Valerie “Goddess, I've been standing for too long. My hips hurt.” “Let's do this quickly then so we can go home.” I stiffened as the two voices moved through. It belonged to my mother and father respectively. Why were they here? There were some rustling sounds I couldn't piece together despite being near the door. Tristan's breathing was thin, but I still couldn't tell what was going on with his being so close to me. Just like that single drunken night. The only night I spent with him… ‘Focus’ I warned myself, forcing myself to focus on whatever was going on outside. The sound only lasted seconds before footsteps thumped. “Do you think she'll be happy with this? Perhaps we should have bought her something new.” my mother asked, sounding unsure about whatever it was. “Why not? It


