———

FALLON HUGGED HER sweater closer to her body as she walked down the cold hallways of her school. She finally made it through the crowded hallways to her locker. She put her things inside and turned around hearing her name being called. She turned around with a smile that dropped when she saw Maddy walking toward her with Nate following behind. She rolled her eyes as Nate glanced at her with a look that she couldn't read. "Yo, we're going rollerskating this weekend. You should bring Jackson." Maddy glanced at Fallon with a warning look, knowing that she was about to say something smart.

"I don't know. I'm not that big on rollerskating." She sent a glare towards Nate as she spoke. Maddy shrugged her shoulder before butting in.

"Alright, just let me know before Friday." She grabbed Nate's hand and led him to wait outside of the bathroom while she went in to pee. Once she went inside, he turned back to Fallon and made his way over to her.

"You got something you wanna say to me?" He asked hovering over her.

She crossed her arms and scoffed. "I don't like you. I think you're an asshole, that's about it." She spoke with a serious tone. His gaze quickly diverted from her lips back to her eyes. She pushed past him and made her way to her class before Maddy came back from the bathroom.

She gripped the books in her hand making sure not to drop them as she made her way into the classroom. She rolled her eyes seeing Jackson in his seat. When they dated, they choose their permanent seats right next to each other. Fallon completely regretted that decision now that they were broken up. He grinned seeing her sit in her seat, she glanced over towards him and he quickly faced the front. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked noticing the look of aggravation.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She mumbled. A few other students pooled in followed by Christopher. He glared at his sister who wasn't paying him any mind. When she looked over, they locked eyes for a split second before she turned away.

As the class went by, Fallon zoned out on mostly everything the teacher was saying. She just wanted the day to be over so that she could go home and sleep. Her dad wasn't coming back until tomorrow so she had another day of peace.

———

Once the final bell rang, Fallon practically jumped up from her desk. She completely ignored Jackson as he tried to stop her for conversation, she wasn't really in the mood to deal with him today. She passed Maddy at her locker and stopped to give her a brief hug. "What are you doing after school?" She asked leaning her shoulder against her locker.

Fallon shrugged her shoulders before speaking. "I'm really tired so I think I'm going home to rest."

Maddy noticed Fallon's mood but she chose not to speak on it. Instead, she placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and said her goodbyes. Fallon quickly made her way out and got into her car. The drive home wasn't long so she was there in no time. She decided to leave her bag in the car since she didn't feel like carrying it inside. She made her way upstairs, completely ignoring Grace's presence. She shut her door and began getting undressed from her day clothes. Once she finished changing, the sound of her door being pushed open startled her.

A shiver went down her spine seeing her father standing there, still in his uniform. "I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow?" She spoke with a blank look on her face. She could feel the anger radiating from his figure.

"I was but I finished everything up. I heard about your little night out." He stepped closer to her before continuing. "Accordingly, you were told to come home and you decided to stay out."

Fallon plopped down on her bed and shrugged her shoulders. "I was with Maddy. I was safe, not that you care anyway." She glared back at him as she let out her last sentence. He walked in and shut the door behind him. She glanced over towards him and watched as he removed his jacket and placed it on Fallon's chair. He made his way closer to her. She climbed to the other side of the bed and stood to her feet. He sent her a glare which she reciprocated.

"Don't touch me." She hissed as he made his way closer to her. He walked up to her and gripped her arm.

"I'm trying my hardest to stop myself from beating your ass, your grandparents are here so get dressed. Appropriately." He roughly let her go which resulted in her back hitting the wall. He turned away from her and grabbed his jacket on his way out of her room.

Fallon wiped the tears that fell from her eyes as she searched through her closet to find something to wear. She decided on a simple yellow sweater and a pair of jeans, she put some socks on her feet and made her way downstairs to greet her grandparents. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, her grandmother was standing there waiting for her. She wrapped her arms around Fallon and squeezed.

"Oh, you're so big now." Her grandfather grinned as he went in to hug her. Fallon's father glared at her when she winced due to the bruise on her arm. She gently pulled away and took a seat at the table.

Grace glanced over at Fallon as she took the seat next to her. She felt guilty, she knew what would happen once their grandparents left and it was her fault. Grace was the one who told their father about her sister's behavior while he was away, she had to.

"You two are starting to look so much like your mother!" Their grandmother looked between the two girls. She noticed the tension between them but she didn't want to cause trouble so she didn't speak about it.

"So what brought you guys into town?" Fallon asked, trying to change the subject.

Her grandfather looked at her with a confused look. "You're mother called us and suggested that we come to pay you guys a visit."

Fallon looked over at her mother who sent her a knowing look. She send a small smile in her mother's direction, she knew exactly why she wanted them to come here. Her father wouldn't dare lay a hand on them in front of his parents, he cared too much about their opinion of him. Her mother knew that and she did this as a way to protect her daughter.

"It's a good thing you did. We've missed you." Fallon plastered a smile on her face as she spoke. Her father was glaring at her, unnoticed by his parents. Fallon stood up and excused herself from the table before going up to her room. She placed a towel under her door and rolled a joint, she needed something to take the edge off. She pulled her phone off the charger and called Rue.

"What's up?" Rue asked as she put her face close to the camera.

"Hey, I just wanted to talk to you. My grandparents are in town and the tension is way too thick down there so I came upstairs." She let out a slight chuckle as she spoke.

Rue's face dropped, she knew something was going on with Fallon. Her dad was sketchy but every time anyone asked her about it, Fallon always dodged the question and changed the subject.

"Hey, can I call you back though? I'm with Jules right now."

Fallon's face dropped. "Oh, sure. I'll talk to you later I guess." She waved goodbye to Rue before hanging up the phone. She would've called Maddy but she was with Nate and she hated him.

Fallon let out a dramatic sigh of frustration as she plopped back against her pillow. She removed her sweater for a moment and lit up her joint. She grabbed her phone and lightly played some music as a way to hopefully distract her from everything that was happening around her.