Danger Signs // Demi Lovato // 4

3. I Can't Handle Another Fallout

I told them about why Keely, Brie, and Emma really stopped talking to me, about how Miles wouldn't leave me alone, how even a few teachers were biased towards me—which they found out earlier, but this time I added how Barnes never seemed to like me, even when I wasn't in his class. I told them there were some people who were just too cool to even acknowledge that I was alive, and how there were really only two teachers who liked me. The rest, not including Barnes, were neutral; they had no opinion either way.

"Oh, honey, why didn't you tell us? We could have let you switch schools, or do homeschooling if you really wanted to," Demi said, eyes shiny. I knew she had personal experience with bullies, just for different reasons.

I just shrugged. "I learned not to give up, growing up the way I did. It would show weakness, and only make everything worse. So I just dealt with it."

Maia looked down, eyes glazed and Demi just looked absolutely heartbroken.

Nobody knew what to say for a long time.

Finally Maia let out a soft sigh, her eyes meeting mine. "Can you promise us one thing?"

I nodded.

"If it gets to be too much, tell us, and we'll get you out." She got up from where she was sitting on the corner of the coffee table. As she walked behind the couch, I heard her mutter something that sounded like, "Not losing someone else like that."

I turned my gaze to Demi. She was close to tears, watching Maia leave, then when she was out of sight, she looked at me.

"What was that about?" I asked quietly. Suddenly I couldn't look her in the eyes.

"We both care about you. It would kill us if something were to happen to you."

I opened my mouth to say that wasn't exactly what I'd been asking. But she already knew.

"About what Maia said, that's something you should hear from her when she's ready. Just go to your room for now, okay?"

I silently grabbed my bag off the floor, going up to my room where all of Maia's furniture was. I had always felt a little closer to Demi, so the fact that I was practically living in a condensed version of Maia's old house made me feel a special closeness to her.

I tossed my bag down after digging my phone out. I'd gotten the newest iPhone 11 a couple years ago. It was kind of old now but I didn't complain about it so I hadn't gotten the newest one. I'd also gotten one of those double adapters so I could charge and listen to music at the same time. It was annoying, but I wanted to make Maia happy, since she liked Apple products so much, so switching to another phone with a headphone jack was out of the question.

I turned on my TV and Xbox to play Fallout 4. After two years, I still hadn't beaten it because something always happened to my game that made me start over, something meaning the mods I couldn't play without. Yeah, technically I could play without mods that break my game, but just no. I was terrified of death, in real life and a video game.

Holding the controller in a loose grip, I stared at the screen, absentmindedly shooting any and every raider, super mutant, and feral ghoul in sight.

It was mind-numbing to not focus on the main story every once in a while and just forget what I had going on in the real world.

If only it could save me from facing it sometimes.