Left or Right

Chapter 23

James's POV:

"What are you doing here?" I spit at him, holding Riley protectively in my arms, her body curled up by my side as my chin rests over the top of her head, a stern expression on his face. I could tell this guy was older than both Ri and I, he had a stern look on his face, a growing beard, he was tall and more masculine.

"Riley shouldn't be here. She needs to pack her bags and leave this place," he says. His voice was deep too, much deeper than mine. His blonde curly hair opposed it. His tone didn't match his appearance at all.
"I'm not going anywhere," Riley snarls, her eyes digging deep into his own like daggers. I rub her back softly, shaking my head at her.
The last thing I want is for her to give more fuel to Nate and drive him to doing something she's going to regret. His hands had already been made clenched fists, ready to punch, and if it meant protecting her, I would take that punch for her any day.

"I think the only person who needs to leave this place is you," I tell him harshly, not letting Ri out of my eyesight. I push her behind me carefully, so that he couldn't even look at her. "Get out of my house and out of Ri's room."
"I don't listen to little boys like you, Jonathan," he spits, standing up and approaching me, a crooked smirk on his face. I roll my eyes with she shake of my head but don't take any steps backwards. If I did, it would only reveal my weaknesses.
"Clearly you have a problem sounding names too," I retort. "It's James, Nathaniel. Get it, right," I tell him. 

There's the sound of a car pulling up outside and as soon as it's heard, I tilt my head to the side as I stare at him. "Now, like I said, get out of my house before my mother calls the cops on you."
Once the words leave my lips, he scoffs in my face and then nudges my shoulder, shaking his head.
As he's about to pass Ri, I pull her forwards so that he wouldn't have any access to her at all and as soon as he leaves the bedroom, I hold her hand tightly, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Are you okay?" I ask her, but she shakes her head, not saying a word. I take in the look on her face before sighing, stepping closer towards her and then wrapping my arms around her, allowing her to bury her head against my chest to disguise her tears.
Whenever she cried in front of people, it made her feel humiliated and like she was weak. I wasn't about to let her feel that way again, which is why I hold her close to me instead and don't probe her to talk.
Sometimes she deals with most situations better when it's silent and I will always respect that.

. . .

Later that night, I snuck into Ri's bedroom to find her laying on her side, her back to me as she faced her window instead. It was almost midnight right now and both of my parents and Piper were asleep in the rooms next door, but I couldn't sleep. Not like this.
I'd just had an encounter with Riley's 'boyfriend' a couple of hours ago and I didn't know what that meant. What was he doing here? What did he want with her? Are they even a thing? What would it mean for us?

Closing her bedroom door behind me to stop the light escaping through the hinges, I bite my lower lip slightly before heading over towards her. Slowly crawling onto the bed, I place one hand on her hip over the top of the duvet before moving one hand to her hair where I delicately stroke it.
She hums softly in response, and then rolls her body over to face me before smiling, her eyes fluttering open to look at me properly. I smile back at her softly, the moonlight shining through her window and causing us to see each other's reflections properly.

"Hey," I whisper to her softly.
"Hey," she mumbles back. She shuffles over to one side of the double bed before raising the duvet up into the air a little bit, allowing me to cave under them with her before I wrap my arm around her waist beneath the covers, causing her to cuddle into me as she places one hand on my chest and leans her head on my shoulder.
Looking down at her, I kiss her forehead lightly before taking hold of the hand she had placed over the top of my upper body.

"How are you feeling?" I whisper to her, my voice soft and low as I spoke. She shakes her head a little, sighing.
"I can't sleep."
"Me neither," I mumble. "Who is he, Ri?" I ask, stroking my thumb over the back of her palm softly. 

She bites her lip with the shake of her head, trying to think about what she wanted and didn't want to tell me.
"I guess you could say he was my 'will he or won't he' when I left for Montreal," she mumbles. "But that was before I found out he was nothing like you."

I take in her words for a moment, scrutinising them and trying to figure out more. I wanted her to tell me everything, to stop being so clever and playful with her words. I wanted her to let me in and let me in entirely, not push me aside like she tends to do so often.
"Look, I'll tell you soon, okay. But just let me process everything first," she whispers, moving her hand over my chest a couple of times to gain my attention. Looking at her, I nod my head and lean my forehead against hers.

"Just promise me you won't leave me again?" I ask her, to which she sighs and then kisses my cheek softly.
"Why would I ever want to," she whispers. "I'm not going anywhere for a long time, James," she tells me, making me nod my head as I cuddle up closer to her myself.
"I'm always going to be here," we both say at the same time before smiling at each other softly then we slowly begin to drift off to sleep laying right beside one another.