Chapter 7 ~ Riley

Things get a little... complicated.

            I woke up to the sun streaming through my window. I burrowed deeper underneath my comforter and pulled my covers up underneath my chin and tried to go back to sleep. I wasn’t ready to get up yet. Last night had been and exhausting, tear-filled nightmare. I had changed into my polka-dot pajamas, and then curled up into a ball and cried myself to sleep.

I cuddled up into an even tighter ball, relishing in my comfortable blankets and hoping to drift back to sleep; however, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t go back to bed. The decision I had finally made last night kept running through my head and keeping me up. My problem was that I couldn’t figure out exactly how I wanted to act on that decision. My brain was examining every angle trying to find the most painless plan of action.

Unfortunately, they all pretty much stunk.

Accepting the fact that sitting in bed agonizing over the whole thing wasn’t doing me any good, I reluctantly pushed the covers off me and got to my feet. I went to my closet, but realized that getting ready for the day would just give me more time to think and give myself cold feet. Instead, I pulled on a sweatshirt, put on a pair of slippers, and brushed my hair back into a ponytail. After wiping the sleepers out of my red-rimmed eyes, I left my room and headed downstairs.

My mom was in the kitchen like she was every morning, cooking eggs and bacon and humming happily to herself. Dad was sitting at the table, drinking a glass of orange juice and looking over some paperwork. It was a welcome distraction from my impending catastrophe.

Mom looked up from the pan of sizzling bacon.

“Morning, honey!” She said brightly “You ready for some breakfast?”

I smiled wanly at her and kissed her on the cheek.

“I’m not very hungry right now.” I told her “Thanks, though. I’ve got somewhere to be, but I should be back soon.”

A knowing look formed on my mom’s face. She gave me a warm hug “Good luck, sweetheart.” She said.

I smiled, my eyes getting a little misty “Thanks mom.” I rasped. I could feel a lump starting to form in my throat. Turning away before any more tears could fall, I grabbed my keys and started to head out the door.

“Don’t let him down easy!” My dad called “He doesn’t deserve it!”

I shook my head and shut the door.

Walking through our dewy lawn and out to the driveway, I clambered into my car and took off. As I drove, my mind was screaming at me to turn around, telling me that I was making a huge mistake. My heart, however, kept me going.

About ten minutes later, I pulled up in front of Lance’s house. Summoning up my courage, I got out of my car and knocked on his front door. I waited a few minutes on the porch, my heart throbbing painfully in my chest and my stomach twisting itself up in nervous knots. Lance finally answered, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw me. He quickly walked out and shut the door behind him.

“Riley, hi!” He stammered, glancing around nervously “What… what are you doing here?”

Not really noticing his strange behavior, I stood in awkward silence, trying to string together what I wanted to say. Closing my eyes, I took a calming breath to settle my nerves, and then just let it out.

“Lance, I… I’ve been doing some thinking, and, well… I think… I think we need some time away from each other.” I said haltingly.

Lance raised an eyebrow “What?”

I sighed “Lance, this relationship just isn't working out for me.” I told him “I just… I just don’t feel anything.”

Lance’s face hardened “Oh, I see. So you’re breaking up with me, is that right?” He asked bitingly.

I looked down and bit my lip.

I heard his front door creak open “Lance, baby, is anything…” The voice trailed off “Oh.”

I looked up, my eyes wide. I recognized that voice.

Brittany was standing in Lance’s doorway, her arms folded tightly across her chest and a distasteful look on her face. “Riley, why are you running around in your pajamas?” She asked.

I blinked, hoping that what I thought I saw I wasn’t actually seeing. I turned to Lance “What is Brittany doing here?” I asked him, frustrated at the way my bottom lip quavered slightly.

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, and she giggled irritatingly. “Is there anything wrong with a girlfriend having breakfast with her boyfriend?” He sneered.

“Girlfriend?” I asked in disbelief. I could feel the heat rising to my face, and I dug my fingernails into my palms as I tried to restrain myself. “How long has this been going on?”

“Two months.” Brittany said giddily. “But it’s okay Riley, there’s no reason why we can’t share.”

“Shut up.” I spat at her, a little surprised at my own vehemence “You’re sick, and you have absolutely no say in this.”

She had the decency to look hurt.

How could I have been so incredibly stupid? All the signs had been there. The way she hung on his every word; how she couldn’t keep a steady boyfriend for more than a few weeks. My boyfriend had been cheating on me with my best friend, and to add to the horrible cliché, I had been blissfully ignorant of the whole thing. It was a painful, cruel betrayal, and the hurt and anger pierced me to the very core.

“Is there a problem, Riley?” Lance asked with mock innocence.

I looked up at Lance, my jaw clenched and my eyes blazing.  “You know what, Lance,” I said, barely controlling my fury “I honestly don’t’ care anymore.” All pretenses of ‘letting him down easy’ flew out the window. Dad had been right. He totally didn’t deserve it. “I’m so happy that you found someone that is just as selfish, shallow, and two-faced as you. I certainly hope that you two enjoy each other’s’ company.”

Casting one last pointed look at Brittany, who looked about ready to throttle me, I turned on my heel and stalked off to my car before Lance could get the satisfaction of seeing my bitter tears. Lance pushed Brittany inside and angrily slammed his front door. A small sob finally escaped my lips, and I broke down. I tried to drive, but couldn’t see the road through my tears.

In order to prevent an accident, I pulled into a nearby supermarket and just cried. Darn that boy! Why couldn’t it have been a clean break? Did there have to be the hurt and betrayal? I think the worst part was that both of them had been playing me for so long, and I had trustingly gone along with it.

It took me about fifteen minutes to get my tears under control. When I was sure that they weren’t coming back " at least for a while " I got out of my car to get some fresh air. I closed the door and leaned back against the frame, rubbing my eyes tiredly. The day wasn’t even half-way over, and it was already shaping up to be pretty awful. I was suddenly glad that I hadn’t put any makeup on. I would’ve looked like a wreck. Of course, I probably looked like one anyway.

As I sat there, passively surveying the nearly empty parking lot, I saw two beat up shopping-carts, filled to the brim with groceries, come out of the supermarket seemingly all by themselves.

I squinted my eyes to make sure I was seeing things correctly. A head suddenly poked out from between the two carts, trying to see where it was going, and I let out a gasp of surprise. It was Ben… again!

I suppose I really shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, he had managed to pop up everywhere else I had been in the past few days.

I watched him in consternation as he carefully maneuvered the mountains of groceries down the sidewalk. What us could one teenage boy possibly have for all those groceries? I knew boys were supposed to eat a lot, but this was ridiculous. Partially out of burning curiosity, but mostly out of a desperate need to take my mind off Lance, I made the sudden decision to follow him.

I locked my car, and then casually started to stroll down the sidewalk behind him. He was too busy keeping a precarious tower of cereal and mac-n-cheese from falling out of one of the baskets to notice. My nerves were tense as I followed Ben from a safe distance. I was constantly on the lookout for things I could hide behind, and my muscles tensed every time it looked like he was going to turn his head.

I had one close call after about twenty minutes of walking. Ben came to a complete stop and turned a full 360˚, his eyes sweeping suspiciously across everything in sight. There was nowhere to hide, except for a small trashcan that had been put out on the curb. It was too small for me to hide behind, so I did the next best thing. I dove for it and quickly took the lid off before shoving my face deep into it. The scent made me want to vomit, but I stuck it out. I couldn’t run the risk of Ben seeing me.

“Where is that sock?” I grumbled loudly enough for him to hear, shaking the garbage can around a bit to make it seem like I was actually looking for something.

I waited for what seemed like hours for the sound of moving grocery carts. When it finally came, I let out a sigh of relief and retrieved my head out of the trash. Brushing off my hair to make sure nothing had lodged itself in it, I started after Ben again.

We walked for about another five minutes before he turned off onto a little dirt path that led straight into a copse of pine trees. I scrunched my forehead in puzzlement. Why in the world was he taking all those groceries there? Was he offering them as sacrifices to the bears?

I shook my head at the mental image that came with that thought. There was no mistaking it. My brain was fried.

Deciding to move with more caution, I hid behind a wooden fence and watched him as he made his way into the trees. Once he was out of sight, I crouched low to the ground and dashed towards where I saw him disappear. As I got closer, I could hear the shuddering rattle of the carts as they rattled across the uneven ground. Following the sound, I moved from behind tree to tree until we reached the edge of a fairly large lawn. A weather-beaten cabin sat in the middle of the grass, creaking slightly at the slightest breath of wind. The paint was flaking and nearly non-existent, and the porch-steps leading up to the door sagged in the middle from years of use.

            At the tell-tale sound of the grocery-laden carts, I dropped to the ground behind a black-berry bush that sat on the edge of the yard and peered out from between the leaves.

“I’m home!” Ben called out as he approached the cabin.

The front door burst open, and my eyes widened as I watched a wave of kids tumble out and swarm around the two grocery carts. I shook my head in disbelief. Were they all his brothers and sisters?

The older kids started taking the groceries inside, while the younger ones clumped around Ben, all babbling at the same time. Their volume rose as they each tried to talk over each other, and I was able to catch snippets of their conversation.

“Can we play outside now, Ben?”

“We’ve been really good!”

“You’re back now!”

Ben held up his hands with a laugh " a laugh? " to cut off the noise.

“If you help me bring in the rest of the groceries, then you can play outside.” He said.

The kids whooped and hollered as they attacked the grocery carts. Two girls, who looked to be about two and one, were left in the dust. With a broad smile that very nearly took my breath away, Ben picked up the two-year-old. She squealed in delight as he swung her up onto his shoulders. He then carefully bent down and hoisted the one-year-old up. He planted a kiss on her nose, shifted her to his side, and then grabbed the last grocery bags with his free hand.

I blinked in surprise as a warm feeling spread through my heart. I don’t think I had ever seen anything as sweet as that moment ever in my life. I would have never expected that soft side from Ben.

I thought about leaving; there was really no point to following him in the first place. However, the thought made my heart ache. I couldn’t tear myself away. I wanted to see more of how Ben interacted with these kids.

A few minutes later, Ben emerged from the house again with the kids following him like baby ducklings. Ben was carrying a ladder and wore a well-used tool belt at his waist. As he set it down and climbed up the roof, the kids scattered around the yard. I mentally counted all of them, and shook my head in amazement. There were at least twelve that I could see. How in the world did Ben’s parents provide for all of them?

As I sat there watching them, a sudden, unsettling feeling came over me. Ben was the one that had gone out to get the groceries. Ben was the one that was currently fixing the roof and keeping the rambunctious kids in line. Ben was the one I had seen working two jobs, when most high-school kids could barely handle one. There were no signs of adult supervision anywhere. I didn’t know how I knew, but I felt fairly certain in my assumption.

Ben was taking care of them all by himself.

I placed a hand over my mouth as that realization hit me between the eyes. No wonder he always seemed uptight. I couldn’t imagine the responsibility he must’ve felt weighing down on his shoulders. It made me wonder, though, how he had gotten into this situation in the first place.

“Skye! Be careful!” Ben called, startling me out of my thoughts “Remember what happened yesterday?”

“I’m being careful!” A young girl’s voice called back.

My eyes followed where the sound had come from. My jaw dropped involuntarily and my eyes bugged out of their sockets. A girl that looked to be about seven was giggling as she floated a few inches above the ground!

My eyes darted across the clearing, hoping to find some plausible explanation. Instead, I only saw more things that left my mind reeling.

A girl with bright red hair was standing at one edge of the clearing, and then, in the blink of an eye, she was standing at the other side, the grass torn to shreds in her wake. The little two-year-old was chucking rocks that I would have trouble picking up! A boy was running around the yard, switching back and forth between being a normal boy and a golden retriever.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the heels of my palms to my temples, telling myself that I wasn’t actually seeing what I thought I was seeing. Stuff like this only happened in comic books, not reality.

I tentatively opened my eyes again, hoping and praying that what I was seeing was only my fried brain playing tricks on me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I rubbed my temples again, still trying to process exactly what I was seeing.

The kids had super powers.

A strong hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder, and I let out a startled shriek. I whirled around to come face-to-face with Ben’s piercing green eyes. They were as cold and hard as granite.

“Would you like to tell me what you’re doing here?” He growled.

Author's Note

Wow. It seems like it's been forever since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. :P

I haven't gone through this and edited it for typos and things, so if you find any, please let me know! It definitely makes my job a lot easier. :)

Hope you like it!

Reviews

[Erin DeLis]

O.O And the plot thickens. Nice work, as always you never fail to amaze me.

[A. L. Allen]

My goodness! Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I'm so glad you like the book so far. ^_^

[Erin DeLis]

It would be hard not to, it's extremely well written with amazing descriptions. I love it :D Can't wait for the next chapter.

[Summer'sBreeze]

You know I've already sent you a reply, but I just have to put in an actual review. ;)

This chapter is awesome. You make the readers sympathize as well as feel the heartbreak Riley is going through.

As for Lance... *pops fingers* Well....I don't think he'll mess with Riley anymore. XDD

I saw maybe one typo (seriously that's an achievement in itself), but I can't remember where it was.
LOL
I'm such great help, huh?

Bottom line -- It's awesome and I await the next chapter with bated breath.
*cough* alsoawaitingtheepicadventureofRoandgang *cough*

[A. L. Allen]

Hahaha. Thanks for the additional review, dearie! ^_^

Yeah... I read through it right after posting, and find quite a few typos myself. I just got too lazy to fix them myself, because it's such a pain to do it through WC. I'll do it through my computer... eventually. ;P

Welcome back!

[Summer'sBreeze]

It IS a pain to edit through WC. :/
Wish they'd fix that next.

[A. L. Allen]

Yup. I totally agree.

[Calibaster]

Wow, that was amazing as usual. Well, there was that one part where you dropped the letter e on the word use, but it was great! ;)

[A. L. Allen]

Thanks! I appreciate the review. :)

[Calibaster]

you're very welcome. :)