Girl in a Hoodie: Where the Future Lies

Chapter 58

James's POV:

The front door opens slowly as I was sat on the sofa with the TV playing in front of me. It had now gone past ten o'clock and I hadn't exactly been watching  anything, but more so had been trying to distract myself from the worries that had been surpassing my brain. Ellie was upstairs, sleeping in our room, but I had kept the door open in case she started crying so I would hear her. Riley walked inside the house and firmly shut the door behind her but she was wearing different clothes from what she had been when she left. Somewhere along the lines of a tight, lacy black bralette and jeans shorts would match what she was wearing, with her hair tied into a low messy bun of which had two curly strands of hair hanging by the sides of her face. She looked cute. And hot. But she didn't look like Riley.

"Hey...James..." she said slowly, walking towards me. I looked at her, not sure whether to be soft or ask a bunch of questions. She seemed slightly tipsy though. "Where's Ellie?" she asks. 

"Sleeping in our room. Where were you? Did you raid Alexa's wardrobe or something?" I couldn't help it. I had to say what was on my mind. 

"No," she mumbles. She takes a seat next to me and all I could smell was alcohol. "Before you ask, I haven't been drinking, okay," she says, beating me to it. "You know how Alexa's kind of homeless at the moment?" I nod. "Well, she got a job at the club and is trying to save up money for a one bedroom apartment. And I... Well, I sort of agreed to work a few hours there as well in order to help her get money."

"Riley, you're already doing a placement at the school, how are you gonna have time to work at a bar as well?"

"It's only on weekends, four to six hours a day. I get to call in and choose the hours, and it's twelve pound, twenty five, a day. It's not much, but it's just enough to help Alexa."

"And have you thought about helping us?" I ask, taking her hands in mine. She looks up at me and tilts her head to the side as if she didn't understand. "We're not even perfectly stable ourselves, Riles. I get that you and Alexa are close now and all, but you can't help her without helping us first. I'm only gaining thirty six pounds a week right now, with you getting a pay of student finances which equals at least a hundred and eighty five pounds a month. Then from that, we have to pay the electricity and gas bill with taxes, food and drink, general supplies, Ellie's resources and things, not to mention regular milk and nappies-"

"I'm trying here, James," she cuts me off. "I get that we're not the richest right now, but I'm just trying to help out a friend."

"And I'm trying to help out us."

"But your family literally donate so much money to us every week anyway, from your grandma, mum, dad, uncle, aunts, pretty much everyone. We're fine financially and Alexa isn't, okay?"

"But are we really, Ri?" I ask her. She keeps quiet, not saying a single word. "I got a call from e.on today and they're increasing the pay for gas and electric to fifty eight pounds a month. That's a little under a quarter of our money gone."

"I don't see what any of this has got to do with me helping Alexa out, though," she says. "Are you seriously telling me that there's something wrong with helping a friend gain tips?"

"No, I'm trying to tell you that we're struggling at the moment so you shouldn't just go ahead and get a random job to help a friend who bullied you for years on end and you know you can't trust-"

"Again with the rants, James!" she breathes, sighing aggressively. "I know that Alexa bullied me, but that doesn't mean that just because I have a good house whilst she's homeless, that I should bully her back. She helped me when I needed it and so I'm doing her a favour. Maybe if you actually bothered to do something with yourself other than scold me all the time, you'd understand a little more," she says with a frown, then gets up whilst detaching her hands from mine and begins to walk towards the staircase.