Obsession (18+) (FINISHED) (2024)

15

Paris

"What the hell are you doing out here?" I questioned as I ran up to Riley.

I put my hands on my knees as she remained curled on the mud, the rain staining her clothes a darker color as she stared off into space lazily.

She wasn't falling asleep; she looked... numb.

Quiet, but fragile.

I stared down at her after a moment, blinking rain off my lashes. "Come on," I urged, "I don't want you getting sick."

She never responded.

"Riley," I pressed.

Silence.

I sighed then, staring off into the distance for a moment before gazing around curiously.

My eyes settled on the stone in behind her seconds later. "Why are you here? What's today?"

I searched her for a moment, knowing I'd get no answer—not even a curious glance—so I stared back up at the tombstone, reading it.

Micheal T. Princes.

Beloved Father and Husband.

May He Rest In Peace.

My eyes darkened, and I gazed down at Riley seconds later.

"This is your father's grave, isn't it?" I kneeled down beside her, not earning a response. "Is it the day he died? Or his birthday?"

She was quiet.

I sighed, staring off into the distance for a moment.

And I gazed down at her. "C'mon, Riley. Let's get you home."

She surprisingly didn't resist when I guided her arm around my neck like I did the night before and lifted her in my arms.

She turned further into me as I walked back home; as if she needed my warmth.

Well... she was stuck in the cold for God knows how long.

And she was soaked and covered in mud and grime.

Riley let me carry her home with no resistance, clearly too tired to care this time.

Which wasn't entirely normal for her, to be honest.

I walked through the streets for almost twenty minutes when I gazed down at her. "Hey, Rye."

She didn't respond, but I knew she was listening.

"Can you get under my jacket?" I asked her. "Just grab the edges and wrap it around yourself. I can't do it because I'm using both arms to carry you."

She was silent, but eventually listened and caught the edges of my jacket, turning further into me and wrapping the edges around her arms.

I was trying to warm her up with my body heat because I assumed she was freezing.

But when I felt her icy skin press against my chest—through my shirt—I knew she was colder than she was supposed to be.

How long had she been lying there for? It took me just an hour to find her.

Was she there for an hour?

It only took ten more minutes before we stepped onto Riley's driveway, me ringing the doorbell seconds later.

Riley was clearly confused as to why I wasn't afraid of her mother, but she never asked, so I never answered.

The door opened seconds later, and Violet's brows drew together when she saw me.

But they rounded when she noticed Riley was covered in mud, huddled up with me.

"Jesus Christ," she said, stepping out and attempting to assess her daughter, but I didn't let go. "Is she okay?" Violet said. "Did she get hurt, too?"

"Yes," I responded gently, "she's okay. Just a little numb. Can I take her to her bedroom?"

Violet eyed me for a moment before nodding, letting me in the house willingly.

"Her room's upstairs," Violet stated.

I nodded even though I already knew. "Thanks."

And I carried Riley up the stairs and to the right—where the bathroom was—setting her on the floor gently and testing to see if she could stand before letting go.

She could, so I stepped a little back and smiled.

"Take a shower," I instructed her. "Warm yourself up, okay?"

She nodded numbly.

And I walked out of the bathroom, making my way down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Oh," Violet said, "are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm not hungry," I said. "I wanted to talk to you, though."

"So tea then?" Violet answered.

I nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, that's fine."

Violet and I had been talking for over thirty minutes, and toward the end of the conversation, Violet slouched back in her seat, exhaling a curse.

"I know this was going to happen," she murmured. "I didn't expect it so soon. I was also kind of hoping it wouldn't, either."

I nodded.

"Does she know who you are?" Violet said. "Riley?"

"No."

"Good," Violet said. "Keep it that way for now. She won't understand it yet."

"So, you're okay with this?" I said.

"Yeah," Violet responded. "The way you explained that makes sense, really. I knew my husband was in some bad business with your people, and I know you want redemption. He talked about you all the time, you know, Paris. Paris, this, Paris, that. 'Paris is going to change the world' kind of thing."

I just nodded, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Alright, well I guess it's settled then. You need to go in hiding."

Violet nodded.

The moment we heard footsteps receding down the stairs, Violet and I looked up, seeing Riley come down with a straight face, but her brows were relaxed.

Man she looked depressed.

"Hey," Violet said softly, "Paris just said he wanted to take you to the movies tonight. Why don't you two go have fun?"

Riley shook her head after getting a water bottle from the fridge.

She was probably trying to rehydrate after all the crying she did.

"I'm not in the mood," she said in a flat tone.

And she went right back upstairs without another word.

"Wow," Violet said, "usually she's all over things like that. Why is she...?"

"Guilt," I responded. "And also the fact that she knows I'm hiding something and it concerns her."

"You can't tell her, though," Violet said. "She won't understand."

"Yeah," I said, sighing, "that's why this is going to be hard."

Violet scooted out of her chair. "I'll go talk to her, Paris. I'll try to convince her to come down to at least chat."

And she went upstairs, knocking on Riley's door before opening it and stepping in.

I decided to silently follow to hear their conversation, peering through the crack of her bedroom door.

She fucking intrigued me.

Riley was sitting on her window sill, watching the rain pad against her windows.

Wow... text book depression.

That was kind of sad.

AUTHORS POV:
I love how curious Paris is of Riley, he's curiosity reminds me of a child to bee honest 🐝. Also, do you guys like Paris?