Girl in a Hoodie: Where the Future Lies

Chapter 48

Sorry for the late update, been kind of busy lately with studying for tests and exams, plus my birthday is coming up and I won't be able to post then so I thought I'd get an update out now instead of leaving it for later :)

TW: Contains vague mentions of self-harm.

Riley's POV:

I stood outside Alexa's, the cold biting my skin as I waited for her to answer the door after receiving her text message earlier. I had told James to drop me off at the Pharmacy closest to Alexa's house and he was now with Ellie, doing the shopping for the week. We had left the baby group over half an hour ago, although most of the car journey consisted of Ellie crying because she was hungry, which was one of the main reasons James had gone to the shops to buy some more milk for her. 

But when the door of the house I was currently waiting outside of finally unlocks, I find that it's not Alexa I'm met with.

"Maria?"

"Mrs. Harris to you," she interjects, folding her black stole shoulder scarf over her chest. "Who are you, anyway?" The door then opens wider and Damien joins her, his fully grey hair slicked to the side as he wore a blue dress suit as if they were having a whole dinner party or something.

"Oh, it's just Kylie," he sneers, drinking some of the beer he had held in his hand.

"It's Riley, actually, not Kylie," I correct him in a vague mumble. He scoffs in that way where you can tell that he couldn't care less, so I continue. "I was looking for Alexa? Is she here? She texted me and said to meet her..." But I drift off as Maria starts laughing in a somewhat cruel delight. "I'm sorry did I miss something?" I question with an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, dear. Alexa moved out two days ago," I'm told by Maria which forces my brows to knit together in confusion.

"Moved out? W-What do you mean moved out?" Damien pulls his glass away from his lips and leans his back against the doorframe, sneering in a frank amusement as a playful smirk broadens the dashing look on his face in a humorous way.

"She moved out. Packed her bags and left. Didn't say a single word, just left a note telling us she was leaving."

"Well, do you know why or where she went?"

"Who knows with that girl," Maria mumbles sipping her glass of wine. "Could be doing anything at any time, any place. Why do you ask, anyway?" she persists, looking at me questionably. I shake my head lightly, searching for an excuse.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to talk to her about something." They somewhat nod before it goes silent between us and they choose to say a hurried goodbye, then the door is closed in front of me. After I turn around, I take my phone out of my jeans pocket to video call James. 

"Hey, everything okay?" he asks as soon as he picks up and I see that he was still in the shops, wheeling the trolley down the ready-made food aisle.

"Yeah, um, everything's great."

"You sure about that?" he chuckles, taking in how unsure I seemed to be considering I spent a rather long while thinking about what to say to him. Of course I don't want to lie to him. It's not that I like keeping the truth from him, but I know that he doesn't want me seeing Alexa and so it gives me no other choice than to do so.

"Yeah," I laugh, swiping my hair backwards as, when I look in the camera view, I see it had managed to get even more messy than what it had looked like this morning. "I just thought that I'd take a walk on my own for a bit to think over a couple of things. I'll stop by the chemist as well to get the prescription but I think I'll also go down to the park for a while. That's okay with you though, right? Like, you'll be okay with Ellie for a bit?"