The next morning, Sophia woke with her chest heavy. The very peaceful evening spent with Victor still loitered in her mind, the weight of Victor's unsaid words simultaneously weighing upon her. She could tell there was more beneath the surface-something dark, something Victor wasn't ready to share just yet.
But today, she had other things to attend to.
It was the day she would visit her parents. She had not seen them since the art show, and then again, it had been a rather cursory encounter. Her mom showed up, though she acted as aloof as always, just a stiff hug and a few half-hearted compliments. Her father never showed, of course, citing work as his excuse.
Now, as she prepared, the knot of anxiety twisted inside Sophia's stomach. The visits to her parents' house had begun to feel li
