Fallin' From The Tree (StemxStud)

47

[ Valentine ]

"You guys need to give me the space I need. Trust has to be rebuilt with all of you. I don't know what to believe anymore and I'm tired of all of the secrets," Anaela said from the driver's seat as we turned towards our most recent hotel.

"I feel like...we've all been hurt emotionally in some sort of way, and that the best thing we can do as a group moving forward is to heal ourselves before we try to...be with another person," Teece advised. I bit my lip, looking at Anaela. From an outside perspective, I could see that I've been a pretty bad person but from mine, I've tried only my hardest to be the perfect girlfriend.

Keris was one of my only serious relationships, I like to think, and she didn't set a good example for me. I thought girls wanted overprotective, but then that was too much for Anaela. I thought they wanted rude girlfriends with a soft heart only towards their girl. I thought they wanted a troublemaker and a criminal, but someone who would still spoil them.

Obviously I was spending too much time being what other people wanted, and not being myself. "I think I owe you guys an apology," I started. Anaela lowered the volume of the radio even more. The car was silent, waiting for the words I had to say.

"I've been pretending a lot. I do that as a defense mechanism because the way I grew up. I'm tough, and I'm mean, and I've made a lot of bad mistakes to fit in- to stand out. I shouldn't have treated you guys the way I have. I've done some really fucked up shit. I've never imagined myself killing people, breaking someone's legs, almost hurting my girlfriend. When I was a kid, I thought I'd be a princess like every other little girl. Believe it or not."

"Valentine," Teece said softly.

"My past has made me hard but that doesn't mean that I can't be molded, it'll just take a little bit of something. I know your trust has to be regained but I'm willing to change for the better and start being myself."

"Valentine, that's all that I ever wanted. I never wanted you to be this stereotypical stud, or this mean person. I just wanted someone to protect me and love me and stay loyal to me."

"That's harder than you think. That's all I've ever asked from my family, and they seemed to always fall short," Dom said on the phone speaker connected to the car. "I think that Valentine is really trying. We have to be understanding, no matter how much she's hurt us. I'm not saying to let her hurt us again though."

"I also owe you guys an apology," Anaela cut in. "Yes, I'm helping you all, but we wouldn't have to be on the run if I could just keep my old friend group together and maybe if I had been a better friend to Pouty."

"That's not your fault, Anaela. Teenagers will be teenagers. Friend groups come together and fall apart, quite honestly, most don't stick," Teece squeezed my girlfriend's hand affectionately. I controlled my temper. I was so quick to get irritated nowadays. Teece was just being comforting. If I want Anaela's trust, I have to earn it.

"I know why Pouty wrote that letter that Mayah found," Dom said quietly.

Anaela softly pressed her brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. "What?"

I looked out the window, listening to Dom breathing on the line. "Sissy told Pouty...Sissy told Pouty that she didn't like you and that she'd tell the friend group secrets about you if she didn't write that letter. Sissy forced Pouty to write the letter and planted the letter in Pouty's room. She planned to befriend anybody that moved in after Pouty, kid or adult, so that it'd eventually be found. Pouty was trying to protect you. They had been planning it for weeks before school. That was another reason why Pouty wanted to leave so bad. She could have stayed another month but I'm sure she couldn't handle seeing all of the hate Sissy would cause."