𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 • din djarin

Chapter 7: Painful Truths

chapter 7: painful truths •••

"They know."

Drinna furrows her brow at your words. You glance at her while you set out the jars of medicines, hoping the simple task along with your disclosure of this knowledge to Drinna will ease your anxiety. "What do ya' mean, honey?" Drinna asks, seeking clarification.

"My parents." You stop what you're doing, looking at her with concerned eyes. "They know."

Drinna's gaze fills with realization. "Ah." She offers a sympathetic expression that she maintains even when you go back to your busy work. "Well, hon, ya' knew it was gonna be a matter of when, not if. You two ain't the most subtle."

You chuckle at that with a shrug of your shoulders. "Yeah, I mean... I should've been more careful, I guess."

"What did they say? Do ya' know how they found out?"

You don't answer right away, instead finishing your organization of the jars and pushing the hovercart further behind the stall. With a sigh, you sit down, facing Drinna as you begin to fill her in. "I was with Din this weekend, but while we were spending time together, there was an incident." You don't elaborate, deeming it unnecessary to give Drinna a panic attack over something that healed quickly. "Din had to take me to his home and I... ended up having to stay the night." You rush on the last few words, knowing exactly what Drinna will be concluding from such a statement.

"Stayed the night?" Drinna echoes with a suggestive raise of her brow.

"It wasn't like that, Drinna." You roll your eyes and force a chuckle out. "We were with his family." You sigh, looking down at your fingers as they begin to fidget with each other. "When I got home, I told my parents that I was with you, but they claimed that they had already seen me with Din when he dropped me off at home."

Drinna's expression has since morphed into concern. "Oh, darlin'... what did they say?"

"That might be what worries me the most." You look at her with sheer confusion. "They said they want to meet him."

Drinna raises an eyebrow. "They weren't mad?"

"Not from what I could tell." You start to run your hands over your thighs as you release a deep breath. "That's why I'm so worried. You know how they feel about me being with someone before the move."

"I do." Drinna scoots to the edge of her chair, reaching out far enough to take a hold of your wrist. She urges your hand to lift from your thigh and takes it in her gentle grasp. "But maybe, just maybe, even they can see how happy you are with him—and they want to keep ya' like that."

You shake your head, wanting to smile at Drinna's words but finding yourself unable to. "It just sounds way too good to be true, Drinna."

Drinna's gaze softens at you as she squeezes your hand. "I understand, honey." Her warm voice is full of wisdom as she continues. "I know it ain't easy, but maybe this one time, darlin', you should trust 'em."

"You're right. I just..." you pause, shaking your head again as you try to remember any of the few good memories you have with your parents, "I'm afraid to."

"Again, hon, I understand." Drinna squeezes your hand once more and starts to lean away. "That's why you can come to me if anythin' goes wrong."

You smile as you nod. "Thank you, Drinna."

She returns your smile, reluctant to pull her attention away from you when a customer steps up to her stall. You get one yourself just a moment later. Afterwards, there's a flow of customers steady enough for you to be properly distracted from your worries for a while. By the time you're even able to have a full moment to yourself, your break for second meal has arrived—something you realize when you see a much-needed person approaching your stall.