Pieces of Me

Chapter 7

Riley

It happened so suddenly.

Anna had to go in for dialysis three times per week, and it took hours. I used to take her to all of her appointments, since Kiara had work and since Anna preferred to hang out with me than her parents anyway. But we both knew Spencer hated being home alone with Randall, who had taken the month off from work back when he still thought it would be easy to talk to the son he'd abandoned. Anna did us all the favor of having Randall take her to her appointments.

Leaving me and Spencer home alone for hours, several times per week.

On one of those mornings, I went downstairs with Anna to find Spencer in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee and avoiding eye contact with Randall, who was trying and failing to get a conversation going. After Anna and Randall left, Spencer took tiny sip of his coffee with a barely-disguised wince, and I could have sworn his eyes followed me as I made my way to the coffee maker.

"So, what are you up to today?" he asked in a voice just a little too eager to be casual.

I turned to grab a mug to hide the smile I couldn't fight off. He was so cute. "I'm not sure yet," I answered.

"Oh. Well, did you maybe wanna hang out?"

I angled away from him while I poured coffee, grinning down into my cup. I didn't respond until I straightened my expression and turned around. Ever since he and Anna had that heart-to-heart, she'd had a hard time avoiding him. Which meant, I'd been seeing even more of Spencer. It was hard sometimes to even remember why this was a bad idea.

And it was, I reminded myself. A truly bad idea.

Not that I'd let that stop me.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, and turned around in time to catch the warming of his cheeks. I lifted a brow at that, intrigued at what ideas might be playing through his mind... and if they matched the ones I had.

"Want to come up to my room?" I offered.

Spencer visibly swallowed and nodded his head. I was surprised he met my eyes at all, but he did. His eyes were full of questions I had no answers to.

I always started my day with coffee. Always. Yet, I put down my steaming mug before it was cool enough to drink and nodded my head toward the stairs. Spencer set down his mug and followed me without hesitation.

What was I doing? Even as we approached my door, I had no idea. I was acting on wants rather than plans, and in my experience, that never went well. But it didn't stop me.

I opened my door and let Spencer proceed me into the room, then closed the door behind us. Even though we had the house to ourselves, there was something different about this, a tangible feeling in the air between me and him. Spencer had never been in here before. We always hung out in public spaces, and usually with Annaliese there.

I watched him take a slow lap around the room, examining my private space and examining everything I had sitting out. Framed photos of my parents, aunts, and cousins lined the wall around my dresser, which had a big antique glass mirror attached to it. It was a piece that stood out from the rest of the furniture in my room, which was all sleek and modern. The back of the dresser was lined with perfume bottles in different colors and shapes, all emptied of their liquid and filled with dried flowers. It was a hobby of mine, one I felt suddenly self-conscious of when Spencer reached out and gently picked one up, holding it close to his face to examine it.

He glanced over and caught me watching. "Pretty," he commented with a little smile.

"Thanks." The compliment warmed me, because I could tell he meant it even in that one brief word.