Sitting In Traffic

Chapter 24- late to an unwanted dinner

November 12, 2019. 153 Days After Jonah

Riley was standing outside a restaurant in the middle of North Carolina alone. Noah had told her he was going to meet her there for dinner earlier that day. Which Riley was against in the first place, and he never showed up. It was freezing outside and she had word that he was on his way to pick her up. According to him, he forgot.

Riley was on her phone, ignoring everyone that was walking past her on the side walk. She was close to shivering, she was getting a incoming call from Joshua who had been constantly checking her location since she went off to college. Riley groaned, answering the phone and hearing his voice on the other line.

"What are you doing out so late?" He asked her, "The restaurant you're at is closing soon"

"Can you stop stalking my location?" Riley asked with wide eyes, crossing her arms and pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. "I got stood up okay"

"You were going out with someone?" Josh asked, almost glad, thinking she was attempting to move on from Jonah. But she wasn't. Noah was just a distraction. Just someone that Riley trusted with her feelings.

The only one, Riley trusted with her feelings.

"No," Riley said quickly, "It was just a friend thing" She said, and that was enough for Josh, just knowing that Riley was able to get close enough to someone at school after what happened that summer.

"What's their name?"

"Cody" She lied to him, Josh would've killed Noah if he knew that he was hooking up with Riley. They guy was about to turn 21 and Riley was freshly 18, he would've thought it was odd. "Josh I'll call you back later" Riley said, seeing Noah pull up in his car quickly.

"Alright," He said nervously, "I'll see you at thanksgiving right?"

"Yeah" She said hanging up the phone after he said goodbye.

Noah parked the car and got out just as fast. He was doing a quick deal with someone on the other side of town, hence him being late. He didn't forget, he just had things to do that Riley couldn't know about. Noah walked onto the sidewalk seeing Riley stood there cold, just wanting to go inside.

"Sorry I'm late" He said, putting an arm over her. Riley looked up at him seeing his red eyes, signaling he had been smoking.

"Are you high right now?" She asked, walking into the restaurant with his arm keeping her at his side.

"Just a little" He shrugged, walking up to the hosts desk with her. "Can we get a booth" Noah asked the host.

Riley stayed quiet until they were seated, following the host who looked oddly familiar to her. But she couldn't put a finger on it. Riley sat down on one side of the booth across from Noah, sighing quietly when she looked at him.

"What?" He asked, seeing a speck of sadness in her eyes that she was holding back.

"I don't know" She shrugged, "I just don't understand why you're driving under the influence"

"It was just a little weed" He said shrugging, already knowing the reason behind why Riley didn't like that. He was the cause in the first place.