He looks at me funny..

Chapter 17- Acting normal for their sake

Riley's POV:

It was hard to explain to my parental unit why I; their 17-year-old daughter, had fainted onto their lounge floor with tear marks staining her face. It took a hell of a lot of lying to get myself out of that situation. I said something along the lines of "I was watching the last harry potter movie and in my despair, I lay on the floor crying." It was scarily weird how easily they accepted that excuse as if I spent all my time lying on floors crying because I don't. 

I was trying my absolute hardest to not think about what had gone down last night but it just lingered at the back of my mind like an irritating chore you've forgotten to do. If I hadn't gone to the kitchen at that exact moment, whoever was haunting me could have sauntered into the house. And that thought scared me the most out of everything. 

I snapped out of my thoughts as if a string was attached to my thoughts and reality and someone had just yanked it. I was standing in front of my closet. How did I get here ? After not having had any sleep all last night, I had begun to do things that were hard to explain. Like I just moved from my bed to my closet without realising it and how my hand has started reaching for the envelope that lay on my desk. Clearly something important was being held captive in this folder just like my memories of that night lay prisoner in my mind. I couldn't open that envelope. Not yet. So I walked over to my bag and plopped it in proceeding to then glance at the alarm clock that was seated on my bedside table only to be greeted with a flashing 5 AM. Great! I had two hours to kill and nothing to occupy myself with. So after a lot of contemplation I decided to do what everyone does to kill time... watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

My mother seemed to have somehow gotten it into her mind that I was either crazy or emotional or possibly both. Which is why she had decided that to fulfill her role as a parent, she would drive me to school today. Needless to say, I was annoyed with her and just completely done with her for the time being. Now don't get me wrong I love my parents so much, but sometimes when they start screaming at my friends and scolding me for absolutely no reason, yeah, that's when I get pissed. "Is this going to be a permanent thing ?" I asked with a distasteful expression. Apparently my mom didn't like my question which is why we are currently sitting outside my school building while she lectures me and I pretend to listen. "Young lady don't think that I haven't noticed you acting differently recently. You sleep more often, you're completely unresponsive and let's not forget about the fact that your little rude comments are COMPLETELY inappropriate!" Breathing heavily she glared into my eyes and remained there. For a second I thought that she knew, but then to my relief she looked away.

"Mom you know I have trouble sleeping so why can't you be happy that I am actually getting some. And the only time you or dad talk to me is in the morning and every single human being is unresponsive that early in the day. Mom, I might be being a little more rude for which I'm sorry, but what about you? I still don't understand why you felt the need to screech at my friends even after I asked for your permission to invite them over!" I knew that being gentle was the only way to deal with my mother so gentle I became. Before she could reply I bid her farewell and stepped out of the car and into a place I would have never thought I'd be relieved to see.

When I left the house, I knew that eventually I would have to talk to my friends is I didn't want them prying around, but I didn't think it was going to be this hard. When I saw Bailey walking down the hall my immediate reaction was to fling my locker close and race to the nearest bathroom. Right as I was a few steps away both Connor and Mason decided to walk down the hallway, so before anyone saw me I stumbled into the bathroom, slammed the door shut and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. Thank God, no one else was in the bathroom, otherwise I would have a lot of people looking at me and right now I don't think I could have handled it. 

I sat in the stall trying to delay seeing my friends for as long as I could because I was scared that a. they hated me or b. I would spill my guts about what happened two nights ago and the yucky feeling in my gut made me realise that I couldn't under any circumstance let anyone find out. Coming to a steely resolve, I nodded my head in the tiny cubicle to myself. I had gone through all this and I hadn't even opened the envelope yet! I knew that if I stayed in the bathroom for the next thirty minutes I would miss them all in first lesson and it wasn't much, but I needed a breather. 

I reached out for the envelope that was lodged between my math and chemistry textbooks. Violently, a tremor spread it's claws throughout my shaking body. Swiftly, before I could change my mind I tore off the flap of the envelope and turned it upside down into my lap. Quickly, I dropped the envelope onto the cubicle floor and grappled for the weight that fell towards me. I turned over the piece of paper. It was a picture of a stick. A pregnancy stick and a positive one at that. I dropped to my knees and vomited acid into the toilet bowl. Relief filling up the hunger in my stomach.

Leaning back, I wiped my mouth with toilet paper before leaning my head against the stall door. Someone who I knew was pregnant or why else would I be sent this picture. This realisation made me anxious and grateful because not only was I now aware of someone elses private matter, but if anything were to happen to her or her child, it would be my responsibility because I could have protected her. With that I had made up my mind, I would find out who was with child and I would do everything in my power to help them.

"Riles.. is that you in there?" My heart sped up as Bailey's voice invaded my tiny cell. She had probably spotted the familiar pattern of my bag through the cracks in the stall door. "Y.Yeah its me Bailey." Scrambling desperately I clawed at the envelope and the picture that had appointed me as a guardian. Bailey seemed to have moved closer to the door that separated us "Was that you throwing up?" She asked curiously making me halt my movement and push my frazzled hair away from my eyes. "Yeah, I haven't been feeling well all morning that's why I didn't meet you at your locker. Hold on I'll be out in a second." I shoved the contents of my hand into my bag with so much force fueled by my anxiousness, that they got wrinkled beyond repair.

Plucking my bag off the ground and onto my shoulders, pushing my hair back once more before I opened the door and walked to the sinks, smiling at Bailey as I would normally. 'Be normal. Be normal. Be normal' I continuously chanted to myself. No one would find out anything if I continued to act normal. And that was what I would continue to do. For the sake of that child and that mother.