Swallow

Chapter 1.34:

Twelve and a half minutes had never felt so long and so short at the same time.

That was the exact length of time Riley and I had been sitting in the car next to each other without uttering a word.

Time passed differently when you were awkwardly trying not to stare at the girl sitting right next to you in a car.  I had a terrible time focusing on anything but her. If she moved even the slightest bit, she stole my attention, which meant my eyes were barely on the road.

Riley was utterly incapable of sitting still.

I started to say something to her and stopped myself so many times that I lost count. I was good at a few things, but making small talk and holding a conversation had never been one of them.

When we pulled up to her house, Riley's mom was standing in the driveway trying to balance bags of groceries on her hip. I felt terrible as I watched her try to take as many as she could in her hands.  It made me think of my mom and how she had nobody at home to help her out.

All because I couldn't find a way to keep myself clean.

My guilty son conscience was overruling the asshole portion of my brain as I sat there deciding what I should do. I switched my car's ignition off to see if I could help Mrs. Davis. It was the right thing to do.

It also gave me a few more minutes with Riley; I didn't want to admit to myself that was the real reason I might be doing it.

I wasn't ready to say goodbye to her yet.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked as she gripped the door handle.

She always worried about everything. It was another little quirk of hers that both amused me and pissed me off at the same time. 

I climbed out of my car and started walking to the back of the van. When I got a few feet away, Riley's mom spun around and jumped when she saw me.

"Ezra, it's so nice to see you again." Mrs. Davis' eyes grew as wide as Riley's did when she was caught off guard.

"Hey, Stacie. You want some help with those?" I asked, motioning towards the full trunk.

"Really?" She smiled and looked relieved. 

"Here, how about you go back inside and I can get the rest of these." I walked over to her and took the groceries she had in her arms. They were way too heavy for her. She was definitely trying to lift too much in one trip.

"Thank you." She said as she blushed and pushed a lock of hair back of her face.

Riley made a chirping noise behind me which caught her mom's attention.  She looked around me, surprised to see her daughter standing there. Her eyes examined Riley's outfit and I could see the mom disapproval forming on her face.  I was used to that look; my mom gave me the same face every thirty seconds I was in her presence.

I felt bad for Riley.

"Hey, Mom," Riley didn't miss a beat and hugged her quickly.

Mrs. Davis wrapped her arms around her daughter and squeezed her until she couldn't breathe.  I noticed she ran her hands along the upper portion of her back like she was searching for something.

When she pulled away, she had a frown on her face.  I didn't understand the little telepathic exchange between them, but the expression on Riley's face let me know she got the message.

"Hey Peanut, what are you two up to?" Mrs. Davis asked her suspiciously.

"JD drove me to that concert last night. It ended pretty late and I forgot my keys, so I went back to the band house instead of coming home." Riley caught a case of the rambling word vomit again.