AFTER YOU.

001.

          CHAPTER ONE

There ended up being a heart on the line, but it wasn’t mine.

Every beginning has an ending. But this story has its own fairy tail. It’s not one of the ordinary ones, it’s real life. Hurt, Anger, Happiness and Love. All in the cycle of one another is Love. Leia and Riley met each other in middle school but never talked. It was until Junior year in high school when Riley beat up her now boyfriend, Ryan, when they talked for the first time. He immediately knew he had a soft spot for her.

A crowd was around Ryan and Riley, recording and laughing. Riley had Ryan on the ground, giving his last punches. Riley’s fist went up and that’s when Leia pushed through the crowd of people. She shoved him off of Ryan, trying to get Riley to the nurse. Blood was on his fist. “Go help your boyfriend.” Riley’s voice wasn’t as harsh as his words. It was soft and sweet. She brushed off how her body head to toe went numb at his words. She went to Ryan, helping him up. He shoved her away, “fuck off Leia.” She felt embarrassed. 

Riley met her at her locker with a small bruise underneath his eye and his fist wrapped. He saw her tear stained face and that made him want to rage at Ryan even more. “What did he do?” She shook her head looking at him. And that’s when he knew Ryan had his last chance hurting her. “Come here.” His tone was gentle but firm. “Please?” Hearing the desperation in his voice, she wrapped her arms around his waist with her face buried into his chest. His scent lingered on his shirt. It made everything around her seem to not matter anymore. “I’m sorry.” She sniffled. His left hand went to the back of her head and his right arm went around her waist. “For what? You weren’t the one fighting.” She paused feeling confused on how he said she wasn’t fighting. “Why did you fight him?” The confusion made her pull back and out of his arms. 

“Leia.” She gulped down making an audible noise. “Why?” She wasn’t going to stop asking until she knew why. “Why Riley?” She kept her distance. 

“Because he doesn’t deserve you.”

“Fuck. You.” He felt a pain in his heart like a dagger that he just hurt her. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.” He wanted her to come back, watching her walk away hurt. She wiped her face feeling stupid for letting him see the vulnerable side of her. She didn’t know how Ryan stayed with her but she knew why he left. Or so she thought. ‘Who could even stay? But who would leave?’ She ended up thinking to herself. Her best friend, Arabella, stopped her in the hallway. “What’s the matter?” Leia sighed out knowing Arabella saw right through her but she couldn’t see right through herself. “It’s like everywhere I go it’s a haunted house but I’m a ghost.” Arabella’s face had a white pained expression. “Is this about Ryan?” Leia shook her head. 

“No.” Arabella didn’t know what this was about then. Leia bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood but she couldn’t bite any harder. “I’ll talk to you later.” 

Leaving all of her stuff at school, she walked out. She let the wind take her home, going her own way. She thought she was lost at one point. She saw Cornelia street, her street. 

A lot happened in her house for memories to be at Cornelia street. Seeing him was on Cornelia street. Seeing Riley. It all didn’t feel real. She heard her parents yelling from the inside and she didn’t want to deal with it. She snuck into the back of the house and put up a ladder against the roof. She climbed onto the roof, sitting on the roof. By 7 o’clock it was dark out and that means her parents gave up on arguing and went to do god knows what. 

It was embaressing knowing that not everyone elses parents weren't either always arguing or never there. It bothered her but who is there to tell?