STELLA

Waking up to the beautiful sun beaming on my face, I sit up and stretch my arms above my head, yawning as I do. I look around the bedroom and I drop my hands by my side.

My stomach sinks at its unfamiliarity.

We had landed late last night and barely made it upstairs before we each entered different rooms. It didn't take me long to pass out on my bed.

We were lucky that the house we'd bought had just been refurbished, otherwise we would have had to sleep on the floor after that tiring journey here. And after everything we'd gone through to even come here, sleeping on the floor would have most definitely been the last straw for me.

My phone buzzes beside me with a notification as I unlock it and see what it is. It's a text message from my best friend.

LILAH: I miss you already :(

My heart squeezes at her text.

We had become inseparable once my family had moved homes and I'd met her. Lilah and I became best friends almost immediately after meeting.

It was hard to say goodbye to her.

With a sad smile on my face, I write out a reply.

STELLA: I'm missing you so much more :'(

Pushing the duvet to one side, I get out of my bed and head over towards the en-suite to wash my face.

I cringe as I look at myself in the mirror. There's dark rings around my eyes and my lips are chapped from the long journey here.

I step into the shower and decide to wash myself from head to toe instead.

The warm water cascades around my body as I let it run down into the drain. I had no time to get out any of my bedroom or bathroom essentials, so I guess showering with only water will have to do.

Once I'm done, I wrap a towel around my body and throw on an oversized t-shirt paired with some shorts. I run my fingers through my hair, deciding to let it air dry, before moisturising my face and applying some lip balm.

I leave my bedroom to walk downstairs.

"The gremlin's finally up."

Riven teases me as I walk into the kitchen to eat something.

I make a show of rolling my eyes at him but it's all good nature–I know my brother well enough to know that this is his way of showing me affection.

"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?"

Mum asks as she places a plate in front of me, walking over to hold me as she presses a kiss to my forehead.

I nod my head at her as I try my best to not shrug her off. Her sudden affection towards me is something I'm still getting used to.

As I begin eating, Riven nudges my leg with his and points towards my phone. I take a quick look at Mum to see if she's watching us, and when I'm certain that she's busy with something else, I take my phone and open my conversation with Riven.

RIVEN: Should we go out once she leaves and buy a few things? The shopping will be on me so long as you don't tell her we've left.

I lift my head to smile at Riven before replying.

STELLA: Hell yeah! I need to buy so many things before we start at the new school.

Putting my phone back on the table, I continue eating. My phone buzzes as Mum turns around, her eyes narrowing at the notification.

I don't give her the chance to look at my screen as I flip my phone over.

"It's Lilah." I lie. "She says she misses me."

Mum's face softens and I know that I've got her.

She treated Lilah like a daughter—well, as much as a busy mother could—and saw how miserable she'd been once I'd told her that we'd be moving. Mum nods before carrying on with tidying the kitchen, and I take the moment to flip my phone over and take a look.

RIVEN: I want to throw a party once we begin at the school. We need to find new people. We'll leave in about an hour? I think Mum will be gone by then.

I turn my phone on silent mode as I nod towards my brother. Standing up, I leave my plate in the sink before leaving to go to my bedroom.

If Riven wants to throw a party to find new people, we'll need to impress. That means that our house needs to be ready before then, and my bedroom is where I'll start.

Tying my hair into a bun at the top of my head, I begin sorting through my boxes. I had already parted with so many of my things, but there was still so much I couldn't bear to part with.

As I begin opening the boxes, I sort everything out into smaller piles. It'll be easier to remember which things belong to where like this.

Eventually, I come across a small glass box.

My lips turn up as I hold it between my fingers. The things inside are precious to me. They're all things gifted to me from old friends, the ones who lived here when we'd also lived here.

As I open it, the first thing that I see is a bracelet. I grew out of it a few years ago, but I still kept it. I could bear to throw it away.

A sweet boy by the name of Brandon had given this to me.

These gifts are priceless, and I wonder if I'll ever meet those friends again. It's still hard putting names to their faces, there's only a few I can recall, but I'm sure if Riven and I try hard enough, we'll be able to remember the names of all those friends we had left behind.

"Mum's left, if you want to leave now."

Riven says as he strolls through into my bedroom.

I scowl at him as I put the glass box onto my bed and move the cardboard to one side. Standing up, I wipe my hands on my shorts.

"I've told you to knock before you enter my room, Riv. Why's that so hard to follow?"

My brother smirks as he pushes his hands into his pockets and shrugs.

"Old habits die hard, Stella. Go get changed and I'll meet you downstairs in a few."

With that being said, Riven leaves me to change as he shuts the door behind him. I look through my pile of clothes, deciding what to wear for the day, before getting ready to go shopping with my big brother.

This should be fun.