Left or Right

Chapter 12

James's POV:

I held my phone in my hand during the end of practice as I sat down on the bench. I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for right now. A picture? A video? Text messages?
None of this was making any sense and I'm beyond confused as to why Riley can't just talk to me herself. What's with all the secrets and the lying and the avoiding contact? At first, I thought she had come back to Toronto to visit us but now I have a feeling there's a lot more to it.

"Hey, you okay there? How comes you're still here?" a familiar voice says, causing me to look up and find Amanda grabbing her bags from her cubby. She slings it over her shoulder and makes her way over to stand in front of me as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Is this to do with Riley?" she asks. 
"Is it that obvious?" I ask with a slight chuckle. 
"James, I used to date you. I know when something's up, especially if it's to do with Ri," she says before taking a seat down beside me. Sighing, I stuff the phone into the pocket of my black joggers. If anything, I didn't want to reveal a part of Riley's second life to Amanda without her consent. Talking about Ri with Amanda is a big enough thing in itself.

"You know, she was talking to me earlier," she says suddenly to break the silent rift between us. "I think she may have lost her love for dance in Montreal. That's why she was so shaken up about it when you asked her to replace Michelle in your group. She told me she's not really interested in dance anymore and wants to move onto something new."
"Really?" I ask and she nods.
I want to tell Amanda more. I needed someone's opinion on this whole thing - someone who can give me advice from an outside perspective, but I didn't want to disrespect Ri like that. I don't know how much information she's let onto Amanda and I don't want to say something I wasn't meant to. 

"You know, it seems like ever since she got back . . . she's been keeping things from me. She's been a lot more conserved and introverted-"
"Same old Riley then?" she cuts me off, laughing, but I don't find it funny. Sure, Riley used to be like that but that was before. She came out of her shell in the period of time we were dating and now she's only seemed to have crawled back inside. Amanda looks at me but I don't allow her to look at my eyes, instead she's met with the side of my head and she sighs. "James, Ri's been gone for quite a while now. God knows how much has happened in the time she was away. You can't expect her to have come back four months later and told you everything that's happened."
"Then what am I supposed to do, Amanda? How am I supposed to stop her from going back down that route where she . . ." I drift off. Apart from Emily and Michelle, I was the one other person who knew about the depths of Ri's anxiety. I can't just disclose such information to my ex like that.

"Look, James," she says, moving her hand to my arm. "I know you're worried about her. I know you want things to go back to how they were. And I know that you still love her. But girls are a lot more complicated than guys and I know that because I am one. If there's something she's not telling you, it's not because she doesn't want to. It's because there's a reason why she can't. Trust me, I know Riley and she's a smart cookie. She's not going to go around saying things if she feels it'll upset someone," she tells me and honestly, she was right. Riley was one of the most caring people I know. She'd put others before her even if her life depended on it.
Just then, there's a creak as someone steps inside Studio A and I turn my head around at the same time as Amanda.

"Hey, am I interrupting something?" Riley asks, biting her lower lip. I smile at her softly and so does Amanda before she stands up.
"No, not at all," Amanda tells her before she turns to me and quickly whispers, "Don't let your girl go, James," and then she leaves, walking past Riley who has a confused look on her face, her eyebrows raised and shoulders slightly lifted up.
"Do I want to know?" she questions teasingly. I stand up and smirk, pulling my bag over my shoulder.
"I don't even know myself." 
She laughs a little and we begin to head out but just as we turn the corner of the office, I feel her tug my hand, pulling me to a slight stop. Turning around, I look at her face worriedly and take a small step closer. "You okay?" I ask. She shrugs her shoulders, pressing her back up against the wall of the office. "What's wrong, Riles?"

"Have you looked through the phone yet?"
"Honestly . . . I don't even really know what I'm supposed to be looking for, Ri." She sighs and bites her lip, nodding her head slowly.
"If you speak to me, I promise I won't get mad," I try to tell her but she shakes her head violently in response.
"You might not but he will," she mumbles. I look at her, still not understanding. Was she talking about the guy she's 'dating'? Her dad? Nothing's really adding up right now. "Do you have my phone on you?" she asks, looking around and I nod. Taking it out of my jogger's pocket, I hand it over to her and she quickly uses her thumb to unlock her device before she swipes through a couple of things. The next thing I know, she places her phone against my ear where the speaker is and I listen to her voicemail automation.

'You have two new messages. To hear the first message delivered to you today at one-twenty-six p.m. press 1' 

Riley does just that and the look on her face is filled with sternness. Her eyes were narrowed, lips thin and tightened as she looks up at me before I'm met with a clicking sound and then a rough, masculine voice:

"Riley. I don't know where the fuck you are but you better get back to me soon. I'm with your parents who are worrying about you like mad. I get that you don't like me but there's nothing I can do about that. Just get back to me soon or I'm going to have to come searching for you myself."

"Ri, I don't get it? Who is he? Why don't you like him? What's going on?"
"Nate," she says bluntly, tucking her phone into her arm. 
"What?"
"His name's Nate and he's nineteen years old. He works at my parents business and they told me to get to know him because when we're apparently older they want to pass the business down to us."
"But what did he do to you?" I ask her, even more confused. 
"That's as much as I can tell you, James," she murmurs. "Now come on. Kate's locking up in five."