ANOTHER LONELY DECEMBER, Riley Johnson

Slippery... and Wet

🎧: Woman - Fränk

I regretted all the drinks as soon as my alarm went off. My head felt noisy and crowded, my vision was a bit blurry and it took me a long minute to adjust to the light. I painfully dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. The amount of time it took me to actually put my pants on was embarrassing. I decided to wear brown pants, a beige wool sweater and a thick oversized leather jacket that matched with the pants.

I somehow managed to be on time so I stopped downstairs to get some breakfast to go. In that specific moment I regretted telling Harper that I would walk, but I didn't feel like calling her to ask her to pick me up so I walked out the main door and followed the signs leading to the ice rink. The fresh air slightly burned the tip of my nose, I didn't mind the feeling. It took me longer than expected to get there but I didn't see Harper's car in the parking when I arrived so I assumed they were running a little late. I waited outside until the vehicle drove past me and parked nearby.

"Hey, you look..." Abby started but stopped herself.

"I know, I should've slept more" I smiled shaking my head. As much as I hated keeping secrets from Abby, I didn't want her to know about my late-night encounter with Riley. I couldn't put her in a position where she was going to have to hide something to Harper. It wouldn't be fair. Plus, there wasn't much to tell.

"Are you ready?" Harper seemed really excited. I simply nodded. I was excited about this activity but not as much as her. "Oh, and this is my sister Sloane, by the way" she briefly said, pointing towards the woman who had just got out of the car.

"Hi, I'm Amelia, it's nice to meet you" I politely smiled. I had heard Harper's version of her relationship with Sloane growing up... Let's just say I was happy Abby and I were always close and there for each other.

"Nice to meet you. This is my husband Eric and our kids Matilda and Magnus" she introduced her family, pointing towards each one of them as she called out their names. I have to admit the twins kind of freaked me out which might be because I had watched The Shining a little too much... I wasn't really a kids' person, I tolerated the well-behaved ones but if Sloane was the way Harper described her, I did not want to be anywhere near her children.

"Well let's go then" Harper almost pushed us all inside the building. We got our skates, if I had known I would have brought my own, and headed towards the rink. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. Abby seemed a bit nervous; I knew she wasn't really into ice skating. She almost broke her tailbone once. I grabbed one of the kids' helpers and handed it to her. It was hard to tell if she was thankful or slightly mad.

"Thanks" she mumbled as she finally reached the ice. I had to fight the urge to laugh, biting the inside of my cheek as she began "skating" all curled up like an elderly person.

"You're good at this" Harper said, gesturing towards my effortless movements to gain speed on the slippery material.

"Yeah, I used to compete as a kid" I shrugged. I had experienced my fair share of activities as a child. I just liked trying out new things, getting to learn a bunch of tricks... Until I got tired and switched to a different activity.

"Honestly, what hasn't she tried?" Harper whispered to my sister, making her laugh.

"Don't laugh, you'll lose balance" I warned her, which is exactly what happened. Thankfully she had the helper and was able to keep herself up. Harper sighed loudly.

"Is she going to be everywhere we go?" she sounded slightly upset and was looking at the other side of the rink. I was a bit surprised when I noticed Riley standing there with what appeared to be her family. She didn't mention that last night, I thought to myself.