Unknown Beginning

Part 64

Things came to a head Saturday night when Kenny received a text from Tyler demanding that she go down to the front door and let him in the building. Kenny had panicked at the thought that Tyler had shown up unannounced and debated going down to talk to him. Riley comforted Kenny but reinforced that Kenny should wait until Monday to see and talk to him as she originally planned.

Not even ten minutes later however, Tyler was knocking at their door telling Kenny to let him in because he needed to see her and just wanted to talk.

Riley took charge then, encouraged Kenny to go into her room and recruited The Other Kelsey and Steph to go in with her and play some music. Next she called Russ, explained the situation, and asked him to get the RA (resident advisor) to make Tyler go away. Turns out, not only did Russ get the RA but he also called campus security and joined both security and the RA to make sure Tyler left and didn't return to the dorm for the rest of the weekend.

Luckily this event seemed to be a turning point for Kenny. She had been so anxious and upset about Tyler showing up and concerned at his reaction that she was more open to a discussion of how these were unhealthy dynamics in a relationship and that it was in her best interest to end it now. She even agreed to go with Riley to see a counselor on Monday to help support her in ending the relationship. Which, with herculean effort and immense support, she did.

Riley knew Kenny would struggle with the relationship ending and sticking to this decision and thus suggested Kenny set up frequent appointments with her counselor for the last few weeks of school. She also offered to walk Kenny to any class her schedule would allow and recruited Russ, Steph, and The Other Kelsey to ensure Kenny would never be left alone.

Riley initially worried that Kenny would find this overbearing or unnecessary but to her surprise, Kenny agreed to this plan and thanked Riley and their friends profusely for all their support. Kenny even mentioned after the first week that she had made a new friend, William, the guy from her psych class who had walked her to the counseling center. She confided in Riley that making a new friend felt like a big step to her. She had spent all year avoiding talking to new people, especially guys, to avoid making Tyler jealous but she felt a sense of freedom in forming new friendships now. This newfound freedom gave her hope that she could start fresh and which meant she could now, for the first time, envision returning to school next year without Tyler.

She had also made a point to be very clear with William that she was not looking for anything other than a friend; which she was happily reassured to hear that was all William wanted as well. He even hung out in their dorm during that last week of classes when they all hung out in a group. A group that sometimes included James as well.

This same group consisted of Riley, James, Kenny, William, Steph, and The Other Kelsey, all ended up going to a party the week before finals started. And it was at this party that, caught up in the happiness and excitement of the party, Riley kissed James in front of all their friends. Riley hadn't even cared who saw or what they thought.

The situation with Kenny and Tyler had given Riley a lot to think about and that included reflecting on her own relationship and James. Riley had come to the conclusion that she was done hiding. Riley didn't want to live in fear of the unknown or potential ways that something could go wrong. She decided she trusted James and had to trust their relationship could weather any storm that may come their way.