I REMEMBER
-ANONYMOUS

The front door slammed and the short jingle of keys being dropped into a glass bowl broke through the silence of the dark house. Tiffany placed her palm against the door as she bent down to unclasp her heels, and the sharp clack of them dropping onto the marbled floors echoed through the silent house. It was unusually quiet.

Fumbling about in the darkness, Tiffany made her way towards the kitchen and dropped her bag onto the kitchen table along the way. As she was about to turn, the dish cover sitting on the table caught her eye and she lifted it to take a quick peek at the stone-cold dinner before she dropped it. Right, dinner. I remember. Turning on the tap, Tiffany cupped the icy cold water rushing through her fingers and splashed it onto her smeared makeup. The chill stung her skin, and she could feel her senses gather and her brain awaken. It had been one hell of a crazy night.

Tiffany wrenched a few paper towels off and dabbed her face dry as she padded barefooted across the living room. The magazines were neatly piled under the coffee table, the TV remotes sat in the middle, and today’s newspaper was laid out on top. The cushions had been arranged to just the way she liked them; each one overlapping the other. Crushing the tissues, Tiffany threw them with unnecessary force into the rubbish bin and turned. She was just about to step into the bathroom when out of the corner of her eyes, something glinted in the dark. Taking a closer look, Tiffany gasped and jumped back, her heart racing.

Taeyeon was leaning against the door frame with her arms folded, her gaze piercing through Tiffany.

“Jesus, Taeyeon! You gave me a shock. What’re you doing staring at me in the dark?”

Taeyeon continued glaring, her jaw set firmly and her arms folded tightly across her chest.

Tiffany shuffled uncomfortably under her gaze and she eventually spoke. The eerie silence was killing her.

“Um… I’ll go wash up…”

“Where were you.”

Tiffany froze at the flat, accusatory words. She could tell from the tone that Taeyeon wasn’t pleased. She could already imagine the wheels spinning in Taeyeon’s mind, the anger that she was suppressing. The words must’ve been forced out between clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, Tiffany whirled around and lifted her chin a little in defiance.

“Out.”

“Where.”

“With my friends.”

“I told you I was cooking dinner.”

I remember

“I forgot.”

Taeyeon’s gaze darkened and pushed herself off the door frame before taking one step closer towards Tiffany. Her arms were still firmly locked in place, and she took a sniff before staring at Tiffany in disgust.

“I can smell the alcohol on you from here and sadly for you they don’t cover up the stench of your pathetic lies.”

Tiffany narrowed her eyes. She was exhausted after the nasty day at work, and Taeyeon’s words weren’t making things any better. The countless shots that she had had back in the club were starting to give her a headache, and her nose felt like rubber from when she vaguely remembered inhaling something up a straw which caused a burning sensation to shoot through her nose. Squaring her shoulders, she took one step towards Taeyeon and stared challengingly at her.

“So what.”

Taeyeon stared incredulously at the slightly intoxicated girl before her. Tiffany’s makeup was smudged, no doubt due to all the insane things she must’ve up been up to at the club. Taeyeon knew and sympathized with Tiffany that she had a boss who lived to make other people’s life miserable, but she had always told Tiffany that she was willing to listen. Obviously, those words had fallen on deaf ears. Taeyeon eyed Tiffany’s slightly hitched up skirt, the messy, jumbled hair and smeared mascara. She didn’t know what had happened to the Tiffany she knew.

“If you’re done interrogating me mother, I’m going to take a shower.”

Taeyeon clenched her fists in anger as she watched Tiffany roll her eyes at her before turning around. The anger in her was rising, and it threatened to bubble over like lava from a volcano. The careless attitude Tiffany had towards their relationship was taking its toll on Taeyeon’s patience, and as she continued staring at the now closed door, a fury unknown to her raged. Her vision blurred, from tears or the anger, Taeyeon didn’t know and didn’t care.

It wasn’t the first time Tiffany had returned closer to dawn than to midnight, her breath reeking heavily of alcohol and her clothes in a mess. The clubbing, which had initially been only once or twice a month, had escalated steeply in recent months and Tiffany came back drunk more than twice a week on average. Taeyeon knew that it was because of the stress that Tiffany’s boss was piling onto her, but she couldn’t fathom why Tiffany would resort to alcohol. To make matters worse, Tiffany often, if not always, became irrational and short tempered whenever she was drunk, and together with Taeyeon’s persistence, didn’t make a pretty sight when they clashed.

Taeyeon was still glaring at the door in anger when the sound of rushing water started. Her thoughts were still boiling over the image of Tiffany dancing in a club, getting intoxicated with god knows what, and the hands of strangers roaming over her body. Her muscles tensed as the image became even more vivid with the anger coursing through her, and she finally snapped when a picture of Tiffany lip-locking with a shadowed figure ingrained itself in her mind.

Stalking straight up to the door, Taeyeon yanked on the handle but the door refused to budge. The fury in her was at its peak now, and the fact that Tiffany had purposely locked the door on her made Taeyeon break. Letting out a guttural growl, Taeyeon rammed her shoulder against the bathroom door and the hinges creaked as they shook. A frustrated yell resonated through the apartment and Taeyeon kicked out at the door until the wood splintered. The anger in her was taking over, and her mind shut itself down to anything remotely reasonable.

Tiffany opened her eyes to see through the steamy fog that