Chapter 11 - Mood Swings

That day after school, Paulina was conflicted. Did she go after Star and try to make things right? Did she talk to Sam and Tucker about what had happened that day? Neither of those options felt right, but she hated the alternative - going home to her father. Eventually, she decided that maybe if she was careful, she could avoid her father completely. If she couldn't, she might as well just rip off the bandaid.

The moment Paulina saw the cop car, her skin began to boil. It was parked in her large driveway, right behind her dad's Lincoln. Walking carefully up to her own house, her mind raced, thinking back over the day. Either Star or Sam must have called the cops, which made Paulina feel...weird. She knew deep down that they did it with good intentions, but she also knew what her father was capable of - that scared her more than she'd like to admit.

Walking into the house quietly, Paulina was met with her father laughing and joking with his old friend - sheriff Todd Michael.

"Oh, well hi there Lina!" Todd finished laughing from her father's joke. "Just gettin' home from school?"

"Yeah," Paulina smiled nervously, nodding at the sheriff. "Um, so what's up?"

"Well, we got a few calls about some abuse, I thought I'd come and check it out myself - gives me an excuse to catch up," Todd patted Paulina's father on the shoulder.

"Lina, did your friends prank call the police?" Paulina's father smiled at her - something sheriff Michael would expect from the perfectly loving father he thought Mr. Sanchez was. Only Paulina could notice the menacing glimmer in his eye, daring her to oppose him.

"Yeah, something like that," Paulina laughed hesitantly.

"Well, even so, I've got a few routine questions to ask you alone," the sheriff nodded at Paulina.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Paulina's father smirked, giving Paulina one more hard look. "I'll be just upstairs."

He walked upstairs, leaving Paulina and Todd in the giant entry way. Paulina smiled awkwardly at the man, taking a seat on one of the lavish creme colored couches. He took a seat on the couch opposite to her, pulling out a notepad and a a pen.

"So, Lina, these reports said you had severe bruising on your left knee. You mind if I take a look?" Todd asked. Paulina gulped, slowly pulling up her capri leg. As soon as the bruise was visible, the sheriff grunted. "And what's that from?"

"Oh, uh," Paulina remembered her father's words. Just upstairs. "I fell yesterday - there was a wet floor in the mall. I got it checked out and everything. My friends were probably just teasing me when they called you, because I'm such a klutz!" She forced a nonchalant laugh, letting the fabric fall back around her injured leg.

The sheriff nodded, continuing to scribble notes in his notepad. He looked back up at Paulina after a few moments, smiling at her. "Sorry about all this - anytime it's multiple reports, we have to do the paperwork. But," he closed his notepad, getting up from the couch, "everything here seems to check out. Besides, your dad and I go way back, I know he wouldn't hurt a fly. You'd better ice that leg of yours, ok Lina?"

Paulina nodded, standing up and feigning relief. "Alright, thank you so much! I was actually just on my way over to Star's, could you let my dad know I'm leaving now?"

"Of course," Todd chuckled, gathering his things. "I'll see you later, Lina."

With one last goodbye, Paulina shouldered her bag and walked outside, her eyes immediately misting. There was a small part of her that had wished the sheriff would seen through the act - catching even just a glimpse. But Todd and her father were old high school buddies. Of course he wouldn't suspect a thing. Without even thinking about it, Paulina wandered towards Star's place, eventually arriving at the door and wiping the tears from her eyes.

A few moments after she knocked on the door, Star herself answered, her eyes red and puffy. "Oh, hi Paulina," she muttered coldly.

"I'm sorry," Paulina trembled as the words left let lips. She shook, leaning herself against the doorway to keep from collapsing right there and then. "You were right, but I...I ruined everything."

Star looked at Paulina, her lips trembling. "The police came, didn't they." Paulina nodded in response. "What happened?" Star asked softly, most of the anger gone from her face.

"Can I- can I come in?" Paulina hiccuped, tears now streaming down her face.

Star nodded slowly, letting the raven haired girl wrap her arm around her shoulder and lean on her. The two walked upstairs to Star's room, sitting down on Star's springy bed.

"What happened?" Star breathed lightly. Her room smelt like vanilla bean, and with the shades drawn and her bedroom light off, the entire room had a warm, pinky glow.

"I lied to him," Paulina responded, looking down at her lap.

"Who?"

"The sheriff. They send Todd Michael, who's been friends with my dad since, like, high school," Paulina shook as the words fell from her trembling lips.

"Paulie," Star breathed again, pulling her friend into a tight embrace. "We can fix this. We can go talk to someone else from the station. I'll have my dad drive and—"

"No, please - not again," Paulina sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "They wouldn't believe me anyway."

"We'll make them believe you," Star ran her hand along Paulina's back softly. "We will, I promise you."

Paulina pulled away just enough to be able to see Star's face. She'd started crying again. Slowly, Paulina wiped away a few of the tears. "I can't. Please."

Star closed her eyes, bit her lip, and shook her head. "You need to care about yourself, ok?"

Paulina leaned back, looking at her best friend with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Star stood up, opening her eyes and pacing next to her bed, "that you don't care about yourself. Why can't you see how great you are?"

Paulina stared at her friend, shaking her head slowly. "I...I do care about myself..."

"Then why won't you stand up for yourself? Why don't you try to make things better for yourself?" Star's voice hardened once again. She turned back to Paulina, staring intently at her.

Paulina laughed bitterly, all the built up tension snapping in the pit of her stomach. "Sure, so now it's my fault, right? It's my fault that- that- what, it's all my fault?!"

"I didn't say that!" Star yelled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you mean then?" Paulina stood up, staring at her best friend.

"Look, Paulina, I just care about you," Star sighed.

"Really? Because with all this gossip drama going on, it sure as hell seems like all you care about is the newest rumor," Paulina snapped back, Sam's words from earlier still swimming in the back of her mind.

Star gasped, taking a small step back. "That's not true!"

"Oh, really?" Paulina took a step forward.

"No, it's not! I do care about you!" Star took a step forward as well, leaving just a foot between the two girls.

"Really? Prove it," Paulina raised an eyebrow, her arms still crossed against her chest.

"I- you- ugh!" Star stuttered, throwing her arms around Paulina's neck. Before the raven haired girl could do anything, the blonde pressed her lips to her own.

Tada! I've been waiting to write this scene since I started this story. What do you guys think? I'm here for the drama, tbh

I'm gonna try my best to keep updating daily, but I can't make any promises, as always

Thanks to everyone who reads, follows, and favorites - a special thanks to everyone who reviews!

Until next time,

~Ash