Nobody Gets Me (FoolishGamers x OC)

pulling

Noah's POV

I caught Annabelle. Doing what she has been hiding from me since we got back together. I watch as she sits in front of her piano in her room, facing away from her door, her hands in her hair, ripping out individual strands of hair. She lets them fall to the floor before going back to her scalp. I watch her do it for about ten minutes. I am in shock. So that's why she moved my hands out of her hair before we left for LA.

Why would she do that to herself? And why would she hide that from me? I turn around, walking into my room and closing the door. I bite at my nails, am I not doing enough?

I'm staring at my blank monitor screens for I don't even know how long before I hear a knock on my door. I open it up to see Belle on the other side.

"Are you okay, Noah?" she asks, "You never close your door."

"Belle, why would you hide that from me?" I immediately confront.

She steps in my room and closes the door, "Love, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Annabelle. You pull your hair out?" I finally ask. If she's not going to admit to it, I'm going to call her out.

It takes her by surprise. She puts her head down.

"Why? Is it because of me?" I ask her.

"No! No!" she immediately assures me, looking back up at me.

"Then why?"

"It— it keeps me calm. When I'm stressed or upset that's what I do," she says. At least she's being straightforward with me now.

"How long have you been pulling?" I ask.

"A year, maybe more."

"Since after we broke up?"

She nods her head, "When Corey and I started dating, actually."

Nothing would've made me angrier than hearing that sentence. That fucking idiot. Ruining an absolutely perfect woman. I hate him so much.

"I hate him so much, how could he do that to you? Why'd you continue to do it after the fact?"

"It just... became a habit, I guess. Most of the time I don't notice when I'm doing it."

I pull Annabelle into a hug. As angry as I want to be at Corey, and as upset I am at her for hiding this from me, I just know she needs to be loved in the end. She has spent so many years of her life feeling like nobody was there. But now I'm here, wanting to make up for those years of her suffering.

I lead Annabelle to sit on my bed, and I sit beside her, my temper calming. Annabelle looks over at me, "Are you mad at me?"

"No. No. I just— this is something I need to process, is all. I just want to help."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, with me holding onto Annabelle's hand the whole time.

I take a deep breath in, then back out, "Show me," I say.

Belle hesitates, and soon silent tears falling from her face now, as it is clear that she is embarrassed from this. Nonetheless, she pulls a part of the back of her hair up to show me a bald spot. She knows I'm a safe space. I run my finger in the bald spot. When she turns back around to face me, I kiss her cheek repeatedly.

"It's going to be okay," I tell her.

Annabelle now starts to sob uncontrollably, her arms now wrapping around my waist. I hug her back, rubbing her back. I don't know what's running through her mind now, but I want her to stop.

When she starts to calm down after about ten minutes, she looks up at me.

"I didn't think I would cry," she admits, "You just reminded me of when I told my brother about— nevermind."

"About what, Belle?" She knows she let too much slip, now she can't go back. Her hands shake a bit, and I grab back onto them to calm her down.

"When I told my brother about my father burning me."

My mouth goes wide in shock. I let go of her hands, rubbing my forehead. Oh now I want to kill someone. "He burned you?"

"Yeah, with a lighter," Annabelle admits.

"For how long?"

"I don't know. It didn't stop until J and I moved out."

"Where?"

"My back."

That's why she hates it when people sneak up on her. As I'm connecting the dots in my head, I pull her back into my arms, giving her countless kisses on the forehead, cheek and lips.

There's another long moment of silence as I collect my emotions and process everything that she told me. I know there's more details to her life, but she has told me quite enough for one day. I don't press her for anymore details. I just want her to feel secure at this point.

She looks up at me, putting my head in her hands, "Can you make it all go away?" she asks.

I cannot reverse the damage that has been done to her already, but I can distract her from the negative thoughts that I know are flooding her head.

"What do you need?" I ask, "I'll do anything."

"I don't want to feel any pain anymore."

She pulls me in as we begin to make out, her hands grabbing onto the back of my shirt, not letting go. I let my arms rest on her pelvis, bringing her onto my lap. I wrap my hands around her back, pulling her as close to me as she can get. She doesn't loosen her grip on my shirt. She can't let go. She doesn't want to let go. I pull our lips apart allowing myself to look into her eyes as she looks back at me. The fear has left, only love remains. I smile, knowing I'm doing my job as I pull her back in for another long kiss.