Opposites Attract - Riff Lorton

chapter sixteen

"I'll pay. For everyone." Kathleen was the first person to approach the ice cream truck stationed in a nearby park.
"All the Jets and their girls, I'll pay for."
The ice cream man smiled and nodded, giving Kathleen a cup of vanilla ice cream.
"You ain't doin' that, doll."
Kathleen stuffed Riff's mouth with a spoon full of the cold dessert.
"I already did."
Riff looked at her with a look of disapproval.
Kathleen's smile didn't fade as she handed a cone to Riff.
He hummed as he took it from her.
"I do like chocolate."
"Good. Hey, when's your birthday?"
"What? It's the 23rd of May, why?"
"I just like to know. That's not very far.
Chocolate or vanilla?"
"Chocolate, but I don't like cake."
Kathleen hummed.
"Good to know."
"When's yours?"
"July 18th," Kathleen thought to her previous two birthdays, which she spent all alone.
"Where's Baby John?" Kathleen wondered, he was still sick after all.
Riff called the boy over,
"What's up?"
"I just wanted to check your temperature, your voice doesn't sound too great either…"
Kathleen lifted a hand to his forehead, immediately letting go from the heat that radiated from it.
"Time to go home, has everyone gotten their ice cream?," after a nod from everyone, Kathleen told Riff to take everyone to her house for lunch, instructing Baby John that it would be better if he didn't eat any ice cream, which in turn made him a bit sad.
"Go straight to bed and lie down."
She told him.
Riff gathered everyone and was about to start the path to her- their house.
After a look of concern, Riff gave Kathleen a kiss and left with everyone else.
After a bit of waiting in line, Kathleen paid the man, and rushed over to her house.
Everyone was already inside when she got there, and Baby John was doing exactly as instructed.
"Is he okay?"
Poor Tessa was worrying about her love.
Kathleen reassured her that he would be fine,
"He's got a cold, is all. Probably from the rain last night. I have some medicine but he needs to eat something first."
She rushed to the kitchen and quickly put together a sandwich, with a glass of water to take for him.
"Tessa, take this to him. I'll go grab the medicine."
Tessa took the plate and glass for him, and Kathleen grabbed the pills.
She walked in on Tessa stroking Baby John's hair lovingly as he ate the sandwich.
"Here you go. I'll just leave it here, eat one pill when you're done."
Tessa thanked her and Kathleen left the room.
She went to the living room where everyone was.
Everyone but Riff.
"Has anyone seen Riff?"
Ice replied with a bit of a cold undertone.
"He went back to the trailer."
Kathleen had forgiven Ice from when they first interacted. She didn't know why he was upset at her.
"I'll get started on lunch."
Mamie and Dot got up to help.
"Kathleen, why don't you sit down, or go find Riff. We're going to take care of lunch. Don't worry about it."
Kathleen tried rejecting Mamies offer, but was convinced in the end.
"I'll go find Riff then, if you need anything… I'm sure you'll find it."
She told the others of her plan, and left to find Riff.
As she climbed the junkyard's rubble to reach Riff's trailer, she heard silent sobbing.
She knocked before softly opening the door.
"Riff? Sweetheart? Are you alright?"
Riff's face was lifted from his hands. His eyes were swollen and red.
"Why're- why're you here?" He asked in more of a curious than accusatory tone.
"I came here looking for you, Riff."
She sat beside him on the small bed, immediately wrapping her arms around him, shushing his crying, and assuring him that he'd be okay.
"What's wrong?"
The words broke Riff.
He fell into Kathleen, sobbing in her arms.
"What's wrong, my love?"
She asked again, stroking her fingers through his hair.
Riff told her that he felt awful that he was making her take care of him. That he felt he was an awful person. He thought he wasn't capable of such love, and that he had done things that would make him undeserving.
"I don't deserve you."
His voice was cracking.
"You deserve the world. Why do you think otherwise?"
"I- I've done awful things to people, and I have such a fuckin' mean exterior, and I feel like an asshole most of the time- and I'm just an awful person. I don't even know why you like me, why you're asking me to move in with you."
She didn't bother correcting his language, it wasn't her main concern right now.
"Because I do think you're deserving of love. I don't think you deserve any of this anxiety. I'm asking you to move in with me because I like spending time with you. I love you, Riff."
His sobbing had stopped, but not his crying.
"I need you to know that even though you haven't felt like it ever, you are loved. By me, by the Jets- you are loved in so many different ways. And you deserve it. And I am willing to do whatever it takes to help you feel that way, no matter how long it takes.
She got up and rinsed out a cup for water, putting it to his lips as he drank it thirstily.
She set it down on the counter when he was done.
"Take a deep breath, sweetheart."
She mimicked the movement for him to do.
"Are they all waitin' for us?"
Kathleen thought.
"I don't think so, not necessarily. Mamie and Dot are making lunch, everyone was sitting in the living room when I left, and Baby John was with Tessa. He's got a cold."
Riff nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize for feeling things. You don't have to do that."
She paused.
"Why do you feel like this Riff?"
Another pause.
"I was in the foster system 'til I was 18. That place is a shithole."
Kathleen connected the dots as to why Riff was so open to adoption.
"I'm sorry. No child deserves to feel like that. It's good that you can pinpoint why, though."
Riff stood up suddenly.
"I've gotta finish packing."
He splashed some water on his face, wiping it with his shirt.
He stuffed clothes in his one cardboard box, along with the one glass, bowl, and fork he had.
"Okay let's go."
Kathleen raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
Riff nodded like it was obvious.
Kathleen sighed with a smile.
"Are you alright?"
Riff returned the smile.
"Yeah. I'm hungry though. Let's go eat lunch."
Riff grabbed the box with one hand, and held Kathleen's with the other, dragging her outside.