The girl next door

Chapter 40

James-
Today was Emily's graduation. Emily had to be there around 5:00, but it doesn't start until 7:00. "Heyy Look at you." I say hugging Riley from behind as she brushes her hair in the bathroom. She wears a green, spaghetti strap dress and white heels. She giggles while dragging the brush through her curled light brown hair. Her smile quickly fades. "What's up?" I ask her.

She sighs and puts the brush down on the sink. "I'm the only one going. My dad's in rehab, my mom's 3 hours away." She explains. I run my fingers through her hair and land on her cheek. She smiles again and buries her head in my chest. "I wish I could go with you." I tell her, rubbing her back. "Me too. She could only get 1 ticket though." Riley responds muffled since her cheek is pressed against my shoulder. "You'll be ok. I'll be here waiting for you." I assure her before she looks at the time on her phone and says she has to get going. I walk her out to the car and my mom drives her to the graduation.

At around 9:00pm I smile at the sight of Emily's car pulling in to the driveway from my window, and go downstairs. My mom follows me and starts congratulating Emily. She gets out of the drivers side in her cap and gown, and Riley gets out of the passenger side still looking gorgeous. "That wasn't so bad was it?" I ask her before greeting her with a hug. "That was hell. But I never have to do it again." She says sighing. I put my arm around her and we all walk back inside.

Riley-
Me and James walk up the path to Emily's dorm room, him carrying boxes and me carrying some bedding since he won't let me carry anything heavy. Emily got accepted into a pretty good college, and we're moving her into the student housing today. I tuck my still curled hair from a couple days ago behind my ear as I start to put the bedding on her new bed. Deborah stayed at the house since she couldn't leave Piper and the girls at home for this long, so when we leave it'll just be me and James which I always love. Although I'll miss my sister. Even when we fight she's always close to me. And the silent treatment we'll give each other never lasts long. Not having her around will be hard. It'll take some getting used too. But I'm really excited for senior year with James.

"I love you em." I tell my sister as I hug her and say goodbye. "Love you too Ri. Don't do anything stupid senior year. Like everything you did this year." She tells me and I roll my eyes in response. James gives her an awkward side hug since they aren't that close. He steps back by me with his hands in his pocket and I wrap my arm onto his, before we walk back to the car.

James-
The drive back was long, but fun. Riley always makes me smile. I drove with one hand on the wheel and one hand in Riley's. The sun was setting behind the homes leaving the sky painted with pinks and yellows, when we arrived on our street. As I pull into the driveway I look out the window and see a for sale sign being installed in Riley's old front yard. I put the car in park and take the keys out of the ignition still looking at it. Then my eyes trickle down the Riley asleep using my hoodie as a blanket.

I smile and get out of the car so I can carry her in. She's partly awake and adjusts in my arms as I walk up the stairs to my room. I set her on the bed and she curls up in the blankets, tired from the day she had. I get in with her, holding her from behind. A smile appears on her face as I wrap my hands around her. I soon fall asleep in her embrace. My favorite feeling.

I wake up early that morning since I fell asleep earlier than usual. I sit on the foot of the bed watching an old couple looking at Riley's house with a real estate agent out the window. The same window i first saw Riley from. It's weird imagining another family living there. I mean I've had a lot of neighbors come and go, I've lived in this house for a decade. But none of them compare to the impact Riley's had on me. No one does. No one makes me laugh as much, makes me smile as much, has helped me with my math assignments. Meeting her for the first time changed me. I never thought I'd want to settle down with someone. My life was so different back then. But It changed for the better. I don't think there's a girl better suited for me than riles. I look at her while thinking about all of this. But eventually she stirs and wakes up, catching me admiring her. She giggles as she sits up on the bed and cover the sunlight peaking through the blinds with her hands. I crawl back into the bed and hold her. Running my hands through her wavy hair. The most gorgeous shade of brown I could imagine. Everything about her is better than I could imagine. We lay there as the rest of the neighborhood wakes up. Cars drive off to work, birds start chirping. Our senior year starts in a couple weeks. And then off to college, most likely together. In this moment I know neither one of us wants to leave. I know that this is the beginning of a long life with Riley.