A bell rung above me and a cat that was licking itself, looked up. Its black eyes stared at me for a few seconds, meowed and went back to what it was doing.

I cleared my throat and let the glass door close. This place hadn't changed at all.

There were rows of books ahead of me and from where I stood, there was the second floor also littered with books and a few home goods, like clocks and stationary.

I went through each row, blinking at the amount of books there was in each shelf. How was I supposed to find the right one?

I chewed on my lip and decided to head towards the spiral staircase. I went straight to the poem section, but paused in front the classics row.

My feet carried me down the aisle until I reached Shakespeare. I reached for Macbeth and flipped through the pages. On the left side, it had the original Shakespeare language and to the right, it had an accurate translation that made it much easier to understand. I frowned and then saw the original version without the translation.

I took that one and left the other. I went back on track to the poem section, feeling confident Tristian would like Shakespeare.

I ended up buying two poetry books, two classics, and the Shakespeare book. I bought a tote book that just plainly had a pair of antlers. As soon as I stepped out, the cool air brushed past me, making me shiver and lift my hood up.

I went to the grocery store and bought two boxes of Hershey Kisses. I made my way home when I spotted the two men unloading a white pickup truck.

I immediately crossed the street just as the two familiar men came out of a hardware store, chatting away. I looked away and did some window shopping.

Not that anything sparked my attention. Everything here was kind of plain and boring. Window shopping was much more exciting in the city. I sighed and turned the corner, almost bumping into an old man.

I grabbed his elbow before he fell and winced. "I'm so sorry, sir! Are you okay?"

He looked down at his paper bag and I picked it up for him. "Darn. There goes ma breakfast."

"I'm so sorry—hey, aren't you...?" I trailed off as he looked up, his dull blue eyes widening, "Mr. Steven! Oh, it's been so long!"

He broke into a smile, his head shaking. "Varia! My, have ya grown so fast!"

Mr. Steven was the only close family friend. I've known him since I could remember. He was the best friend of my step papa. They were so close; I thought they were brothers at one point. He often came to visit and was just as much as a rock fan as my step papa.

One day, his visits came to a stop after more than three months of my step papa's death.

"Why doesn't Mr. Steven visit anymore, mama? Was my soup really that bad?" I asked her when she was channel surfing, the blue light from the TV casting weird shadows behind her.

She hiccupped and took a deep swing from her beer. She sighed and run her fingers over her lips. "Of course it was. Didn't you see how much I puked after I ate your so-called 'soup'?"

I knew there was a different reason. Whenever my mama kept something to herself, she drunk until she passed out and would never remember what we were talking about.

It was her unique way of saying "I don't want to talk about it".

I chuckled and awkwardly shrugged. "I haven't grown that much since high school."

Mr. Steven laughed. "I was talking about age-wise, my dear," He said, making my cheeks go red, "Would you like to have some coffee?"

I nodded, feeling a rush of excitement run through me. "I would be delighted."

-------

"Did she really went through with it?" I asked, wide-eyed and on the edge of my seat as Mr. Steven nodded gravely.

"She did. Mary-Rose didn't have enough money to raise a child. She could barely take care of herself. Imagine if she kept it? Boy, that unborn child would have suffered."

I chewed on my lip, feeling my sprites die down a bit.

Mary-Rose was my neighbor before I moved to the city. She was about my age, if not two years older. She was always shy and we hardly uttered a word to each other; just the occasional wave of hello and a tight-lipped smile.

"That's so sad. I could never imagine such a thing would have happened to her." I commented.

"Things like this happen to women all the time. I just thank the court case, Roe versus Wade, made abortion legal for women."

I nodded in agreement. "But that doesn't mean politicians or society made it easy for women to access that help."

Mr. Steven lifted his cup and gently took a sip. "I pray one day everything will be easy for women."

I smiled and set my cup down. My hands felt warm. "How is your wife doing?" I asked.

"I miss her a lot," He admitted, dropping his eyes on the table. "But she's doing well. I write to her and she writes to me. I haven't heard from her yet, though."

I offered a smile and tried to get his attention. "Hey," I softly said. "I'm sure your wife is fine. Recoveries take a long time. I'm sure she'll be by your side in no time."

Not more than a year after my step papa's death, Mr. Steven's wife, Belle, was cornered by a group of bikers when she was on her way to work. I could only imagine what she went through that night. The newspapers, the reporters, the rumors all spoke of horrible acts she had endured.

I remembered I shivered and covered my ears when my old classmates whispered the stories around me.

It wasn't a week later after she was released from the hospital when she tried to commit suicide. Luckily, Mr. Steven caught her in time and admitted her to hospital in the city where she basically remained.

"I hope so, Varia. I was planning on visiting her this weekend."

I shifted in my seat and gripped my coffee cup. "Do you think I could... tag along? It's been so long since I spoke to Belle."

Mr. Steven finally smiled and nodded. "I think she would enjoy your company."

-------

I closed the door with a push of my hip and dropped my keys on the table. I sighed and went to the living room, grabbing the Poe's book. I put everything in the tote bag and checked the time.

I had about two hours before I had to pick up Drakon.

I made sure I had everything with me and kept the back door unlocked. I breathed in deeply, loving the fresh air. This was the one of the few things I missed about my hometown; fresh, clean air.

I forced my feet to head towards the woods and I paid more attention towards the way the almost naked branches swung lightly when the wind flew by. The leaves formed mountains of orange and red all around me with some patches of dried up grass peeking out.

I smiled lightly when a deer lifted its head up when I accidently stepped on a twig. The deer stared straight at me and I lifted my hands, turning the other way to show I didn't mean harm. The deer reluctantly resumed eating and I hid behind a tree when a smaller deer appeared.

I titled my head to the side as the larger deer nudged its head towards itself as if to say come here. The smaller deer kicked its legs and ran towards what I assumed was its mother. They lowered their heads and I suddenly missed Drakon.

I touched my pocket and then more frantically when I couldn't feel my phone. "Oh, darn it!" I spat, looking at the ground to see if maybe it fell. I started to retrace my steps, scaring the mother and baby deer away.

I looked guilty at the direction where they ran and bumped into a tree. I made an oof sound and fell back. I winced and rubbed my cheek, feeling small, rough scratches run over my cheekbone and close to my eye.

I hissed through clenched teeth and glared at the tree for standing in my way. I stood up and went around the tree, cupping my cheek when I let out a small scream of surprise.

Tristian jumped, dropping the wood he had picked up. He turned around so fast, I was sure he felt a little dizzy when he staggered on his feet. I touched my chest, my heart thumping loudly in my ears.

"Jesus! Why is it when we bump each other, we end up scaring each other?" I blurted out almost angrily.

Tristian visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping. He cleared his throat; a sound that vibrated on his chest. "I'm starting to wonder, too..." He said, trailing off awkwardly.

I chewed on my bottom lip and then remembered the tote bag when the strap slipped off my shoulder. "Oh! I almost forgot. This is for you."

I took a few steps towards him and held out the bag with both hands. He tensed up again, his mask locked on the bag.

"A... bag?"

I scoffed and opened it for him. His face trailed to mine and I nodded encouragingly. He took a tiny step forward and peered in the bag.

"I didn't know what you liked to read, so I got some...stuff that I figured suited your taste. I also got you some more chocolate and look!" I grabbed the Poe book and ran my fingers over the cover. "I found it last night and decided to return it to you. It wasn't right for me to have taken it without your permission. I'm sorry about that."

Tristian gently took the bag from me, being careful not to touch my hands. He looked more thoroughly and then held it back to me.

"I already read these." He stated.

I titled my head to the side, a blank look on my face. "You don't tell that to someone who wasted fifty bucks on you."

"You don't?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"No. You say 'aww thank you so much! I always wanted this!' Not 'I already read these'."

"Oh. Um... thank you so much. I always wanted this." He quickly repeated emotionless.

I smiled and held in a chuckle. "It needs work, but you're welcome."

Tristian slowly nodded and looked down at the bag. "May I ask why you got this for me?"

I shrugged. "You saved me from being dog food years ago and I never got to thank you for that. And since I'm moving back here, I thought I'd take the opportunity to..." I paused, waiting for Tristian to say anything, but he stood still as if waiting for me to finish. "I'd like to get to know you."

Tristian took a small step back as if startled. "K-Know me?"

I shyly nodded. "I don't really have friends here and it gets... lonely."

Tristian appeared to be taking it in, his mask facing towards the ground with his fingers tightly curled around the bag as if afraid it'd slip.

"I mean, it-it's only if you want to. I don't want to make you feel—" I started to say when it felt like seconds had stretched into minutes.

"I'd like it." He cut in, lifting his head.

I blinked and before I could say anything, he cleared his throat.

"I'd like to get to know you, too."

It took me about five seconds to let it sink in and a big grin exploded on my face. I internally screamed of joy that I wasn't going to be alone anymore.