Jiley Oneshots

It's Him [a]

Season 4

Riley dumped her bag onto her bedroom floor with a exhausted sigh and immediately stretched her arm out to relieve the cramp from carrying it home. Directly in front of her sat her desk, that doubled as a vanity when she needed to apply her makeup every morning.

As usual, it's surface was cluttered. Crowded with stationary, photo frames, notebooks and a water bottle. Her stomach twisted at the sight of the water bottle. 'Fresh Mountain Spring Water' the label read. Of course that's what it read. Her mind was immediately brought back to he ex-boyfriend and how she'd broken his heart by kissing another boy.

Guilt was the first emotion to cloud her brain, shortly followed by sadness but then confusion. Alfie was nice. He was sweet and attentive and caring. He was always there for her. But then there was James. James was loving and funny and selfless. How did they compare? How could she compare them?

Was it really possible to be in love with two people at once?

A tear slipped down her cheek as her gaze trailed away from the plastic bottle and onto the many picture frames perfectly placed on the desk. One was a group picture that featured the entire Internationals team with the trophy in the centre between her and James. James. He was the only common factor between each of the different photos. His chiselled face made an appearance in them all.

She sank her body into her mattress, perching on the side of her bed and holding a single frame in her hand. This one in particular made her heart ache. It's photo had been taken the night before he had gone away to London, at their date in Studio A. It was the last day of happiness she spent in his arms.

A loud sob escaped her mouth before she could control herself and cry silently. Why had things become so complicated? Why did she feel things for Alfie when she was happy with James? Why was it that Alfie had pursued her when she was already in a relationship? And why had she fallen for his charms?

More tears escaped her heavy eyelids as she thought about her situation in more depth. Her bedroom door creaked open and a head poked around it to see her hugging the photo to her chest.

"Riley, oh honey" her mother frowned, hurrying into the room with concern. She sat beside her daughter on the edge of her bed and wrapped an arm around the shaking girl. "It will all be okay"
Riley shook in her mother's embrace, letting her sobs increase in volume again for there was no reason to hold them back now. She couldn't find it in herself to form words, so instead she showed off the picture frame in her hands.

Mrs Raymond let her eyes linger on the photograph for a second before she tugged it out of Riley's grasp and placed it in the bed next to them. She opened her mouth to speak but Riley got there first.
"I don't know what to do mum" she cried, wanting someone to hold her and tell her exactly what to do and that everything would be alright. "I'm so confused"

"Is this about James?" The maternal woman asked delicately. She was aware of her daughter's break up and had, had to fight hard to hide her surprise when she was first told. As far as she had been aware, the couple were entirely loved up which made their split the last thing she expected. She had sooner expected them to announce an engagement or pregnancy than a break up.

Riley nodded tearfully, "I still love him mum. So much" she whispered, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what I feel for Alfie and I don't know how to fix this"
Mrs Raymond cupped her dampened cheeks and pressed a firm kiss to her forehead, "what part of this do you want to fix? Who really owns your heart Riley, because you can't have both of them"

"I know" she agreed in a small voice, "I know I can't have both. But how can I know who I want to be with?"
"Only you can know that honey I'm afraid" her mother apologised with a sympathetic smile. "You need to think about them both and realise who it is that makes you want to wake up every morning and who's arms you'd run into if you were ever hurt. Which one of them truly owns your heart?"