We continued talking for a while until Sandra finally stepped out of the car and joined us.
"Let me go hang out with the boys," Liam said as he stood up from his spot. "Later."
"Later," I replied, bidding him farewell.
As he walked away, my attention immediately shifted back to Sandra.
I stared at her quietly, waiting.
Because honestly, I needed answers.
She noticed my expression, coughed lightly, and finally spoke.
"Hey, Mai. I'm sorry for ignoring you in the car. I'm just going through a lot and…"
She didn't even get to finish her sentence.
Her voice broke, and tears immediately filled her eyes before she started crying.
Without hesitation, I pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay. Everything is going to be fine," I assured her.
After some time, she calmed down and sat quietly before continuing.
"Louis is mad at me too because when he tried asking what was wrong, I snapped at him. Believe me, Mai, I honestly didn't mean to. I was just broken after seeing everything on Instagram. I couldn't believe they could do something like that to me."
I understood her.
Because truthfully, when I'm angry or deeply hurt, I don't always react calmly either. Sometimes emotions take over, and the things we say or do come from a place of pain.
I could understand her.
We talked for a while, and slowly, I got to understand everything that had happened.
Apparently, Sandra used to be part of a group called the "Tough Girls Crew", better known as TGC.
They were known as the popular girls of the school. Beautiful, confident, and feared by many. They partied, smoked, and barely cared about academics. In fact, some of them even had to bribe their way through exams to get good results.
Sandra was once exactly like them.
But everything changed when she was betrayed by one of the girls in the group, their leader, Cecile.
After that, Sandra walked away from the crew and chose to distance herself from them. She was alone for a while until Louis came into her life, and later, I did too.
But Cecile wasn't ready to let things go.
Refusing to accept Sandra's decision, she edited some of Sandra's private videos and embarrassing moments, then posted them online.
Honestly, the videos were terrible.
My heart sank seeing what Sandra was going through.
She was crying again, and all I could do was hold her close and remind her that she wasn't alone.
A few minutes later, Louis returned.
The moment he noticed the tears falling from Sandra's eyes, his expression changed. He looked hurt.
Without hesitation, he walked towards her and comforted her.
Soon, the three of us were wrapped in a tight hug.
For the first time, I realized that beneath all the smiles and fun, everyone carried a story that others knew nothing about.