Sitting In Traffic

Chapter 58- Lonesome

Riley walked into her home sobbing with a stained dress. She heard everyone's voice from the living room start to quiet down when they heard the front door open. No one was expecting Riley home so early. Lando and Max were still there, they would've been gone before Riley got back if she left on time. But she didn't due to unforeseen circumstances.

Riley didn't walk into the living area like everyone had expected, she went straight to her bedroom, not coming in contact with anyone. Max sat up slightly, trying to glance down the hallway to see if she was coming, but instead heard a small sob escape Riley's lips before she slammed her bedroom door closed. He got up from where he was sitting quickly and everyone started mumbling to each other curiously wondering what had happened.

Riley realized she had dropped the business card she was handed somewhere in the building or while walking away from Arthur. But that only added to the emotions that she was feeling that were continuously being heightened by the hormones running through her body. She was supposed to be getting her period any day now, her emotions showed more than usual.

"Riles" She heard Max say gently from the other side of the door, placing a knock on it. "Rye can you let me in" Max tried opening the door but it was locked.

Riley went entirely silent, trying to wipe her tears but they kept coming forth. There was mascara stains all along Riley's cheeks and a redness to her nose. She was still in her stained dress, a dress she wanted to get out of for this exact reason. Riley didn't want to feel more embarrassment when Max saw her in a wine stained dress. She felt pathetic, that everything happening in her life currently was pathetic.

"Riley" Max knocked on the door again.

"Can you give me a second" Riley asked in a very broken voice that she was trying to conceal, only for Max to jiggle the handle.

"No Riley let me in" He said, hearing the quiet clink of her heels until she reached her bedroom door.

Riley turned the lock when she knew Max's hand wasn't on the door knob anymore. Riley could hear everyone's quiet whispers from down the hall when she cracked the door open. Everyone was confused beside Lando, he was the only person in the house that knew every detail of what had been going on lately. He was close enough to both Riley and Max to know. Daniel had only just found out, he still didn't understand Riley's dynamics with Arthur and Max entirely.

"Who did this" Max said as soon as he saw Riley's dress. He closed the door behind him quickly so no one could try and take a peak to see what was going on.

"Julia" Riley said, "She 'bumped' into me and poured her wine all over" Her chest rose and fell again. "And I lost the FIA card"

"I have a card you can use" Max reassured her, which didn't help ease any of her emotions or thoughts. 

"The one I was given had a specific date on it" Riley remembered, letting the tears flow again. Riley turned to her walk in closet, wanting to find something to get changed into. She wasn't going to the bars tonight. And she wasn't going to the cannes festival. Riley wasn't mentally prepared for an outing like that again.

"What else happened" Max followed Riley but was met with yet another closed door. He opened it, seeing Riley struggle to find the zip on her dress. "Let me get it"

"I can get the zip" She said frustratingly, taking a step away from Max when he approached her. Riley was looking into a mirror that was built into the wall across from her. A mess. That's what Riley saw. She looked a mess. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red, she had remnants of mascara on her face and the dress was the cherry on top. "This is a fucking mess"