❝ You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don't know it, all of that doesn't even matter. ❞
ADALAINE AIROLDI spends every second doubting her worth, spending...
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Perhaps it was foolish of her to think that for one second, she broke away from the constant in her life that told her she was only going to be the frame that held the artwork that people fawned over, never the painting to be admired. Jj had made her feel otherwise, adoring the uneven brush strokes and appreciating the blending of the colors. He made her think that she was enough.
But she wasn't, not for him. And perhaps that was what hurt the most.
So maybe that's why the next twenty minutes were blocked out in her mind, as tears streamed down her face as she sat holding Kiara's hand in the back of the Twinkie as John B drove them towards the town.
It felt so wrong on far too many levels, but it seemed as though the group were unfazed by Jj's actions, almost certain he would come around shortly.
But Adalaine couldn't stand people leaving, for vulnerability littered her heart as her leg shook the back of the van, causing both Pope and Kiara to shift uncomfortably.
They had no idea how to ease her worries, because Addy didn't seem to want anyone but the blond to reassure her, so Kie could do nothing but rub at the girl's back, doing her best to let the girl know that she was there as Pope dropped his head in his hands, pressure building up in his chest at his best friend's exit.
It's not long until they reach The Wreck. The engine of the van dies down with a squeak as they shuffle out of the back, Adalaine doesn't bother to wait for the others and lets herself into the restaurant through the employee entrance. She gave a small wave towards Robert before sitting down at a table near the windows, her eyes trained down on the floor as she could hear the muttered words of the teenagers behind her.
She knows they're just as torn over as she is over what happened, but she couldn't help the slight bitter tone that laced her tongue, remembering how they'd ganged up on the blue-eyed Pogue that had been putting up a wall all this time. She feels conflicted, because they were her friends, but Jj is so much more, and he was all alone with a drug dealer most likely putting a target on his back.
"Look," John B says after a heavy silence, pulling his hands against his face. "He'll come around alright? He's just...he's doing a Jj thing,"
Adalaine looks at Kiara for an explanation of the brunets words. But she looks solemn, "you think he'll go home?"
"There's about a zero percent chance that Jj goes home,"
"What?" Adalaine asks, furrowing her brows. "Wh-why do you say that? Where else can he go?"
They'll glance at each other, suddenly realizing that she didn't know of the blond's home life, but none of them have the heart to answer her question as Addy stares at them helplessly, and Kie eventually reaches over to squeeze her shoulder, frowning subtly and looking away, as if silently telling the Airoldi girl to stay quiet.
