Left or Right

Chapter 49

.James.

I sat out in the waiting room of the police station, waiting for Riley to come out of the conference room she was currently in with two officers.

They'd wanted to interview her privately about her situation with Nate and as much as I tried to force myself to stay with her, I eventually pushed it too far and I had to stay out otherwise they wouldn't have wanted to hear from me at all.

I had no idea how she was doing alone in there but I could only hope she was doing the best she can and was telling them everything she needed to.
It was a lot but it was something that needed to be said and done and has been for a long time.

Soon enough, the door behind me swings open and I rotate my head around, lifting my head up as my elbows rested on my knees for me to come face to face with Riley who still seemed to be slightly shaken up by everything.

I quickly stand up on my toes and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my chest for a long-needed hug, making her wrap her arms around me just as much.

"Hey, it's okay, you're okay," I tell her, rubbing her back comfortingly, even though I was unsure of how much that was truly helping.
"I won't let him get away with this, I promise," I tell her.

She hums in response but I knew that meant she was unsure, so I keep her guarded in my arms until Officer Bradson leaves the conference room to meet us both.
He had a look of empathy written on his face and just by the look of it,  I knew he was siding with us.

Nate had done all of his destruction by now but no one was about to let him get away with it, and if they did then they had me to answer to first.
No one hurts Riley just to then have nothing done about it.

I hold Ri's hand as I turned to face the Officer who was looking at us pleadingly.
We didn't have very long. We only had a strict hour or so before we were due to be at the airport. Everyone else right now was busy getting their luggage together back at the hotel dorms.

"Is everything okay?" I speak up, needing to be filled in on what was going on. "What's going to happen?"

"Well based off of both interviews with each of you," he begins, nodding his head at us while I awaited learning the information.
"We have managed to gather enough data to class this as a necessary court case regarding the actions of sexual assault. Whether Nate Jerrard will be sanctioned for those actions can only be decided by a head Judge but we will make sure we sign you up with the most appropriate lawyer for this case possible. We understand your concern and we will be looking into things," he tells us.

I nod my head when Riley doesn't since she was probably contemplating everything herself, silently in her head, but I couldn't judge her for it.
This was a lot to take in, especially when it's all happened so quickly.

"The court case will proceed back in Toronto, won't it?" I double-check before being met with a simple nod once again, confirming my enquiry.
"We'll try and settle it for as suitable as a place and time as possible," he tells me.

It was enough to calm me down, knowing I wasn't going to have to take things into my own hands but I knew from the looks of things, Ri would still be stressing.
It doesn't take much for her to become bothered by something but I wasn't going to stop being there for her because of it.

Once Officer Bradson turns to leave a short few seconds after, I take both Riley's hands into mine while I stood in front of her, looking her in the eye.

"What if he gets away with it, James?" she breathes out as she looks at me with worry, clearly beginning to send herself into a panic, one I caught onto in seconds.
"What if I can't do this? What if I lose the case and this was all for nothing? What if Mom and Dad turn against me because of all this?" she rambles on.

I cut her off by moving my hand to her cheek, holding it gently before I begin to subtly stroke my thumb over her skin.

"Breathe,"'I whisper, reaching forwards until the tip of my nose brushes her own, making her hesitate as she holds her breathe for a moment to then let it back out again at the same time as I do.
"It's me and you, remember," I tell her, making her close her eyes.

She tries to shake her head but it doesn't work under the grip of my palm.

Knowing she still wasn't reassured, I lean in and press my lips lightly against hers to somewhat shake the heavy burden she was carrying off of her shoulders.
When we pull away, she sighs and reopens her eyes to look at me properly as she bites her lip.

"Me and you," I repeat, tracing my hand down her arm to eventually link my hand together with hers again.
"Against the world," she mumbles.

I smile at that and nod, taking one step closer.
"Exactly," I respond lightly until she reaches up and stops me from saying much else when she joins our lips together in unison again.

. . .

A couple hours down the line, we found ourselves seated on the plane beside each other with the rest of our team-mates spread around us.

We'd already been flying for half-an-hour max but Riley had already fallen asleep to some par from where she was sat by the window.
My hand had been resting on her knee, drawing circles over the top of her leggings while the two of us listened to my music, sharing a set of my earphones.

However, the moment the seatbelt sign switches colours, she stirs and shuffles about, rearranging herself.
Hauling up the arm-rest barrier between us, she sets it in place between our two chairs and then shuffled closer to me before wrapping her arms all the way around my chest, laying her head on me too which causes me to smile.

I remove my hand from her knee and hug her back just as much, stroking her here and there in a soothing motion.

It didn't take long for one of our teammates to say something as West and Eldon shortly pipe up to voice their opinions from the backseats.

"Hey, man," West says first, making me turn my head around slightly to face the two of them as they stood up, looking down at the two of us.
"You got lucky," he tells me, nodding towards Ri as she slept curled up next to me.

I chuckle and nod before Eldon decides to add his two pence in.
I knew this was just their way of apologising for all the shit they had caused in the past which put a rift between Riley and I but none of it was ever their fault.
It was mine and I'll take full countability for it all.

"She is pretty cute," Harry adds in, standing up too which ultimately gains my attention as I throw a harsh glare at him straight away.
"She's also mine," I respond, pulling her in closer to me.

The action causes him to chuckle and lift his hands up by either side of his head in surrender.
"Kidding," he jokes before all three boys laugh amongst themselves as I rolled my eyes when they sat back down.

I had been so occupied with things with Riley lately that I was almost glad West and Eldon had found someone to hang out with when I couldn't.
At least now choosing between spending time with the guys and spending time with my girlfriend wouldn't be a problem.

Just as I look back down to focus on her again, I watch as a light chuckle falls from her lips, proving she was very much awake.
Her hand moves to my chest where she traces my abs through the thin fabric of my t-shirt, keeping my eyes on her.

"You're cute when you're jealous," she whispers to me, making me roll my eyes at her even with the smile on my face.

"I'm not jealous."
"Mhm," she hums teasingly, making me scoff until she raises her head, looking up with her eyes opened.

Within only a few seconds, I capture her lips in mine as we kiss each other for those short few moments before pulling away, then I smile, stroking her hair.

"Now get some sleep, sleepyhead. Seeing as you didn't last night," I tease with a playful smirk on my face.
She whacks me in the chest but follows my instructions, beginning to fall asleep once again.