Legacies

5

Riley slowly walked into the bathroom, his stomach filled with nervous butterflies as he prepared to face Neveah.

He took a deep breath and paused for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

What he saw next took his breath away. Neveah was sitting on the floor, a washcloth over her wrist and her face buried in her hands.

Her shoulder-length blonde hair was disheveled and tears were streaming down her face.

"Neveah?" Riley asked softly. "Are you okay?"

Neveah said nothing, her head still buried in her hands. Riley took a step forward.

"Oh my god, Neveah." Riley rushed to her side and gently took the cloth away from her wrist.

Sure enough, there were several fresh cuts on her arm. Just seeing the wounds made Riley's stomach turn.

The idea that Neveah was so upset that she hurt herself made him feel guilty and miserable.

"Baby, what did you do?" He asked softly.

Neveah looked up at him, the tears still streaming down her face. "It was the only way to make the pain go away, Riley. I... I'm so sorry..."

"Neveah, baby, no..." Riley said, his voice shaky. "I know... I know you're upset, but please, you don't need to do this. I'm here, we can talk, we can work things out, but please don't hurt yourself."

Neveah shook her head. "It's too late now, Riley. I've made up my mind."

Riley looked at her, tears in his eyes. "Neveah, please... don't do this. I need you, please..."

Neveah stared at Riley for a moment before smiling and touching his face. "Okay, Riley. I'm not going to do it. I'm just having a bad day."

Riley's face flushed with relief, and his tears turned to smiles, but the relief lasted only a few moments.

Neveah's expression quickly returned to sadness, and she looked down at her injured wrist with a somber gaze.

"But that still doesn't change what I saw last night," Neveah said softly. "Riley, what happened with Freya? What... what was going through your mind?"

"Neveah, I... "Riley paused, not sure how to continue. He knew he had no excuse for his actions, and even though he wanted to apologize, he knew it wouldn't matter.

"Neveah, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I swear I wasn't thinking. My head was full of booze and... and I don't know, I just lost my control. It's my fault, I know that, but..."

He looked at Neveah, hoping to see some glimmer of hope.

"No, I get it." Neveah said softly.

"But, Neveah," Riley protested. "You don't understand. I wasn't thinking straight, I was..."

Neveah cut him off. She put a finger over his lips and shook her head. "No, Riley, I do get it. Your explanation, your reasons... they don't matter."

She took her finger away from Riley's lips and got up from the floor, her expression a mix of anger and disappointment.

"You hurt me, Riley," Neveah said.

"I know..." Riley said quietly. He took a deep breath and looked away from Neveah, ashamed of what he'd done.

Neveah let out a sigh and looked back at him with tearful eyes.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've defended you, Riley? How many times I've stood by your side no matter what others thought of you?" She paused for a moment before continuing. "And this... this is how you repay me?"

Riley was silent, not knowing what to say.

"Neveah, I..." Riley started, his voice trailing off. He had nothing else to say, his mind blank and his thoughts empty.

Neveah looked at him with a tear-streaked face, her anger quickly fading to sadness.

"I thought we meant something to each other, Riley. I thought we trusted each other. It hurts to know that you could do something like this and just expect to be forgiven."

Riley said nothing, feeling the weight of her sadness.

He wanted to tell Neveah that he loved her, that she meant everything to him... but his words fell flat.

Silence filled the room, and Neveah and Riley just stood there, facing each other, their eyes locked.

Neveah's heart ached for Riley, knowing that he was sorry and didn't mean to hurt her.

But her pain and betrayal was still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't just forget about it so easily.

After several moments of silence, Neveah turned away from Riley. She walked over to the sink and turned on the tap, taking in a deep breath as she washed her hands.

"Neveah," Riley said softly, his voice full of remorse.

Neveah took in a deep breath and turned around to face Riley.

Her eyes were red and puffy from the tears, but she forced herself to stand strong. "Riley, I can't forgive you."

Riley said nothing, he just stood there, watching her.

"But that doesn't mean I can't love you," Neveah said softly. "I do love you."

Riley's eyes widened in surprise. "You do?" He asked, completely baffled.

"Yes, Riley. I do." Neveah said softly. "You made a mistake, a big one, and I'm not sure how our relationship can survive through this, but I can't just stop loving you."

Riley took this in and took a deep breath. "Neveah, I... I get it if you never want to see me again, I'll respect that, but I hope you know how much you mean to me."

His thoughts and emotions swirling around as he tried to figure out what to say at a time like this.

Just as Neveah and Riley were having this heartfelt conversation, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.