I grabbed the luggage out of Nixon's car as soon as we arrived back at Valerie's mansion style house. Valerie remained lost in thoughts at the three of us walked towards another part of the mansion. I knew tonight Valerie's parents would be home but I had no idea what to expect when I met them. Nixon went off to another part of the house with his bruised hand sticking out like a sore thumb. Valerie sighed as soon as he left the area looking more relaxed than before.

"I'm so glad he's gone. You guys need to just get this thing out of your system before you start hurting other people", she said dramatically. She smiled at me with that sly smile of hers like she had something on her mind. "I could almost see the sparks flying", she said as she winked towards me.

"No Valerie. I just didn't want to go against my word. Besides we have an English assignment that we need to finish in two more days" I told her honestly. A part of me that was afraid to face Nixon but there was another part of me that refused to back down. That other part of me wanted me to face this fight head on because I wanted to see the real Nixon. I wanted to see beneath his outer shell into the pained soul that lay beneath.

"Sorry, I only tease you because I love you bestie", Valerie said. I almost forgot that Valerie had the strength of a wild animal until she used all her strength to playfully slap me on the back. I flinched at the touch of her hand against my sensitive skin. "Eh sorry. I'm used to hanging around with the guys. They play kind of rough if you haven't noticed", she told me in a quiet tone.

"Valerie, have you ever had a friend that is a girl", I asked her seriously. I looked into her eyes but she was busy counting the tile below. If I thought back on it I never once saw Valerie near a single girl in our school. "Did you choose not to make friends with other girls on purpose" I asked her in a curious tone. If anything my line of questioning caused Valerie to slink further into herself.

"Well Ember made it impossible to have friends in school. I kept watching you but it took up a lot of courage to talk to you", she stated meeting my eyes with a look that lacked confidence. I felt bad for Valerie who lost the opportunity to make friends because of a bully. "You always seemed so unapproachable", she stated with a sincere smile.

"What changed? Why did you make the decision to speak to me after all this time. I had no idea people even cared about me", I told her with sadness in my voice. If we met earlier our high school years could have been much happier. Obviously there was a reason she kept to herself for so long but I had no clue about that reason.

"You changed, the moment you punched Ember in the face. I could see who you really were in that moment. I saw a suffering similar to my own", she said with a grimace on her face. She was right about the pain and suffering I underwent in the past. "No one knows anything about you Rowen. You're an enigma who just appeared out of the blue. I wanted to know your secrets", she said incredulously.

"I'm not someone that important", I told her disarmingly. I wished she would not hold me so high on a pedestal. The higher she put me on the pedestal the harder it would be when I fell off that pedestal. "The mystery will fade and you will see me for the empty shell that I really am", I told her sadly. If Valerie only followed me around to get answers she would disappear when she received those answers. After the truth came out she would move onto the next thing that grabbed her attention.

"No you're wrong Rowen. It started out as a temporary fascination but now you have become my best friend", she said swiftly. "After Skylar disappeared I never thought I would find a person that I could call my friend but I did. Ah Here we are", Valerie finished as she pointed to her bedroom door. I looked at the bedroom wide eyed amazed by the interior decor of the room feeling instantly transported to another time.

"You're room is visually amazing", I told her honestly. It was the perfect beach room with starfish, seashells and rocks intertwined in netting that lined the walls. Also on the wall was a drawing of a mermaid that appeared to be swimming on beach water. In the center of the room was the bed with a netted canopy that gave the effect of laying on the beach.

"Watch this", Valerie stated as she took in my pleased expression. She turned a switch somewhere next to her that made something amazing happen. All the lights in the room shut off giving the appearance that it was nighttime. One small light remained, that was a projector of sorts, that made waves appear on the ceiling. I felt like I drifted onto a tropical island with the waves transporting me through time.

"It's breathtaking", I told her as my heart caught in my throat. I felt envious towards Valerie with loving parents who clearly loved her very much. "My mom would have loved it. She loved the beach", I said the words slipping out of my mouth subconsciously.

I imagined my mom building sand castles on the beach with the widest smile on her face. "Gabby, you have to make sure you wet the sand so it stays. If you don't wet the sand you won't get to have a really pretty sand castle", she would say to me. I always tried to pile on pounds of sand into my bucket but never built a proper sand castle. Her red hair would blow in the summer breeze as she tried to help me fix the sand castle. i remembered the soft rasp of her voice as she sang a song about mermaids in the ocean.

"What happened to your mom, Rowen", Valerie asked curiously. I turned away from her gaze to fiddle with my luggage. How did I give her the answer to the question when I didn't know the answer. All I knew was the pain that followed after she left this earth and the answer's others gave to me.

"She's dead", I said with a quiver to my voice. I felt the swarm of tears reach my eyes as the pain made my heart ache. I felt my chest becoming heavy with the weight of her death on my conscience. Every time I thought about her dying, I thought of swaying trees on a clear night sky. The picture that held my mind captive without mercy for so long that now sat destroyed in my paint room.

"I'm sorry", Valerie said with a sad expression on her face. "How about we unpack our bags and get ready for dinner", she asked as if sensing my uneasiness. I was glad that Valerie didn't ask for more details.

"Ok", I said calmer now that I knew I wasn't under her scrutiny. Valerie usually had a way a way of dragging the uncomfortable truth out of others. "I'm really glad you are letting me stay here with you. My Aunt Tabby needs the day to prepare for court", I lied remembering Nixon's earlier comments about Aunt Tabby's behavior.

"You can stay as long as you want. I'm sure mom will be excited to meet you. Speaking of dinner should be soon", Valerie stated as she changed the topic to something brighter.

I was grateful to her for understanding the pain that I felt. We shared that pain of not having closure for our loved one's dying. She lost her best friend from her childhood and I lost my parents along with my memories from that night. Would I get the closure I needed if my memories returned from that night? Would I even want to know what happened?

I focused on unpacking my bags and getting on a new set of clothes for the night. As I was digging through my suitcase I remembered that I left all my underwear behind. "Valerie, this might be awkward but do you think we can buy some underwear sometime tonight", I asked.

"Sure", Valerie responded. I looked over to see that Valerie was currently shuffling through the different television channels and cursing under her breath. "I'll make sure we get them here by tomorrow don't worry", Valerie assured me.

"Ok great", I said as I stood next to her feeling slightly awkward. I knew Valerie wasn't looking, and I knew that my clothes were too dirty to wear, but I still felt worried about undressing in front of her. I turned to face the corner as I slipped into grey sweat pants and a grey baggy sweatshirt. When I turned around Valerie looked like she wanted to say something but she was cut short.

"Dinner", a voice bellowed from down below. It was a loud feminine voice that was so loud people down the street could probably hear it. Then again, they lived pretty far away from the main road so, no one could probably hear anything out here. I shifted towards the door with nerves on edge at the prospect of meeting Valerie's mom. I looked at Valerie who turned towards the sound of that voice with a crinkly smile on her face.

"That's my mom", she said beaming proudly. "Ill be down shortly", she screamed back. I didn't quite understand the screaming but it was probably something they normally did as a family. I wondered if my parents were alive would we banter too?

"If you guys are not downstairs in 5 minutes there will be nothing left. You know how much dad loves to eat meatloaf", she bellowed towards Valerie loudly. Valerie perked up at the mention of meatloaf.

"We better go downstairs", Valerie said as she stood openly salivating over the mention of meatloaf. I placed my luggage against the bed awaiting the venture downstairs to meet Valerie's parents. I prayed that dinner didn't taste as horrible as Aunt Tabby's cooking and descended with Valerie to the meal below.