Ring of Love

Truths and Promises

Ally's pov:

Claire and I sit in silence as I wait for her to digest what has been said. 

I had to hold my hand down on my lap to stop from nervously picking at my nails from the anxiety of her utter silence. 

I had told her everything from the beginning, even the parts that were difficult to admit out loud. A real-life Rapunzel scenario is what I threw in as a joke, even though my insides felt like they were crippling inside me. 

Is this what pathological liars feel like when they get caught? 

Not that I would consider myself one at the moment, more like an extender of the truth. 

Which still isn't right, but at least it makes me feel a bit better. 

I had told myself to let her think before saying anything, but I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Are you mad?" after ten minutes of silence. 

I watch her as she turns on her side, looking at me with a wide-eyed expression, the same one she's given me since I started my little admission. 

"I'm not sure, it's a lot to take in." She says, and I don't know if that's supposed to make me feel better or not. 

I could tell she tried her best to sympathize with me when I talked about how life was like for Ella and I growing up. 

She couldn't believe how strict our mother was on us through the years, nor the fact that Ella and I were sheltered so intensely that the farthest we'd been from home was no further than an hour from our house. 

We simply didn't have friends growing up except each other, and I could tell that the specific piece of information triggered something in Claire, because the way her face fell was one of the worst parts of it. 

I hated pity, but it wasn't Claire's fault. That's the usual response we get when people meet our mother. It's unfortunately something we've gotten used to over the years. 

What Claire had trouble believing though was the fact that I am the daughter of one of the richest CEOs in the country. I hated admitting it out loud because no matter how hard I try, that title will follow me wherever I go. 

As much as I am grateful for my dad's success, it can also be a bit of a burden as well. For instance, no one will ever see you as your own person knowing that you had a father who could pay the way to exactly where you are. 

It makes you look undeserving of your own success, no matter if you did it on your own. 

This is exactly the reason why I kept my mouth shut when moving here at the start of the semester. I didn't want to be undervalued as a human being before they had the chance to see me for who I truly was. 

Little did I know that would backfire on me sooner or later. 

I could have kept it a secret and made my life a whole lot easier with this false persona I've been leading on with my friends, but I'm sure they would have just figured it out sooner or later. 

"I know, and I understand if you need some space these next few days to think about it." I hated saying that, because I don't know what I'd do with myself if Claire stopped talking to me. 

She's my best friend, and quite frankly, my life support here. 

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I could count the number of friends that I've made here on one hand, give or take. 

I mean sure, I've made some small talk with plenty of students here, but that's just about how far that goes. 

"No, we will figure this out here." She says, holding a hand up in the air to stop me from saying more.