Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 165

Minutes later, I found myself running along the water's edge, my feet carrying me to somewhere I did not know, a jumbled mess of emotion, fear, pain, and longing... And before I knew it was happening, the tears streamed down my face.

People walking along together, chatting about their day, or simply enjoying the view, looked at me as though I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had...

Feeling a vibration in my pocket, I pulled out my phone, slowing my stride to answer. "Hello?" My voice sounded strangled in my ears, cracked and breathless.

"Riley?!? Sweetie, what happened?!?"

"Mom?" I hadn't even thought to look at the caller ID.

"Yes! Honey, you sound horrible! Are you okay?!?"

A sob broke in my throat, "No. No, I'm not..." Finding a nearby bench, I sank down, and spilled everything. I told her about LA, about Harry and Bree, about how I felt; my anger, my fear, my broken soul...

Like the wonderful woman she was, she listened to all of it, quietly taking it all in. When I finally stopped, really breathing for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she spoke up.

"I'm so sorry..."

What?

"Mom? What on earth do you have to be sorry about?!?"

"I feel like this is all, at least partly, my fault."

"Mom...what?!?" My mind reeled. How could she possibly think that any of this was her fault?!?

"Riley, I want you to listen to me...to hear me out before you say anything..."

Oh God...

"...Okay..."

"You may have been a child when your father and I split, but you were old enough to understand what had happened."

"Yeah," I scoffed. "He cheated on you."

"He did. With his assistant, our friend, someone I'd trusted for years." She took a deep breath. "He hurt me, and you, but until you got older, I didn't realize just how badly it had affected you."

What was she getting at? How did Dad leaving us have anything to do with me and Harry?

"When you were in school, and your friends were dating one boy one week, and another the next, you never got into all that. You never even dated. Instead, you had your guy friends, and your girl friends. You had fun, and hung out with all of them, but it was very...safe. Don't get me wrong, I slept very well at night knowing that you could hold your own, knowing that I didn't have to worry about you getting pregnant or giving into peer pressure. But, don't think I didn't notice that it was because you chose not to let anyone get too close. You protected yourself from pain by staying away from romantic involvement. At the time I figured you'd just phase out of it, but then it continued into adulthood. Sure, you dated and everything, but nothing lasted very long. Anytime something bad would happen in your relationship, you'd simply run away."

"Mom..." I shook my head, not knowing if I wanted to hear anymore. The numbers were adding up, and I knew exactly where she was going.

"Riley, hear me out." She paused, punctuating her authority. "Then you met Harry, and the two of you became nearly instant best friends. He was everything you needed, everything you could ever hope for, everything I could ever pray for you to find in another person. But, he was safe. He never pushed the limits of your friendship, so you never had to take a chance with him. Once again, he couldn't hurt you, because you were 'just friends.'