The Forgotten

Chapter 7: "Of course."

DIDN'T PROOF READ

RILEY POV

Finally the weekend is here so I don't have to go to school and fake a smile. Besides going to school, I've stayed in my room. This week has been pretty weird for all of us, but that's not really anything new. Farkle, Smackle and Lucas have made attempts to come talk to me at school, but it was usually something small since there's not much to say. Maya and I on the other hand, haven't spoken this whole time.

Since I'm not in the mood to have awkward conversations with my friends, I locked the bay window and put covers on it to block out anyone from coming in. This caused the sunlight not coming in at all, which worried my mom.

"Riley, you need to get out of your room." My mom said from the outside.

"I wish to be alone." I mumbled under my covers.

"Come on Riley, you can't ignore them forever." My dad said joining in.

"And they can't keep this secret from me forever either. So until they crack, I will stay in this room and not move." I explained.

I heard a long sigh before my mom continued, "Ok, but I really do think you should reconsider. Later we'll have dinner out for you and if you decide to come out and eat, it's right on the kitchen table."

A sad smile came upon my face when they left. It was nice talking to someone even when if it was about a subject I'm not completely fond of.

The times that my friends have tried to come here don't go so well. If they don't want to tell me the truth then there's really nothing to talk about. It probably seems like I'm overreacting, but ever since I woke up I've felt like I'm a child being talked down to.

I remove the covers from my body and start to move around my room since I didn't want to lay down all day. Still thinking about the whole situation, I walk and slip on a sock, of course.

Suddenly my back hits the wall yet I didn't feel pain, but I do get something else in return.

*FLASHBACK*

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Lucas asked.

He kept stepping closer to me so I started to move backwards, eventually my back hits the lockers. "What are you talking about?"

"What I mean is that anyone else wouldn't dare to be near me, especially after what happened yesterday." Lucas said pointing to his bruises and scratches on his face reminding me of how that got there.

"What's your point?" I asked brushing off the memory of yesterday.

He hesitated before asking me one more time as if he wasn't ready for my answer, "Why don't you leave me like everyone else?"

I stayed quiet since I thought the answer was obvious, but apparently he needed a clarification. "Because I think that there's still hope for you." I answered.

His eyebrows knitted together as he became confused. I mean I don't blame him. He's done some things to push people away yet I still stayed. "When I look at you, I see someone who is capable of doing great things." Silence came over us as we didn't know what to do next.

The more I looked at his face, the more severe his bruises looked. Looking at them only reminded me of yesterday when I saw whole process of him getting them. I don't know why, but I brought my hands to his face and slowly and gently started to touch them. My fingertips gently slid across his face as we didn't break our gaze. I've never seen him this vulnerable before. Finally I just put my hands on the side of his face and gave him a sad smile.