Fallin' From The Tree (StemxStud)

40

{ Anaela }

I had just gotten off the phone with my mother when Valentine called me back and told me that Dominique was with her. Relief flooded my heart, although I was a little salty about the tenseness in my mother's voice I had to endure while I told her what Dominique had pulled.

"Well, I'm just glad that she's safe. And bring back some donuts for me," I had told Valentine.

I then had to notify my mother that it was a false call.

I now laid on the couch, feeling oddly weirded out by being at such a large mansion alone. I felt exposed and secure at the same time.

My lonely heart had made a large conclusion as the front door lock twisted and loud talking entered the home.

I can't stand being alone.

"Anaela," Valentine called out.

I got up and fixed my clothes. They were simple and washed too many times. The color was fading out of me and everything I touched, it seemed.

Too much was going nowadays for me to remain the lively teenager everyone expected us to all be- always.

"I'm Anaela," I held my hand out to the woman in the wheelchair. Her lips moved into a smile as she obviously checked me out. "You're Tino's?"

I frowned in confusion.

Valentine punched Teece's arm. "She's my girlfriend. Not my property." Valentine smiled down at me like she expected a reward for saying that. I was suddenly annoyed and turned my attention to Dominique, who had pissed me off earlier, but now was a rescue from my emotions.

"Are you okay? Where did you go? How did you reach Valentine and Teece?"

"I went walking. Then caught a few rides," she shrugged. I scowled: so much for a rescue from my emotions. "Did Valentine tell you what I told her about Sissy and the investigation?"

"No," Dominique said, biting her cheek.

I crossed my arms over my chest and I huffed. I sat on a coffee table and looked at the three girls before me like I was their sergeant.

"When I called my mother about reinforcements to go find you," I turned to Dom pointedly, then looked back at everyone else, "she informed me that we'll have to relocate. And that she was also royally pissed at how much she had to cover up. Sissy told the cops about Dom and Valentine when they were asking questions about me."

"Well, Dom's still a kid, and you can't expect everybody to be perfect. She needed to get ahold of her emotions for a moment, is all," Teece said gently. I could already tell she was used to being the levelheaded one amongst her friends, but trust me, that position would be held by me with my people.

"We don't have time for mistakes. The more I piss my mom off, the less of a guarantee that she'll be able to protect all of us. That means someone might have to go if she gets tired of spending money on people she isn't related to," I stared everyone in the eye. "She's relocating us to Wisconsin. I suggest if anyone needs a breath of fresh air to go open a window next time."

I headed back up to my room, shutting the bedroom door firmly. I fell against it the moment I was in some sort of privacy. My hard girl facade broke and now I was just the lonely high school girl I had always been. Carrying the world on my shoulders for what?

I couldn't muster up any tears, and that was rare. I glared at my window, wishing that if I opened it up, it could take out all the toxic mistakes I had made out into the breeze.

What I needed was some fresh air.

My anxiety set in. Teece probably thought I was an asshole. Everybody always says first impressions are everything and now look at what I've done!  Being a butthole to Teece's best friend of all things! I quietly sighed, staring down at my hands. They were average hands with a skin color that didn't come with average consequences, but what hurt have I really been through?

Maybe Dominique had been right earlier. Having a mom who isn't around and a dad who got killed in a shootout in his old neighborhood doesn't equal hurt. It sucks but it doesn't affect me the way it might affect someone else. I don't think about those things, those things don't even define me.

Maybe everything I've been through is all in my head and some part of me has found normalcy and welcome in pain...and the way society views pain has made me hate it as much as I love it.

Why would I want trauma when so many run from it? Why would I want...this?

I bit my lip then parted them to answer to the silence, but I had nothing to say. There's no excuse. I'm fucked up for wanting to be fucked up. I could have anything I want in the world with just a little bit of arguing with my mother yet I choose to live dangerously. How ironic is that?

Someone knocked on my door but I felt it just above my head. I sat up slowly so they wouldn't know I had been having a mental breakdown against my door.

Like I was Elsa or some shit. I turned the knob and opened the door.

It was Teece. Maybe she wanted to cuss me out for disrespecting everyone or maybe she just wanted to know where her room was.

"Can we talk?" she asked, already rolling through my doorway before I could answer.

I looked around, curious at how she had gotten upstairs, when I heard Valentine's door slowly close nearby. I closed my own door behind me and turned around to Teece putting a lock on her wheelchair. Maybe she was afraid of me pushing her out the window.

"What do we need to talk about?" That had came out a little more defensive than I had planned. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off as an asshole. It's just stressful tryna keep everybody safe," I sighed.

Teece studied me for a moment longer. "I understand. You think Dominique and Tino are rough to handle, but watching out for me and Tino was like watching out for four people," she chuckled. She tapped her fingers on her knees. I felt bad for wondering if she could feel it.

"I understand how you feel," she repeated, then looked around. "Barely here for a day and I find out we're leaving. I didn't even get to appreciate this lovely place," she smiled softly. "I also appreciate you for letting me tag along. I know that I might seem like something that's gonna slow you guys down but I want to be by Tino's side and be her rock. She's my best friend, and I know that you got her too."

I shook my head, "Teece, you're not in the way or slowing us down. You're welcome among us. You're already family," I smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. "Are you and Valentine family?" I asked curiously after a second, studying her features. Teece laughed, "Gosh, I hope not. I mean, maybe in another universe. I'm an orphan." My eyes widened, I remember Valentine saying that. I had forgotten. I felt so bad.

"It's fine, it's fine," Teece assured me, seeing my reaction. "It doesn't bother me." I looked around awkwardly. Now what?

"When are we leaving for Wisconsin?"

"I don't know. My mom just told me to be ready by tonight. I'm assuming sometime tomorrow though," I sighed. "I'm gonna try to pack up as much as we might need and-

"I'll handle everything. You rest," Teece told me, unlocking her wheel chair and rolling forward to hold my hand. "You're a good person Anaela. Quit putting yourself down."