When Joe showed up at Trina’s doorstep he was the perfect date. He was kind to her parents and he brought flowers. Trina was surprised by these gestures. It was something she never saw in him. He smiled when she walked down the stairs wearing sandals and a sundress. She curled her hair and put it in a ponytail and even put makeup on. She was fully transformed from country girl to city girl, at least for tonight. Joe took her hand and led her out the door. He opened the passenger side door. As she sat she felt perfectly fine. She felt like she belonged with Joe tonight. “So, where are we going that you told me to wear a sundress?” Joe smiled and drove towards the city. When they arrived Trina saw they were at the best restaurant in the city. “Oh my, how can you afford to eat here?”
Joe replied “I’m rich like you obviously.” Trina realized people believed she had money. She didn’t like this feeling because she was lying. She got out of the car and walked towards the cute little restaurant. Joe grabbed her hand and dragged her the opposite way. They ended up Pinocchio’s pizza place. Trina enjoyed the thought of not spending a fortune on dinner. “This is delicious; I don’t know what I would’ve eaten at that fancy restaurant.” Joe smiled and didn’t keep up a conversation. The date in Trina’s mind was the worst night ever. They did the general dinner and movie date. When she arrived home she walked straight to her room. She realized he wasn’t the guy who she wanted to be with. She didn’t want to be with anyone. She ran to her phone and called Michelle. “Hello, this is Tyler speaking.”
“Tyler, it’s me Trina. I wanna be friends with you not Joe he is boring.”
Tyler was obviously surprised by her honesty “Looks like someone learned honesty.” The Michelle came on the line “Trina, how was it?”
“It was the most cliché date in the world. We went to dinner and a movie. I mean I like him but he’s not what I want in a guy. I want someone who comes up with amazing dates and likes to be original. I don’t want to have someone order for me. I also don’t really want a jock. I want someone that’s thoughtful and not caught up in their self.”
“Trina, I know the perfect guy. You’ll love me after this! I gotta go work this blind date out.”
Trina was immediately nervous. She had never gone on a blind date or been kissed. To help her get her thoughts straight she got in her horseback riding clothes and went to the stables. Her horse, Tucker, was a gorgeous horse. He was a caramel color with a white nose. She loved him because he was calm and could jump perfectly. As they were going around the property Trina noticed someone standing on the road looking at her. She rode over to check it out. To her surprise it was Tyler.
“Hey I didn’t expect to see you any time soon.” Trina was trying to get him to talk to her like the first day.
“Well I wanted to warn you that Michelle is setting you up with my best friend. He’s just what you described and he’ll put up with your bullshit.” Then he turned and walked away.
She was happy to know that being set up with his friend would mean he’d be nice and also they could all hang out together. She smiled to herself and rode back to the stables.
At school the next day she saw Tyler’s friend. He was absolutely stunning. He had blonde hair that wasn’t wicked long or wicked short. He walked over to her and smiled. “Hi, I’m James. I wanted to talk to you about our date. I was thinking we could go to that new go-kart thing with Tyler and his girlfriend. Then maybe after we can go out to this insane doughnut place. What do you think?”
“Oh my, Michelle was right you’re perfect for me. I’d love that!”
She wasn’t lying either. She was so excited she ran up to Michelle and hugged her. “Michelle he’s amazing he’s taking me out on an amazing date. We’re going with your brother and his girlfriend.”
Michelle smiled “I knew he’d be perfect for you.”

When Trina got home she excitedly told her mom her date plans. Her mom was so confused. “I thought you were seeing Joe?”
“No, I didn’t have anything in common with him.”
She ran upstairs and pulled out a skirt she bought at Saks and put on a Juicy Couture sweatshirt. Then she got her pair of button down Uggs and put on a dab of lip gloss. She looked amazing. The doorbell rang at that exact moment. She bounded down the stairs and opened the door. It wasn’t for her. It was her father’s boss. “Hey Trin, how’s the house?”
“It’s amazing and so is the credit card. Thank you for letting us live here. Oh and thanks for letting me go to South Street School. It’s gorgeous. Oh my dates here. I gotta go.” She ran past him and saw that the only car was James. “Trina, you’re not going anywhere without me with you.”
James stepped out and Trina hugged him. “Why is he coming with us” Trina whispered into his ear.
“Sorry, we can’t go out tonight like we planned but you can still come with me and my dad to his business dinner go put on a different shirt and you’ll be fine.” Trina ran up the stairs and took of her sweatshirt and pulled on her new sweater. She ran outside again and hopped into the car. “Wow, you look gorgeous” James said. Trina blushed. They talked the whole way to the fancy restaurant she believed Joe was going to take her to. She got out and immediately regretted coming. She was underdressed and she never went out to a fancy restaurant. She imagined herself as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. While James dad went to check the reservations Trina told James what she had been holding in. “I’ve never been to a fancy restaurant. I could never afford it. You have to know my family isn’t rich. The company gave my family everything we own. I bought my clothes on the credit card they gave me. I’m at the school because of them and if my dad gets fired then I go to public school and buy clothes from Wal-Mart like before.” James looked shocked. “Trina, I know you’re not rich. My father told me about everything when he bought the house.” Just then his father walked out and told them to go in. “What am I supposed to order? I don’t wanna order snail or something.” James laughed and read everything off the menu in English. When the waiter came they ordered the chicken and laughed while eating. When they left the restaurant James dad told them to take the car. James drove Trina out to the river. Trina was in awe at the beauty. “Oh wow it’s gorgeous.”
“I know. When I saw you I thought I want to show her my secret place.” James walked over and looked down at her. He kissed her and it lasted for a minute. Trina immediately felt the spark she had wished to feel with someone. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again. She knew she was with the right guy. Right then someone came behind them. Tyler stood looking forlorn. Trina looked at him and waved. “Hey Tyler.” Tyler nodded and James walked over to him. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but Tyler handed James something. Trina thought of the drug charges that she heard about. She backed away from both of them in fear of being caught with drugs. Tyler walked away and when James turned around he didn’t hold the bag anymore. “Was that a drug deal?” James laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not into that kind of thing. It was just something he promised me.” She still felt uneasy. “Please take me home.”
On the way back to her house they were silent. When they arrived James pulled out the bag and inside was a CD. It said “To Trina, From the Band” She was shocked because she never knew they had a band. She kissed James goodbye and ran up the stairs to call Michelle, Jessie, and Kasey. She called Jessie first. “James is amazing! He’s the best guy I’ve ever met.” Jessie replied less ecstatic “Joe is pissed. He thought you two really hit it off. He’s been over my house all night. I don’t know if we can talk anymore. Michelle isn’t mad but me and Kasey are.” Then Jessie hung up. Trina immediately called Michelle and asked her to come over. “Sure be right there.” She came 10 minutes later. “Hey Trina. What’s up?”
“James is great. He’s super nice and we have so much in common. The only issue is Jessie and Kasey are pissed.” Michelle smirked. “That’s because they’ve been in love with Joe forever and you had him and you didn’t want him. I agree with you though he’s super boring and in love with himself.” Michelle climbed on the canopy bed and they talked all night.
Saturday was their shopping day. Jessie and Kasey never called so they went alone.
“Let’s go into Nordstrom I need a new pair of Uggs.” Michelle said
When they turned in they saw James. “James!” Trina ran up and kissed him. It was a passionate kiss and when they pulled away they both smiled. “You two need a room!” Michelle stated behind them. They kissed goodbye and Trina walked away with Michelle. “Trina, just so you know Tyler is jealous of James. Ever since the first day he’s talked about you and only you. He even made his band make a CD. His girlfriend, Kasey, is pissed at you and him because of this.” Trina didn’t realize Tyler and Kasey were together because the day after the party he wanted to talk to Trina not Kasey. Suddenly Trina realized that it made sense. She knew she’d hurt Tyler if she told him that she had no feelings for him and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Truth of the matter was at first she did have feelings for him but she was with James and she really liked him.
Michelle and Trina finished shopping and went back to Trina’s house. Trina quickly went to the stable while Michelle got the bags inside. It was a wet day and Trina needed to exercise Tucker’s legs. When she got into the barn she immediately got the horse feed ready. When she went to get tucker out of the stable she noticed Tyler standing underneath the tool shed roof. She quickly ran over to him. You know the feeling that something is going to happen and you’re not sure if you want it or not? You know it will change everything for good and you can never go back to before it happened. Trina felt that when she stood next to Tyler. “What are you doing here?!You left me when you heard about me and James date and you continue to ignore me! Why do you need to be everywhere? I want to be friends, I really do. I don’t want anything to happen where you leave for good. You were the first person to be nice to me my first day. You warned me about Jessie and Kasey” Trina was confused by everything she was saying “You warned me about YOUR girlfriend. That seems strange. I need you to tell me why you’re doing this.”
Tyler looked shocked by everything she just said. “How can you not know? I like you. You’re not like them. You like music and animals. You look at things that aren’t just skin deep. Kasey was my girlfriend but not a good one. She wanted me for looks. I was the reason Michelle went looking for you! You’ll never understand how jealous I am of James. He gets to kiss you and fall in love with you. He gets to hold you when I don’t. I never will know what it feels like.” Trina was caught up in the moment that she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. She kissed him like she wished to kiss James in the rain. She felt something but it was different from James. It was something she never knew existed. It was an immediate connection. She pushed away. “I can’t I’m with James. I really do like him a lot. I know we can never be friends again because I don’t want this to happen again.” For once Trina left first. Something in her sparked. She wasn’t going to stand around and watch people walk out of her life. She was going to walk out of their life first.
Michelle was up in the room texting. “Michelle, I just did something horrible!” Michelle looked up at her and nodded “I know I saw it. I won’t tell anyone because that’d ruin my two best friends’ relationships.” Michelle got up and left after that.
Trina played back all the memories from California, and then the move. Tyler found his way into every memory from Georgia. Trina gave up and called James. “Hey, I’m sorry but I need to meet you somewhere and tell you something.” James replied with “Okay. Meet me at the river.” Trina was freaking out the whole walk. She didn’t know what she’d do if James left. She was falling for him.
When she walked to the river and saw James she immediately started to cry. “James, I did something stupid and I regret it because I know you’ll be mad and leave me. I don’t want you to leave me. I like you more than I’ve ever liked anyone.” James looked on. “I was out at my stable feeding my horse and Tyler was standing under the shed roof. I went over to him and we argued. He said that he’d never get to kiss me or love me like you did and I kissed him and I realized I didn’t want to lose you.” James looked sad. “Trina, I can’t leave you. You did something brave and told me. That means we have honesty in this relationship. I don’t want to lose you either. I’ve fallen pretty hard for you.”

Trina would never forget this night. She never knew that there were good guys in the world. She knew her relationship was pretty solid. That night she had nightmares though. She dreamt about school and then about leaving Georgia. The most prominent one was when she was in the rain kissing Tyler and things went too far and she kicked Tyler down onto a trowel.
She woke up one morning sweating and she knew she was sick. “MOM! I think I’m sick!” Her mom walked in with a thermometer. “It’s probably from riding in the rain yesterday. Stay home and sleep. I’m going to call a doctor later.”
The whole day she sat texting James and Michelle. After school James came over with soup from the Chinese Restaurant not too far from the school. They sat upstairs talking like nothing ever happened. All of the sudden Trina’s phone started playing Ours by Taylor Swift. She checked the I.D and saw it was Tyler she immediately hit reject. She didn’t want James to know that he had her number because they were in the middle of a fight. Then as she feared he left a voice message. She immediately got the phone and went in the bathroom. She listened to it “Trina, please talk to me! We need to work this out. I know you felt something too. Please don’t make the biggest mistake of your life. James doesn’t deserve you.” She took her phone and dropped it into the toilet. After that she realized she was screwed. James would probably kill Tyler. “James, I think you should go so you don’t get sick.” James walked into the bathroom and saw her crying. “Trina what’s wrong?” Trina looked up and she didn’t feel the spark. “James we’ve been dating for like 3 months and I don’t feel anything more than a spark. I thought I was falling for you and I was. I love you. The thing is I don’t think I am in love with you. I know it’s almost Christmas and we had a lot planned but I can’t do this to you anymore. James, please don’t hold this against me or blame Tyler because I don’t want him either. I want to find someone who I feel fireworks with and someone that doesn’t control me like Tyler does. I’ll always compare my boyfriends to you because you were my first kiss and love.” James looked at her like he understood “Trina, I agree. I never felt anything more than a spark and I love you and I want you to be happy. I wouldn’t care if you were with Tyler if he makes you happy. I want to give you this before I go though.” When he took out the box she knew what it was. The smaller box was a pale Tiffany blue. When she opened it she saw the key necklace she showed him when they went to the mall. The wrapped gift was something she never knew existed. It was a book on song meanings. It wasn’t just certain songs it had a program to put on a laptop and get more meanings. She leaned into James and felt like she did the right thing.

The next day at school the breakup was the talk of the school. Guys were now all over Trina since the found out she was single. Michelle helped her away from everyone. Ever since the first time James and Trina went out Michelle and her were closer than ever. They were always together and ruled the school. Jessie and Kasey were both gone. They were the least popular of all the people at the jock and cheerleader table.
The same day a new kid started at the school. He wasn’t like the other kids. He had a tattoo and short brown hair. He was the kind of kid no popular girl would go after yet Trina was attracted to him. He was everything she despised in a guy yet they immediately clicked. The first period of the day they started talking. His name was Matt. He told her his family made him go to South Street. He was never a trouble maker at school but he was at home. South Street had dorms but only for students who lived more than 30 minutes away so he was living there. He was the guy Trina thought she could get easily. “So, Trina do you want to hang out after school? We could go to the party at Joe’s.” “Sure I’d love to.” Trina was being genuine. She really wanted to get to know him and maybe feel the fireworks and immediate connection.
Tyler sat by himself looking at them. He was jealous she never gave him the time of day to prove himself. Truth was he knew the new kid was lying because he was one of the people who Tyler used to sell to.
The party was just as crazy as the first one. The only difference was Trina wasn’t trying to impress anyone because they already knew her. Matt and her were having a great time and everyone was already talking about how stupid Matt was for going out with her a day after her and James breakup. They never knew that it didn’t affect either of them.
It was a rough week after the date. Trina was getting called names by everyone. James stood by her though. No one understood why. Truth was he didn’t even know. She broke his heart but he couldn’t stand to see her unhappy.
Matt was the perfect gentleman at first. When he texted her she smiled. It was the feeling she longed for since the move. When they first kissed it was fireworks and an immediate connection. She knew she found her other half. They were inseparable.
The first day Trina brought Matt to her house he was immediately loved. Her mom enjoyed how he could talk about cooking with her and her father could talk about football and business with him. So they were blessed with the ability of going out every night. Her parents even took away her weekend curfew. This was something Trina had wanted forever.
The next day at school she heard the news that broke her heart. James and Michelle were dating. She knew she broke up with him but it still hurt he started dating her best friend. “Matt, I gotta go talk to Michelle. See you later though I promise.” Matt instantly looked hurt “Is this because she’s dating your EX. He’s your ex because you weren’t in love with him and I don’t want you to worry about that. I love you doesn’t that mean something?” Trina knew then she really shouldn’t worry about James. “I love you too. You’re the best thing that’s ever been mine.” This in all reality was the truth. She really loved him and wanted to be with him forever. For once she forgot about Tyler and everyone who she wasn’t in love with. She finally had something no one else would be able to steal away. At that exact moment Tyler walked over to her and matt. Matt looked pissed. “What do you want Tyler? I’m done with it.” Tyler looked over at me and said something that surprised me. “Are you going to tell her? If you hurt her I will find you and break your neck. You got the most amazing girl in the school. I’ve been in love with her since the first day and you just got here and she runs into your arms. I’ll tell her if I need too.” Tyler waved bye and left. “Trina, it’s time I tell you the truth about everything.” Since the bell rang they had to wait till lunch.
At lunch she didn’t see Matt in the cafeteria so she went into the secret area he told her about. When she saw him she slowly walked over. “Ok, what were you going to tell me?” Matt looked down and told his story. “When I was living in Macon, Georgia I was a troublemaker. I did drugs and was always with new girls. I got arrested several times but the one that was the worst was when I got arrested with Tyler. We had met because my dealer left Tyler’s name after he got arrested. I called Tyler up and we became quick friends. This particular night we were at a party and I accidently gave one of the sorority’s ether which is a dangerous drug and one of them passed out. The police came in and arrested Tyler and me. Tyler hasn’t been in touch with me forever and that’s why I was so mad when he came up earlier.” Trina was shocked. She heard about the ether party on the news when she was in California. “Um, that’s horrible. I can’t believe you’d do something you’d know would harm someone. Just leave me alone for a while.” Matt stood up and grabbed her arm. “If you loved me you could get over something that happened over a year ago. I’m done with drugs.” Trina knew he was right so she hugged him and they stayed like that for the rest of the day.

It was Christmas week so school was over. Michelle and Trina were finally hanging out when Michelle said something about James. “You know he’s the best boyfriend ever. I don’t understand why you would ever break up with him. I mean he’s gorgeous.” Trina nodded. “I agree but I didn’t feel anything more than a spark whenever we kissed. I wish I felt more but if I had I wouldn’t be with matt.” Michelle was truly jealous Trina got Matt. “How is he anyways? I mean seeing as my brother got him in jail.” Trina knew she was trying to get Trina to break up with him but Trina knew the truth so she wouldn’t. “He’s great. I couldn’t believe that he was keeping a secret from me, but we’re fine now.” Michelle looked down and Trina could tell she was pissed. The truth was Trina was sick of trying to impress everyone and she just wanted to be unknown and not popular. She’d give the world to be out of the eyes of her classmates. She knew soon Michelle would ditch her and then she’d get her wish but she also knew she’d have few or no friends. Michelle got up and looked out the window and down out the snow. “Trina, I think that you should stop being such a b****. I made you and I want Matt so you better break up with him. I will never talk to you if you don’t. I can ruin the rest of your high-school life. You can be best friends with Tyler and Matt but those are the only people that would care about you. So what’s your decision? I need the answer now.” Trina didn’t hesitate to answer “I love Matt and I’ll never leave him for a friend. You have James so you don’t need Matt.” Michelle walked over to the bedroom door and stormed out. Trina finally felt at peace. She picked up her phone and called Matt. “Hey, Matt you’ll never guess what just happened. Michelle tried to get me to break up with you and I refused to.” Matt laugher “Did she think I’d want a b**** like her? Oh well as long as you’re mine. Do you wanna go out tonight?” Trina squealed. “Yes, I’d love to. What are we going to do?” Matt replied “It’s a surprise you’ll love.” Then he hung up.
Trina ran to her closet and put on her favorite outfit from before the move. She was wearing yoga pants, a plaid shirt and Uggs. She looked like she belonged in the snow. When she heard his car pull up she ran down the stairs and kissed her mother and father goodbye. When she got outside she only saw a punch buggy. She ran over to it and sure enough Matt was inside it. “Hey, you ready for the best weekend of your life.” Trina knew that she could stay with him because her parents trusted her. As she got in the old car she felt perfectly fine. She realized this feeling was unheard of. With Joe and James she was always nervous. She figured it was because she didn’t have the same feelings. She knew there was no turning back. She had fallen hard.

You know the moments when everything is perfect and nothing could happen to ruin it, but then something does. Some things change a person. Trina didn’t expect such a change when the tragedy struck her family. It was a cold December night and Trina had been out with Matt and was about to go home. Suddenly her phone vibrated. She looked and it said it was her father. She answered and he frantically explained her mom’s car got hit with her in it. He never said what kind of condition she was in but Trina had Matt drive her to the hospital. When she got there she left Matt and ran in. He followed slowly. When she asked the receptionist where her mom was, the receptionist shook her head and pointed towards her father. He was sitting in a chair crying. Trina knew this meant one thing. Her mom wasn’t fine and she wasn’t coming back. Trina ran to her father and cried into him. They cried together until the funeral home came to talk about arrangements. Matt stood by the whole time holding Trina’s hand. She felt as though she had one thing that would never change. The big moment came when she was finally happy, when it was time to leave she left with Matt. “Trina, I know how hard this must be for you but just remember I love you no matter what.” When they pulled up to the house they were silent. All of the sudden Matt looked over with anger in his eyes. “You never said you loved me. Do you think you’re too good for that or something?” Before Trina could answer he took a swing at her. In movies they make it less traumatic. No one ever expects that kind of pain from someone they love. Truth is the ones you love hurt you the most. He drew his hand back for another swing. She quickly opened the door and got out before he could do more damage.
The rest of the week he was as sweet as can be but Trina was always afraid he’d hurt her again. The time did come but he hurt her in a different way. At one of the cheerleader’s party’s she got a little drunk and did things she would never do sober. The day after the party things were different. No one would look her in the eye and Michelle was whining about Trina. No one seemed to want to talk to her and she felt so alone. The only person she could turn to was Matt. She couldn’t think of what he did otherwise he’d hit her again. It became a regular event. Whenever she did something her way it was wrong. She never actually did anything to deserve that treatment but no one ever does. She felt as though she did do something. It was one of the things you automatically go to what could’ve or should’ve happened. She questioned her every move until they weren’t even hers.
The only person to see the change was Tyler. He saw the sadness in her worn out eyes. He knew she was turning to drugs and alcohol to take away the pain. He knew she dropped acid in the girl’s bathroom. He didn’t know how to stop her though. She was falling apart and no one could help her. No one looked deep enough under her eye shadow and mascara. The truth is she didn’t even know how to help herself. Her father was dealing with his own depression and didn’t pay attention to her. If he had he would’ve seen her bloodshot eyes and heard her crying at night, he also would’ve seen the increasing number of bruises. This was worse than a movie because she didn’t have a prince charming to love her after the death of her mother. The worst thing is she believed the only guy who’d ever love her was Matt. She didn’t believe she was beautiful and she thought she was too skinny. She was always on something and she was drowning. The only thing that kept her a little sane was her horse. The only thing she did at home beside cut was ride her horses.

Day after day it was a battle. She was being abused in so many different ways but she didn’t want to leave Matt. He was hers. He was the one thing no one could have. He was hers forever even when she didn’t really want him. She wished every day for him to leave but she never got that. She missed being friends with Michelle and she missed wearing tank tops without black and blue showing. She was slowly drowning more and more. Every day she sat in the room blaring music and singing so loud just to drown everything out. It was on Matt’s good day when he gave it to her. It was a bowl. It was something she never wanted before but now she was so hooked on drugs she’d take anything. He quickly lit it and they smoked together. Suddenly the front door slammed open and Trina heard her dad storm up the stairs. When he opened her door his jaw dropped. He saw the drugs and Matt. He quickly took the drugs and kicked Matt out. “Trina, why would you turn to such dangerous stuff? You can talk to me about anything. Matt is forbidden to come in this house. I’m sorry.” Trina locked the door behind her father and walked into the bathroom. She grabbed the razor blade and ran it across her arm just hard enough to draw blood. She got in the tub and turned on hot water. She let her arm bleed and she felt fine. When she got out all of her pain she quickly covered her arms and ran to eat dinner. The new cook Betsy had cooked fish and all of Trina’s favorite. Trina filled her plate and ate. When she was done she went in the kitchen to thank Betsy. What she saw she couldn’t believe. The skinny brunette cook was with her father! She stormed out the door and got into the old ford and drove. She didn’t know where she was going but she knew it was as far from home as she could get. She was so happy that her license had come in time for her to run away at least for a few hours.

She ended up in Atlanta by the cemetery her mom was buried at. She pulled onto the correct road and as she pulled up to the huge gravestone she saw him. Matt was standing at the stone as if he was waiting with Trina. She got out and walked over to him. “What are you doing here?” Trina asked skeptically. “Trina, I’m sorry I ever hurt you. Especially the first night. You didn’t deserve that. You lost your mother and I didn’t think that through.” Matt stepped forward to kiss her. Trina pushed him away. “I… I’m sorry but I can’t deal with you right now. I need to mourn and not be afraid for my life, so if you’d kindly move.” Matt quickly lunged at Trina and pushed her to the ground and took a swing. He kept hitting until a night guard came. Then he quickly stopped and sat Trina against the gravestone and left her. She was in horrible condition. Her nose was broken and she was bleeding everywhere. She was passed out when the guard came over to the grave. He quickly dialed 911 and frantically explained what Trina looked like. Those were the last words before Trina went completely out.

When Trina woke up she smelt the mold and her the whirring of the hospital. She looked around her room and saw her dad. He was crying. “They said some random person went in the cemetery and jumped her.” She realized he was on the phone with Betsy. She immediately flinched as though she had been hit. Then in the corner of her eye she saw him coming. Matt walked in looking guilty and Trina was afraid for her life. She knew nothing could happen since she was in a hospital but he was the reason she was in there. Not far behind was the only other person she did not want to see, Tyler. He walked quickly passed Matt and walked into the cold room. Trina slowly sat up and frowned. “Why are you here? You’ve ignored me for months now so please don’t make this any worse.” Tyler looked down and walked over to her just as her father walked out of the room towards Matt. She was too busy to notice them talking in hushed voices. “I’m sorry I didn’t want him to hurt you. It seems like he actually cares about you. I mean he hasn’t talked you into coke at least.” Tyler turned and left without looking back and Trina thought about what he had just said. She knew she was ruining her life with her newfound addictions but she needed to feel something. She had become numb and couldn’t find another way to handle it. When Matt walked in she immediately froze. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please believe me. I love you more than words can tell I just wasn’t thinking. It’ll never happen again and I’ll keep that promise this time.” Trina smiled and hugged him. She knew it was stupid of her to believe him after the last episode but she did.

It quickly went back to how it had been before her mother’s death and she didn’t smoke very much. It was just like before but now she knew how it felt to lose control and she never wanted to feel that again. Matt had stopped giving her drugs and they were together all the time. One of the few times they weren’t together was when Trina was riding her horse. Tucker was her rock. He was the only living thing that could handle her weight even though Trina thought her stress made her way more then she actually was. She was with Tucker for 5 hours every day. It was her sanity on the line. When Tucker was gone she had no way to stay sane and she knew she’d hit rock bottom again.
Tyler started coming around more but it was never going to be the same. It wasn’t his fault it was just that Trina didn’t want to trust anyone because the people she trusted the most hurt her the most. They could apologize for everything but she’d never forgive them. Matt was the worst. She loved him so much but he still had dark moments and she didn’t know when he’d crack again.
Michelle slowly started talking to Trina and she knew something was wrong but Trina never said what it was. The year was almost over and that meant Trina was leaving for California soon. It was decided she’d spend the summer in California with Michelle and her family. She was also gonna go check on the house in Napa since they never sold it. It was the perfect way to get out of the relationship with Matt. A whole summer would mean they’d change and be incompatible. It was the only solution to getting out of the mess. She didn’t want him to hurt her so he’d break up with her.
School got easier with it being a week till summer. Teachers weren’t handing out work and there was no test. It was just extra time to hang out with friends. Trina had few but she still hung out with the jocks and cheerleaders even though she was a burnout.