Fallin' From The Tree (StemxStud)

35

[ Valentine ]

The next morning I woke up to Anaela and Dom eating some breakfast the motel lady concocted. Scrambled eggs, croissant bread, cheese slices, and some water. I rolled over, still in my clothes from yesterday.

"Y'all got anymore food left?" I mumbled.

Anaela was sitting on her bed but she moved over smoothly towards me. She handed me a plate off of the nightstand then went back to her side. Dom was watching an old show on the television, almost done with her plate. I don't think she even realized that I was up.

"Has your mom called?" I asked Anaela, sitting up and holding my plate steady. The sun came through a barred window with a rusty heater. I'm glad the weather was still decent for August. We'd be relying on that heater if it was October or later in Texas.

"No. I think she'll have the house ready though by this evening," Anaela told me, forking through her food. "Can we be friends now?" I blurted, then looked back down at my food. I ate a cold egg, waiting for her response.

"I mean...." Anaela sighed. "Valentine, you've done so much."

"I have good intentions," I argued. "Everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes you have to grow from them. Please don't punish me because of this mistake. Not all faults need correction or punishment."

"Valentine," Anaela looked over at me. "I'm not...you're my friend but my complete trust isn't in you. Just like it isn't fully in Dominique anymore because she knew your plans. There's a lot of things changing in all of our lives right now. All that I've really asked from all of you was just to listen to what I have to offer."

I played with my hands, "You're a great person, Anaela."

"Even if I wasn't........it's not about that. It's about being a decent human being. We might have different upbringings but every one of us humans struggle or have struggled in our own ways. I just want you to see that, Valentine."

I peeked over at her, "So does that mean you forgive me?" I asked neutrally.

Anaela sighed, trying to keep a smile from slipping on her face. "Yes Valentine."

"Call me Tino, shorty," I smirked, digging into my lukewarm food.

"If I call you Tino, you don't call me shorty," she said with attitude. "Call me Valentine then," I purred. Anaela rolled her eyes and went back to eating.

Later on Anaela's mother called to tell her that the mansion was ready for us. Anaela looked over at me tiredly after we had packed our last bag. She was still in her clothes from Friday night. "My mom told me she had something important to tell me when she comes down to the mansion tomorrow."

"She can't tell you over the phone?" Dom asked, butting into the conversation. She lifted a bag onto her shoulder, "It must be something concerning your case or Valentine's."

"Yeah, but then she'd mostly wanna talk to Valentine about that," Anaela pointed out. "She woulda asked for her."

"Well whatever it is, you'll know soon. And it must not be that that urgent," Dom shrugged. "Or else she would have private flown to get to you."

Anaela still shrugged, looking troubled about what her mother said. We got our things outside to wait for the car her mother sent. Anaela seemed so many miles away in her own world though. After all I've done, I can at least offer her some comfort. I stepped slightly closer to her but she noticed. She looked upwards at me, just staring- face sort of expressionless.

Her face was a mask of neutralness all over but her eyes still seemed to read "what more do you want from me?". Guilt didn't press down on my heart but it was something that was a mixture of caring and pity. I don't know what to call it.

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing I say can or will make a difference to Anaela's difficult life. The only thing that I can do is act. Actions are louder than words. I wanted so badly to pull her close to me but I don't want the action to come off in the wrong way.

"It's okay," I said to her gently, out of Dom's nosy earshot. Anaela looked away, eyes hard. Maybe that's not the reaction she would have liked but I'm trying. I know I'm difficult, but I'm trying. ❤️

The car arrived and two people stepped out to assist us with our bags. Anaela stiffly helped them as I numbly moved through the motions of packing bags into a SUV trunk, observing her. There's a lot to Anaela that I don't know. There's always a bunch of things you'll just never figure out about a person unless they tell you. You're the only person you know best, they say: anybody can switch up at any given moment.

We all got into the backseat. I just knew that Anaela would sit in the far back but she sat with us. I sat in the middle and Dom sat on my left, Anaela on my right. Dom stared curiously out the window, her youngness and naiveness oozing from her body language. Anaela was nearly pressed against her window, breath fogging up a small pond of condensation on the clear surface. It was like she wanted to get away from me.

I sat back in my seat, and closed my eyes tight, not bothering to buckle up. She had a right to be confused and indifferent towards me. I was her worst enemy, undercover and hidden after she had given me all of these opportunities but yet, I was the one to reveal myself anyways. I could have just told Dom and Teece I'd dropped the plan and avoid telling Anaela at all, but I opened up.

I don't know what type of person I am anymore, but I do want Anaela and I to be in a better place in our acquaintance...ness. I started off just as a person trying to help Dom and trying to protect her and now I'm worried about a girl. A girl I barely know that has an entire gang to inherit. What if the thin, wispy feelings of caring I feel for her is actually greed? That'd eat me up and spit me out. Not to mention I'd lose two great people in my life- Dominique and Anaela.

I can't let them down.