

August was scarily tall also, like okay he wasn't that tall, no taller than my dad or Jackson. Maybe actually, he did seem taller tonight. I don't know. But anyway August just has this presence that even makes Rayne slightly on edge. Like Rayne had even tensed up slightly since August sat down with us.

"We can make a fire Leo, down on the sand?" I smile and his hazel eyes narrow at mine.

"Emersyn no."

Okay. My eyes widen slightly at the sternness and I turn my eyes to Rayne and share a look of shock.

Rayne just laughs, sliding down his chair more and making his legs even heavier on me.

I groan, running my fingers through my hair and I look at Rayne.

"You wanna do a shot now?" I whisper.

"What happened to you in Italy?" He says, widening his eyes and I laugh.

Before I left I was probably the most stereotypical version of a good girl. Apart from the shy part, I don't do that well. I often don't know when to shut up.