❝ J U S T  T I R E D ❞

Addilyn sits in the recliner in the living room, typing away on her laptop, determined to finish her History essay before the others got back home.

Corbyn had left earlier that morning to spend the day with Jordan and Ashley, and had initially wanted her to go with them until she managed to convince him to go have fun while she got caught up on her online classes. Besides, she didn't want to intrude on their time together since it was their last day in LA.

Soon after he left, Callie and Jack had to leave for another meeting with her lawyer to discuss the trial which would be in two weeks.

Daniel ventured off on his own, determined to find his mystery girl. Aurora somehow ended up convincing Jonah, Zach, and Carmen to go ice skating with her. And with all of their animals playing together in the backyard, the girl was left completely alone with no distractions in the large house.

Addilyn's phone dings loudly, signaling the arrival of a notification. She frowns as she glances over at it, losing her train of thought. It dings several more times, causing her to grow frustrated and put it on silent without even seeing what the notifications are. Whatever it was could wait until the essay was finished.

Despite the amount of times Addilyn had to change schools as she grew up, she managed to remain a straight A student and kept a 4.0 gpa. With the connections her father had had, she knew she'd be able to snag a scholarship to any college once she completed this year's course.

The only problem was she had no idea where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do with her life. But, she would fret over that on a later date.

Submitting the essay with a triumphant grin, she closes her laptop and turns on the TV before picking up her phone to see what all the notifications had been about.

Each one pertained to the photo Corbyn had posted on his Instagram last night and the first few comments she read wer enough to instantly destroy her good mood.

"Are they really dating?? She's so ugly"

"She's only with him to get more followers"

"Ohmygod he could do so much better"

Addilyn had never been one of those girls who were insecure with their bodies, or doubted her self, or ever felt the need to dress a certain way to fit society's standards. It's not like she ever stayed in one place long enough to be judged, anyways. She bought clothes she felt pretty in and didn't give a damn what anyone had to say.

But, somehow, all of the insults are different when they're coming from Corbyn's fans. All of the boy's spoke highly of their fans and it was obvious they adored all of them. In that moment, it hit Addilyn just how badly she had wanted the fans to like her and be okay with her relationship with Corbyn.

Her phone had practically blown up last night with new followers and supportive fans filling her dms and the comments with nice words, but the bad comments and negativity still seemed to outweigh the good.

She didn't regret letting Corbyn post the photo of them the night before, not one bit. She still believed seeing how happy it made him was worth it.

She knew there would be hate and people who are nothing but rude, but she had not been prepared for this huge amount of it.

Carmen and Aurora had reassured her that the fans would be accepting, telling her about all the adoration and love the fans had for them.

Scrolling through more comments, there had to be over a hundred negative ones. What had she done wrong to cause it all?

****

"GUESS WHO MET PATRICK FUCKING DEMPSEY!" Aurora yells, skipping through the front door with Carmen's arm linked through her's and Jonah and Zach following behind. "I did! Holy Cheez-its, he was even dreamier in person!"

Addilyn wipes her eyes once more before glancing over at the others as they trail into the living room. After going through all of the comments, the girl had done nothing but unhealthily wallow in self pity and sadness for hours.

"Did you get a picture?" She questions, forcing a smile as she pushes all of her doubts and worries to the back of her mind.

"Hell yeah I did," Aurora declares, showing the photo off proudly. "I'm going to print it and get it framed next time we go out."

"What's wrong, Addi?" Carmen asks worriedly, her eyebrows furrowing together as she sits down on the couch.

"I'm just tired," she lies, brushing her concerns away. "What happened to your lip?"

The younger girl's bottom lip was swollen and looked like it had been busted open, almost as if she had gotten into a fight.

"It turns out, I'm not very coordinated on ice," Carmen laughs. "And neither is Aurora. We crashed into each other."

Addilyn nods and yawns loudly. "I'm gonna go take a nap, my homework was exhausting."

She's out of the room and dashing up the stairs before anyone could say anything.

Shutting the door to Corbyn's room behind her, she finally relaxes once she collapses on to the bed, not even bothering to pull the blanket back.

Addilyn hated lying to her friends; it left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She ought to tell them what's bothering her, they'd understand in an instant.

Unfortunately, that's not how Addilyn has ever handled situations. She pushes her feelings and problems away, keeping them bottled down inside her for as long as possible. She isolates herself and throws herself into a project that keeps her mind off of everything.

Addilyn used to take her problems to Carson and he would always make everything better. But, he couldn't be there for her right now. He wasn't even in the same country.

She had no one.