Arranged marriage: Skeletons(sequel)

Chapter 29

Its been a month, just one whole month but Riley was already exhausted. Baby Lily was being a brat, making Riley's life a living hell by stealing away her sleep. Not just that. She was also being a very picky eater, not wanting certain brands of milk and only eating when Riley was around. It was as though a junior Layla had just been born because really, the girl was very possessive of her daddy.

She didn't want to sleep, bath, eat or even play without the presence of Riley and the older woman was getting frustrated. She needed time to herself to heal from her loss and heartbreak but baby Lily was being such a drama queen. It's like she didn't want the latter to spent too much time wallowing in her sorrow so she turned herself into a distraction.

Jennie hadn't seen Riley since the funeral because of work. She had recently landed herself a contract that needed her to visit a different country to engage with other poetry writers and reciters. Max was also better, but he was still a bit depressed and spent a greater part of his day drowning in the pain of his loss.

Mariposa and Murrieta grew close over the month, bonding as they each checked in on baby Lily but spent more time watching movies and eating cakes over a glass of wine because the baby didn't like any of them. She only wanted Riley, just her. But she was really cute, adorable even, and although she looked like Riley, Mariposa was convinced that the little girl had more of Layla in her than her daddy.

Late one night, Riley sat in her room drinking from a bottle of cold beer as she sat in the middle of her bed, staring at Layla's pictures that were littered on the bed. A quiet knock sounded on the door, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she quietly said, but it was loud enough for the other person to hear as they hesitantly opened the door. Jennie walked inside, closing the door behind her. Riley's eyes were glued on the pictures, the bottle held securely on her hand as a pillow sat on her thighs while she sat cross-legged.

"Hey," Jennie greeted quietly, not sure of what to do or say.

"I didn't know you were back," Riley responded, but she still didn't look at the younger woman. Her heart, it felt heavy. She wanted to get drunk, to forget. But when there's an attention-loving baby on under your watch, you cannot afford to lose focus. She knew her mother would check on the little girl, but she also knew that she was the only one who could calm her down.

A little Riley, as Layla had once said, but little Riley acted like gone Layla and the knowledge of that hurt. To know that her lover was gone but a part of her, a part of them both, would forever remain under her watch, calling her daddy and someday, requesting to know how she came to exist and where her birth giver is.

"I just returned an hour ago, thought I should check on you," Jennie replied taking a step further into the room. Riley looked up at her then, her eyes glistening.

"I'm not gonna kill myself, I don't need you lot watching over me like some vulnerable... suicidal... child."

Jennie let out a small breath, understanding the fragility of the other woman's emotions. She walks to the bed and picks up one photo. Looking at it, she smiles.

"Beautiful," she whispers audibly, eyes averted from the picture to look at Riley who narrows her eyes at her, menacingly.

"What are you doing here Jennie?" she asks, venom dripping from her every word.

Jennie felt the bite of the question, and hurt more from hearing her own name being called out in such a manner. Jennie, instead of Nini. But is she not the one who forbid the latter from using the nickname? Why then was she hurting. Then again, why was she there in the first place.

Without thinking about it too much, she walks around the bed and gets on it, sitting down next to Riley. Looking at the pictures, she gently pulls the beer bottle from Riley's hold, the latter intently watching her every move.

"I have no idea," she responds, before taking a swig of the beer. Bringing it back down, she looks at Riley and their eyes meet. She didn't drink, and really she hated the taste of the beer but she sucked it in as best she could because she needed its courage somehow.

"Do you wanna have sex?" she asks, and Riley blinks in shock.

"What?" she asks, not sure she heard right. Jennie shrugs.

"Mia says that having sex helps people forget their worries."

"So you're offering me... sex?"

"Yes, if you want."

Riley looks at her for a while before her lips break into a small smile, she chuckles lowly. It's short and quiet but Jennie still smiles at her as they sit next to each other.

"You've lost it," Riley responds, but the words are not said harshly and are not meant as an insult. Jennie grins.

"So you don't want to have sex with me?" she asks, acting confused. Riley keeps her eyes on her as one of her messy eyebrows raise at the younger woman.

"Have you ever even had sex before?" she asks, and Jennie's smile falters the slightest. She shakes her head no, but keeps her eyes on the latter. Riley smirks.

"So you're offering me your virginity?" she asks, the question making Jennie freeze as memories of their time together flash in her head. The car, the scene of the car when Jennie wanted nothing more than for Riley to take her, have her, but was filled with fear.

"I kept it for you," she wants to say, but bites her tongue. Because the truth is heavy, and the truth is scary. Jennie wasn't ready to face it just yet, but she was getting there, slowly but surely.

"Let's go out, have dinner and get lots of junk food for a movie nights," she answers instead, and Riley seems to really think about it.

"Lily-"

"She'll be fine. Our mothers are both here to watch her," Jennie cuts in, already knowing that the latter was about to protest because of the baby.

Riley thinks about it for a while, her eyes averted from Jennie to look at the pictures before she shakes her head and starts to gather them.

"Okay, " she says, getting up form the bed as she continued to gather more pictures.

"Okay?" Jennie asks, wanting to be sure that she heard right as she also gets up from the bed.

"Okay," Riley confirms as she puts the pictures away and fixes the bed.