“Your brother never gives up.”
“I know,” she sighs. “Thanks for coming along.”
“Maybe I could come by later to see how…”
“You don’t have to.”
“Jamie’s my teammate, and we don’t abandon one another.”
She turns slowly, raising her eyes to mine, and I let myself be sucked into the emptiness I see there, and everything I’ve tried to keep together these past few months comes crashing down in an instant.
“Riley…” I try to speak, but when her name caresses my lips, painfully and with too much intimacy, something inside me snaps.
Her green eyes are hollow, veiled, and melancholy, her face is pale, drawn, and beaten, like she can’t find peace and hasn’t slept in days. It’s that lost look that haunts me, that makes my legs shake, so much so that I have to steady my hand on the wall to hold myself up.
I watch her, small and defenseless. I notice her silence and feel her torment. I can see it distinctly, even if she tries to keep it hidden.
It’s crushing me.
A few minutes of that silence is enough to leave me feeling surrounded, backed up against the wall. Screwed. And those feelings force me to speak.
“I’d just like to help you out.”
“There’s really no need.”
“Please, Riley. You’re exhausted, let me take care of everything.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, it’s not necessary.”
“I’m not pretending,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest, closing me out.
“You can let yourself to fall apart, you know. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“Never, Ian O’Connor. Not in front of you.”
And her words devour my heart, down to the last bite.
