Seven Days

Chapter Fourteen

December 9th

Thursday

The rest of the Frerin's shift went smoothly, no more calls, just a rather dull, quiet night of poker in the station, and then off to sleep, which of course, mocked him as he tried to wrack his brain with how he could even possible begin to explain what was going on to Syd.

Still, he finally managed to fall asleep around two and woke at seven and by the time he'd gotten home, Riley was insane with greeting him. "Easy, girl," he said as she pounced on him, tail and body wagging furiously. "I know Dís was here to take care of you, and you have no idea how long I was gone for, so... chill a little, okay?"

Actually, he didn't mind it all that much. Of all the things he'd missed about this world, Riley topped that list. When he'd rescued her from the fire and took her to the vet, the doctor estimated she was about six weeks old at the time. Her family had just left here there to die, and so without hesitation, he took her in. Women came and went, Riley was always there and had been for six years.

"Hey, what do you think about me asking Syd to move in with me?"

Riley sat, staring up at him with sad brown eyes, her tail swishing across the floor. He sank onto the floor with her, smiling as she promptly climbed over his left thigh and plunked herself in his lap, the way she always did. She hadn't figured out yet that she wasn't a ten pound puppy any more.

Again, he didn't mind. She was soft and snuggly and warm and her eyes closed as he stroked the silky fur along the top of her head. "I love her, Rile," he said softly, "and I wish it hadn't taken all of this for me to realize it. I wasn't lying when I told Thorin I've been in love with this woman since the ninth grade. I was just too fucking stupid to know it."

Riley opened one eye and yawned.

"Yeah, I know. She's not like Lisa, though. And it's not just the sex, although it is fucking incredible with her. I just like being with her." He rumpled Riley's left ear. "I want to marry her, if you can believe it."

Riley closed her eye.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Boring. But, the thing is, Rile, I have to convince her that A—I died, B—I've been given another chance, and C—I'm not telling her this as some bullshit scheme. Or, if she, by some stroke of crazy luck, believes a dead guy can be given a second chance, I'll have to convince her I'm not telling her I love her just to get that chance."

A heavy sigh clawed its way to his lips as he sank back against the footstool. "I love her, Riley. And if I hadn't been such a goddamn idiot last summer, I wouldn't be under the gun now. I have two days. Two fucking days to convince her how I feel or else, game over come tomorrow night. You'll go back to Dís and the boys, and Syd probably won't remember this week. Thorin and Al won't be a couple yet. And I'll be—"

His throat tightened.

His eyes stung.

His voice broke as he whispered, "I'll be fucking dead again. And I do not want to be dead. Not now."

He let his eyes close for a long moment, just sat there, petting Riley's head. He didn't want to lose his family again. Didn't want to put them through that hell again. And it had been hell for them. He'd seen it. His mother and father didn't speak of his death. When the duty officer showed up in at his parents' house in Wildwood, his mother refused to speak with him. She slammed the door in his face and went into the kitchen, where she sank into her chair and sobbed. His father went out onto the porch to speak with the officer and he remained stoic the entire time.

His funeral was surreal. The line of women alone who came to his wake astounded him, as he had no idea who most of them even were and realized he didn't care all that much. He saw Thorin and Lisa, her arm through his—which he'd assumed was because she needed someone to hold onto, although he'd later found out was because she and Thorin had spent the night together. He saw his sister and his nephews, all trying to put on brave faces.