It took a while to unload my belongings from the car and I wondered for a second about my parent’s belongings: Where would they be? Was there something that I should have brought with me? Did I bring everything that I needed? I moved to sit on the couch and sighed as I covered my face with my hand. It doesn’t matter thinking about it now. I can’t go back to retrieve those things even if I wanted to and it would just make things uncomfortable if I brought it up to Aunt Jocelyn. I’m not going to ruin things while I’m here and I need to find a way to move on now that I’m living here.

“Jake,” Aunt Jocelyn called me and I lowered my hand to look over at her. “Pizza is here. Come and eat before we start moving the bed.”

“Yeah, I’m starving,” I got off the couch and followed her to the dining table. “Aunt Jocelyn, I don’t remember too much about the whole situation about the house, but what’s going to happen to our stuff?”

“I put it all in storage,” She answered as she handed me a plate and put two cans of soda on the table.

“Wouldn’t that be expensive over time?” I asked her, surprised.

“I have the money and we can always go back to sort things out. We can go during your winter break and see what to do.”

That gave me a relieving feeling and I opened the box to grab a slice of pizza. “I would like that. Also, I was honestly curious about what happened to our things, but I didn’t want to bring it up…” I confessed.

“Don’t be afraid to ask,” She said and looked at her cell phone. “So you don’t have school for another four days… Do you want to buy clothes? New shoes or a backpack? Do you still use calculators in math class? Do you need those fancy expensive kind?”

“I haven’t thought about that…” I said as I took a bite of my pizza and chewed trying to think if I needed any school supplies. “I don’t think I need anything, but it would be cool to check out the mall and see what they have.”

“Awesome. We can do that tomorrow if you want,” She said and seemed excited about this new plan.

“Okay,” I mumbled and took another look around the house trying to feel comfortable, but it was too quiet. How do you continue a conversation? We’re close, but we haven’t seen each other in years and my mind is running blank. “It’s weird…”

Aunt Jocelyn looked at me before giving a small nod and reaching for her can of soda. “Yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said as I sat back in my chair and I didn’t bother getting another slice. I hate how suddenly I lost my appetite and I fold my arms together, sort of hugging myself. “That makes it weirder.”

“I know, but…” She couldn’t finish her sentence and looked away from me then stood up to step out of the room.

“Fuck,” I cussed as I sat there wondering if I should go after her or return to my new room. 

Aunt Jocelyn never returned to the table, I think she locked herself in her room, so I put the plates in the sink and then made my way back to my new bedroom. I opened the suitcase and began to put my clothes in the only dresser that was in the room. It was a decent size room, but there wasn’t any closet and I wondered if I needed those plastic dressers to store my things. Should I keep the couch or get a desk instead? I heard shuffling in the kitchen and I braced myself to see if she was ready to help move the bed. I should be careful about what I say. I think she’s more sensitive than she’s letting me believe and I don’t blame her if she’s trying to put on a face for me. I’m sort of doing the same thing.