Left or Right

Chapter 9

Riley's POV:

There's something nostalgic about the feeling of waking up in James's arms that just consumes me whole. We may not be together anymore, but the feeling's just the same as it was four months back. The sun was up and I could hear chatter from outside the tents, alerting me that everyone else was up too. I attempt moving my legs so that I could stand up but unconsciously make James groan in the process and it was then when I realised my legs were tangled with his.
Sighing, I give in and lay back down beside him, not wanting to bother his slumber. He habitually wraps his arm around me again and I rest my head on his shoulder a little, taking time to appreciate this moment with him but that only lasts until my phone pings, making my heart stop as I remember everything.

Quickly reaching over James to reach my bag and grab my phone from it, I open it up to find a bunch of missed calls from my parents, several texts from Emily, two voice messages from Deborah, and a numerous amount of messages from Nate.
"Shit," I mumble to myself. James must have heard me as he rests his chin on my shoulder from behind and rubs my arms lightly with his hands, his warm breath hitting against my neck as I stressfully run a hand through my hair.
"What's wrong, Ri?" he asks in a whisper and I frown, turning my head around to face him.
"We need to go back to yours," I tell him, beginning to worry. He places his hands on my hips and I look down at them before removing them and holding them instead. "I know you're confused. But we really need to go. I'll explain later," I state, taking in the look on his face.
"Okay." He nods his head and then stands up and helps me to pack everything. Whilst he folds up our sleeping bags, I pack up our bags and sort both my hair and clothes out until we're ready to go.

"You two are leaving already?" Michelle asks as soon as we get out of the tent and head for James's car. He keeps his hand placed on my back and turns around to face the team. We'd thought we would be able to sneak past them without a word but clearly not.
"I've got more plans in place with Ri for the day," he says. It probably was true. This is James we're talking about and he has a more spontaneous personality than he does laid-back. But it only leads to the team wriggling their eyebrows and sharing a series of 'ooh's before we leave.

Sitting down in the car, James places his hand on my knee, taking in the worry on my face. He had no idea what was going through my head right now and even if he was to know I doubt he'd understand. My phone pings again and I get an incoming call from Nate.
I don't answer it and put it back into my pocket but I don't take James's hand in mine either. Once he acknowledges my mood, he nods to himself and respects me by removing his hand and placing it on the steering wheel instead. I shouldn't even be here right now, let alone be talking to my . . . ex-boyfriend. But I am. And I'm falling for him all over again. Nate's going to kill me.

James's POV:

The moment we get back home, Riley and I enter the house to find Mom, Dad and Piper huddled around the dining table. Mom was holding her phone in her hand, stressfully running her fingers through her hair and Imogen seemed to be the only one who wasn't completely bothered by something. She was sat on the couch watching a cartoon on the tv like the happiest child in the world.

"Riley!" Mom shrieks, instantly rushing forwards and wrapping her arms around her, pushing me aside slightly. I was beyond confused right now. "Why would you do this? Your mother's been worried sick!" There was a mixture of relief, worry and anger in Mom's tone but I didn't understand any of it.
What the hell was going on?
"I just wanted to come and see everyone, Deborah," Riley says but just the sound of her voice clarifies she was lying. I don't know what she's lying about. I don't even know what in the world she's talking about but I know Riley. And I know when she's lying even if I don't know what the truth is.

"Mom, Riley, what's going on?" I ask. Riley rotates her head and looks at me, biting her lip, but Mom barely even addresses me and instead continues talking to her practical daughter.
"You need to call your mother. She said this Nate boy was looking for you and that you weren't home. She has no idea you came, Riley."
"I know. But I can't talk to her."
"You're going to have to soon, honey. Otherwise they'll book the next flight here to come and get you."
"What?" I say, raising my voice a little more. Mom begrudgingly sighs, looking at me now but I still didn't get it.
"Riley, you can't leave now. You only just got here," Piper says, gaining Imogen's attention and making my little sister waddle her way here. 
"Leaving?" I ask. No one answers me. I swear to god I'm the only one here who doesn't know what's going on. Everyone else seems to have an idea of what's going on - even the six-year-old does, but not me, the almost-boyfriend. How is that even rational?

"Deborah, please," Riley pretty much begs, looking at my mom with those wide eyes of hers. "You need to talk to my mom for me. I can't go back to Montreal."
"Why not? Darling, has something happened that we need to know about?"
I look at Riley too this time. Ever since she got back here, something's clearly been going on that she hasn't told anyone, not even me. I wish she would look at me and just talk to me but she won't and I don't get why. I don't understand anything right now and when things finally start to make sense, it only seems to become irrational two minutes later.
"I'm sorry," Ri mumbles. "I just can't deal with this right now."

Before anyone can say anything else, she leaves my side and quickly rushes up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. I look up the staircase, my eyes following her before she disappears. I look at Mom and shake my head.
"Will somebody please tell me what is going on?" I ask. My eyes meet Dad's but he looks just as confuzzled as I am. I look at Piper only for her to look down and then when I look at Imogen, her round little face is contorted with bewilderment. 

Mom sighs, looking at me and scratches her forehead. "Riley ran away from Montreal and Bradley and Alison didn't know about it," she tells me. 
"What?" Looking at my face, Mom knows I didn't need to be told twice. I was just processing.

Without a second thought, I turn towards the stairs and immediately run up the staircase. At first I knock on the guest room but I'm met with no response. I was about to just enter anyway but that was before I heard cries coming from across the corridor.
Turning around, I head in the direction of where they were coming from until I get to my room, and opening the door a little bit, I find Riley sat on my bed, her knees shaking as tears ran down her face and she breathed heavily. Immediately, I walk in and don't even bother closing the door behind me. I was too worried about her. Sitting down by her side, I pull her close to me and she shuts her eyes, allowing the teardrops to spill from her lashes and down her cheeks.
"Hey, it's okay," I whisper, rubbing her arms and back. "It's okay," I repeat.
"It's not okay, James. They'll force me to go back there," she mumbles. But again, I shake my head.
"I won't let them. Not if you tell me what's going on."

Sighing, she trembles and pulls herself away from my body. She looks down at her lap and fiddles with her fingers before making eye-contact with me once again.
"I can't tell you-"
"Why not?"
"Because you'll only wanna hurt him," she says and I look at her, confused.
"Hurt who?" I ask but as she pauses for more than five seconds, I already know this conversation is a lost cause. "Riley," I whisper, moving my hand towards her and placing it down on the space between us.
"Please, James," she cries. "Just leave me alone and stop caring so much about me for once in your fucking life."

She wasn't saying it with rudeness or arrogance in her voice. She wasn't saying it to offend me. There was nothing but true pain in her voice and that made my heart ache for her even more. Four months ago, she would have told me everything that was travelling through her mind within the blink of an eye. But now she's all closed up, just like the Riley I knew before I fell in love with her.
But even so . . .  hearing her cuss to me was like a stab to an unhealed wound. This wasn't the Riley I knew. She would never talk to me like this. This Riley was suffering and I couldn't suss out why.

"Come and find me when you're ready to talk," I mumble, then, standing up, I sigh and walk out before closing the door behind me. I can't force her to talk to me. She'll do that when she's ready.