Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, but Lydia said nothing. She had no siblings to even share a bond like that with and her parents, though doting, were not overly attentive. They could barely see that their daughter was a genius, for the love of god. "That sounds toxic," she said after a moment. "Holding that in just causes a darkness around your heart. But it's because she cares. The ones that care most are the angriest when we make big decisions without them."
"That's why I walk. Or shop, I'm big on shopping." Clearly some things would never change. "It seems like it would be difficult. Like all I've ever really learned was American history and about the World Wars, but those are all things that haven't happened yet. They don't have the same meaning to you because you haven't grown up hearing the stories about it. Not that it's a bad thing. Just the way the time discrepancies are, I guess."