My Lifeline

32

Will's POV
THAT NIGHT

As soon as Ginger and I return from our walk, I flop myself down on my bed and gaze up at the ceiling, completely memorised by the kiss that River and I shared.

I can honestly say that this has been the best day of my life because of that one single event. I wish I had spent longer with her, but my parents would have flipped if I left walking Ginger too long.

Ginger is curled up into a ball beside me, resting his head on my chest as he listens to me talk about River. I tell him about her deadpan expression that always makes me giggle in private, about the doodles she draws every lesson when she grows too tired to work out equations, about the expressions she holds in her face when she reads books, about the smile she always hides that I want the whole world to see because of how beautiful it is, about her inability to understand sarcasm, about her bluntness, about her generosity and consideration of others. At first glance, River doesn't seem approachable. Not because she seems bitchy, but because she always keeps her head down and refuses to make eye contact. Before last month, I had never even seen her smile. I never knew what I was missing out on. Truth is, River is the kindness person I have ever met. She has a lot of walls and barriers that take a while to lower, but once they do, the most amazing parts of her come out.

I can't imagine her ever being cruel to another person. She would rather jump in front of a moving vehicle than make someone feel uncomfortable, and it's because she understands how that feels.

She truly is amazing.

Just as I'm about to tell Ginger that River cannot sleep without music playing, my mum opens the door and welcomes herself in.

"Dinner time," she says before leaving again, not bothering to close the door behind her.

I clench my jaw. Is it so hard to pull a door shut? Is it so hard to knock?

I throw on River's hoodie that only just fits my arms, and then I head downstairs to have dinner with my family. Usually we just eat in our bedrooms or the living room, but when my dad's not working during dinner time, we all have to eat it in the dining room. I find it torturous, but they believe it makes us grow stronger bonds. It's bullshit.

Klaus glares at me when I enter the kitchen. I grimace my face and stick up my middle finger subtly before sitting beside him at the table. He tries to move as far away from me as possible. I don't mind. He's a spoilt brat. Mum and dad have given him everything he's ever asked for, they never once told him off growing up, they always let him get away with everything. I'm a different story.

I stare at the mashed potato and salad on our plates. They all begin to eat and engage in conversation while I sit there and think about River.

She's all I can think about. Just the thought manages to put a smile on my stone cold face.

"They made me a prefect," I hear Klaus say.

I want to retch, but I just sit there silently and roll my eyes.

"We knew you could do it, sweetheart. Well done," my mum praises him.

"That's my boy, taking after his old man," my dad joins in.

All eyes turn on me.