"A manicure?"

I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but this was the last place I'd want to go and now my Mum was dragging me there for 'Mother-Daughter' bonding time.

I'm pretty sure my Dad had taken Harvey to like a football game or something like that and I get stuck in a small room with fumes clogging up my nose? Great.

Plus, if you couldn't tell, manicures and make up and girly things weren't my cup of tea, so why my Mum though this was a good idea was beyond me.

We were still going dress shopping since I still needed a dress for the dance and my Mum was luckily still letting me go.

"You used to love it when I painted your nails when you were younger." My Mum frowned, holding the door open of the small but flashy salon. This was my Mum's regular place whenever she back in town so they knew her well since she paid good too.

"Yea... I guess I've just out-grown it a bit." I said softly, not wanting to upset or annoy her because I knew she meant well.

It just doesn't help the fact that she hasn't really been a part of my life for the past 3-4 years and won't really know what I'm into now. She only really knows I like dancing and that about it.

She went to reply but got ushered over by the owner Dianna. God, I remember that woman putting my hair in pigtails while my Mum got a pedicure.

"Eve! So great to see you lovely!" Her sickly sweet voice just brought back memories of me sitting on an uncomfortable chair with a kiddie magazine waiting for my Mum to finish her appointment.

I was pulled onto one of the salon chairs by one of the girls, sitting on the chair opposite and sticking my hands in a cold bowl of something.

"Eliana! Goodness how much you've grown!" Dianna directed her shout to me, coming over and staring at my face, pinching my cheek like you would with a four year old. God, I forgot how invasive this woman was with personal boundaries.

"Hello Dianna." I smiled in return, rubbing my jaw on my shoulder to rub away the dull ache from Dianna's pinch.

"Well, you girls pick a colour and I'll grab you both some drinks. Latte for you Eve and juice for you Eli?"

As suspected, she was still going to see me as a child despite being nearly 18. I just forced a smile and nodded to her so she would leave me alone.

My Mum occupied the seat next to me, gently dipping her already manicured nails into some acetone to remove them.

As the nail techs began doing our nails, my Mum turned to me.

"So, how long have you and Leo been seeing each other?" She questioned, taking me aback slightly from her abruptness.

"Uh, a couple of months, but we've known each other a little bit longer than that. We were dance partners before anything happened." I had to be honest with her. Texting and over the phone was a piece of cake when it came to avoiding and lying about things. But face to face, my Mum was like a lie detector. You couldn't get anything past her.

"Is it serious?"

My eyebrows narrowed "No way, it's too early on for anything like that. But we get on very well and understand each other."

Like last night, she took in the information and analysed it like she was a computer program. You could see her brain working as it took in everything I said.

"Hmm," she tossed some of her long black hair over her shoulder "I think I'd like to get to know him more before anything continues."

I was surprised to say the least. She wasn't just ordering me then and there to break up with Leo and never talk to him again. Obviously it would be a bit hard to do that given that Leo was my dance partner, but even then she would have tried to say something about us not seeing each other romantically anymore.

My mum was actually willing to try and get to know the guy I was seeing. Hallelujah.

I nodded my head to her, taking in her comment and letting it stew in my brain.

We sat in silence for the next 10 minutes whilst a nail tech viciously tugged my hands around. My mum was saying for me to get a baby pink colour painted on my nails but I said I'd rather die than do that.

Instead I opted for a dark blue which was shimmery in the light. I couldn't have them too long because of school and dancing so they looked a fairly natural length.

By the time we were both finished, my Mum bid farewell to Dianna and her nail techs, paid and ushered me towards the exit.

As we made our way down the high street, she randomly looped her arm through mine, holding on to me tight.

"I want you to know that you can tell me anything, you know that right? I know I may not be around a lot but I want to know what's going on with you and help you out when you need it."

Her sudden speech took me by surprise once again, and I had to take a moment to process what she said.

It was hard for me to accept that she wanted me to talk to her about me and my life because it's kinda hard to do that when I could only get hold of her maximum of twice a month.

"I know I can Mum, I just find that difficult to do when you're not around. There's only so much of phone calls and texts that I can take before I just feel abandoned." I did exactly what she wanted me to do, be honest.

She faltered slightly, pausing as we walked along side each other and made our way to the first boutique shop we saw.

The theme of the dance was classic ballroom and the dresses that were displayed in the shop window were the perfect fit for it.

"You know, I actually wanted you and Harvey to come with us on our travels. Just take you both out of school and conquer the world... But your Dad would never allow it, he wanted you two to get a proper education instead of being home schooled and never being able to settle."

That was something new. I didn't understand why she never told me or Harvey this before?We may have just been teenagers when they left, but we had fully functioning brains. We could make our own decisions and something as life changing as that... I would have wanted a say.

My Mum quickly grasped my hands in hers, turning my body so I was fully facing her.

"Lets talk about this at home, as a family. Right now I want to see my beautiful daughter in a beautiful dress." The smile she gave me was the most sincere one I think I had ever seen.

The guard I had put up from when my parents got back has slowly gone down, but it was still there.