Second Chance

Chapter 13

"Riley. Riley, wait!" I called after my best friend as he whirled around and stormed out of our motel room.

I jumped out of the bed and scrambled to put my pants, shirt and shoes on. I then ran after him, forgetting all about Maria, who was still laying in the bed. I caught up to Riley moments later, as he was walking briskly down the sidewalk.

"Riley." I said again, grabbing onto his arm.

He turned around to face me, scowling. "I came all the way back here to apologize. I even skipped lunch and the rest of the school day to buy some clothes and food for us." I glanced down at the four different shopping bags he had in his hands. "Then I come back, and walk in on you fucking some girl. You proved me right, Justin. I wanted to be wrong about you so badly, but I'm not. You are exactly the person I thought you were."

"Well, I mean, at least it wasn't one of your sisters." I defended, but continued on quickly as an expression of rage flickered across Riley's face. "I didn't even know her though. It just kind of happened. I was upset, she got me a drink, we started talking, then....one thing led to another, and...." I trailed off, not knowing what other brilliant excuses I could conjure up.

"I swear, Justin." Riley said in a threateningly calm voice. "If you try to sleep with any of my sisters, I will never forgive you, and your going to be really fucking lonely because you will have no one else."

"I would never do that!" I insisted. "I'm sorry, that was a bad example. Still, it's not like you know Maria. She's not Morgan- shit, that's even worse." I covered my eyes with my hands in frustration, feeling like the more I talked the more mad Riley got, I couldn't stop though. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. My life has become ten times shittier than before, ever since I got arrested two days ago."

Riley let out a bitter laugh. "Your life has gotten shittier? What about my life? My parents basically disowned me, I have a criminal record now, and I'm stuck living with a fuckboy who can't stop railing random girls!"

I winced, knowing I deserved that, but it still hurt hearing him say that. "I don't know what to say to you, Riley. Other than I'm sorry."

"Sorry only takes you so far, man. Your words are hollow, so you need to make it up to me some other way." He said, taking a step back.

"Wait, where are you going?" I demanded, staring at him desperately.

"Away from you, until you earn my forgiveness." He answered, taking another step back.

"What do I have to do to make it up to you?" I questioned, feeling everything that I had left slipping away from me.

"Figure it out man, I think you're smart enough for that." He said, giving me a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. He then turned around and walked away, with my food, clothes and money going with him.

—-

"So, that was Riley?" Maria asked, with a hint of amusement that I did not appreciate.

"That was Riley." I confirmed with a sigh. It was late at night now, and I couldn't sleep. Neither could Maria, apparently. "I really fucked up. How am I going to make it up to him? I need my brother back. And my money."

"Well, getting a job would be a start." Maria suggested.

"Did you talk to your dad?" I asked, feeling the slightest sliver of hope.

"Yes, but he refused. Apparently there's no room in the bar for a white boy thief." She answered, now sounding regretful.

I laughed a little. "A white boy thief, huh? Well, I guess that is pretty fair."

"I'm sorry that I can't help you, Justin." Maria said, and she sounded sincere enough, so I believed her.

Before I could respond, my phone started going off. I checked the caller ID, and to my delight I saw Riley's name on the screen. I answered it immediately, waiting for him to say something witty and hilarious. That was not the case though.

"Justin! Holy shit." He breathed, sounding relieved but also exhausted. "You got to help me, man. There's these two guys trailing me, and I think they want to jump me or something."

Panic flooded through my body. "Where are you?" I demanded.

"Tall Street, but I'm trying to make it over to Buckle Street." He answered, sounding as panicked as I felt.

"Okay, I'm on my way." I said as calmly as I could. "Just try and stay in that area. I'll be there soon, I promise."

"Thanks, man." There was a beat of silence, then Riley suddenly gasped sharply, "Oh, shi-" then the call ended abruptly, leaving me with the beeping sound.

"Fuck." I muttered, dropping my phone on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Maria asked in concern.

"I gotta go." I said, quickly getting out of bed and dressed again.

I was just about to go out the door, when Maria called, "Justin!" then threw something at me. I caught it, and realized it was a pocket knife. "Take it. Just in case."

"Thanks." I said, giving her a brief smile. I then ran out of the room, and slowly picked up speed. I needed to get to Riley right now, before it was too late.

—-

Tall Street. I was here, looking around wildly for my friend, or two sketchy dudes. I paced down the cracked sidewalk, scanning every building and alleyway. I couldn't find what I was looking for though, so I looked in the direction of Buckle Street, which was to my right. At first I didn't see anything, but movement a ways down the sidewalk caught my eye. I squinted at the figure, and realized it was Riley walking forward quickly. A few steps behind him were two large guys.

Riley suddenly made a sharp turn into an alleyway, and the two guys followed him in. I started running after them, and within half a minute I made it to the same alleyway. I crept around the corner, and saw the two guys cornering Riley against a fence in the back of the alleyway. Oh fuck no. They are not going to do anything to my brother.

"Give us all your money." One of the guys ordered.

"I don't have any money with me." Riley lied, although he's always been a fairly bad liar, so it was obvious that he was lying right now.

"Bullshit." The other guy growled. "Give it to us."

"How about I give you this instead." I declared, now standing directly behind them. After years of sneaking around my dad, I have become a master of stealth.

I whipped out my pocket knife and slashed it across the side of one of the guy's neck. He grunted in pain then whirled towards me. He tried to push me against the wall, but I was pretty strong, so I shoved him back. I held out the knife and glared at him.

"Get out before I kill you." I growled, looking him dead in the eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, then whirled around and bolted. I turned my attention to the other guy, but Riley had already slammed his knee into the guy's stomach, and he staggered back, nearly falling over. He looked at me, but before he could do anything I punched him hard in the face. He stumbled back again, then ran after his friend.

I smirked triumphantly, then brought my focus back onto Riley. I felt much better now that he called me for help. He gave me a faint smile, then said. "Thanks for that, but one of them had a knife too." He then looked down at his stomach that he was clutching, and I could see a steady stream of blood trickling through his fingers. Riley looked back at me and gave me a grim look. Moments later he collapsed to the ground, and my blood instantly turned to ice.

"Riley!"