The Aftermath

Chapter 6

Riley's POV

Before I brought Addison out to catch the bus, I set her down to talk to her.

"Okay sweetie, you need to listen to me now, okay?" I speak calmly. She nods her head in response.

"Okay, now mommy is going to be a little late coming home again today, so don't panic when you get home. I'm going to leave the door unlocked so you can come inside when you get home, and don't open the door to anyone. Okay?" I tell her. She nods.

"Okay mommy." She replies, giving me a hug.

I needed more hours at work to make some more money. Any adult with a child would look down on me for leaving my five year old child home alone, but there were days when I wondered if I was able to put food on the table. I had to pay light, water, and heat bills, the rent, and of course food and clothes. And then there was school supplies that Addison needed for special projects in school. It was hard to keep up.

"Now, let's get you out to the bus." I sigh, grabbing her little hand and guiding her outside.

~~~~~

James's POV

After the bus left, and I could see Riley walking to work. It was a cold September morning and she was wearing a thin jacket. I grabbed my keys, ran out to my truck, got in, and started driving. I slowed down when I came close to her and rolled down the window.

"Need a ride?" I ask her.

"No." She replies icily without giving me a second look.

"C'mon Riley. It's cold out, and it will be like old times when I used to drive you to work." I tell her.

"I'm still working on trying to forget all those memories, I don't need to refresh them again." She snaps.

"Don't be like that. Now get in, it's no big deal." I tell her.

"I said no!" She yells and breaks into a run.

~~~~~

I made the stupid mistake of inviting Eldon and West over to see my house that afternoon.

After high school, Eldon got a job testing video games at some big shot company. West on the other hand, still lives on his parents couch. He hasn't changed much. He's still the jerk that he was five years ago.

"Any hot single neighbours?" West asks, rubbing his hands together.

"Well, there's a middle aged couple to one side, and Riley Marin lives next door too." I reply, mumbling the last part.

"Riley Marin? Loser, ex girlfriend Riley Marin?" Eldon inquires.

"Yeah, that's her." I reply.

"Oh, how is she?" West asks.

"Well, she's single, she has a young daughter named Addison and she works at a restaurant around here." I tell them.

"A single mom? I'm not surprised she's still single, but I'm mind blown that some guy would screw her. Well, other than you of course." He chuckles, shaking his head. I glare.

"Look, it's probably not her fault. Like she would want to be a single mom." I mutter.

"Hey, did you say she works at a restaurant around here?" Eldon asks.

"Yeah, why?" I inquire.

"How about we pay Riley a visit." West suggests.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea." I reply nervously.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" He replies, grabbing my arm.

~~~~~

The community is small, so it wasn't hard to find the right restaurant. It was kind of run down, but seemed to have a steady flow of the loyal, consistent customers. I looked around the joint until I spotted Riley. West seen her too.

"Well look who it is!" He calls out loudly. "Riley Marin!"

Riley looks up. She looks like a deer in headlights. West smirks before striding over her and roughly putting his arm around her.

"How long has it been? Five years? And look at you! Never really got far, huh?" He exclaims. Riley pushes away from him and fixes her hair. She looks around.

"How have you've been? How's the life of a single mother treating you?" He asks.

"Fine." Riley replies quietly.

By now, West had created a scene. Everyone had looked up from their meal and had all their attention directed at West and Riley.

"How about you grab us a table, huh?" He asks.

"Okay." She replies. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. She grabs three menus from the counter and waves us over to an empty table. I could see her shaking.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asks politely once we were all sat down.

"No, just run along." West tells her, shooing her away.

Once she was gone, he begins to laugh.

"Man, you would have thought that she would have made something with her life." Eldon speaks. I stay silent.