Forever and Ever

NINE-9-NINE

I stood there for what seemed like an eternity. The words that just came out of my father's mouth will never be forgotten for as long as I live. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

Has the world come to an end yet? I wonder.

"Riley? Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my reverie to see my dad looking at me in concern.

"Ye-yeah, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." I say.

"Riley, I'm really sorry. I was a real jerk back then. Th-That's why your mum left me. " He drew in a deep breath. "I promise you that have changed. I will never ever-"

"-does he know?" I ask.

"Does who know?"

"Tyler and his dad." I state.

"N-no," he hung his head in shame. "I could never tell him. He's my best friend."

"Well not anymore." I say.

My dad's head shot up and he stared at me with red eyes.

"What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath. "I can't keep this from Tyler. He-he's my friend. And worse, possibly my half-brother." I state.

"Nonsense! Don't you dare say that!" My father shouts, startling me a little. "I love your mother and yes, I have lied to her before but I have never ever slept with another woman. So don't you dare think that you and Tyler are related in any way, understood?"

I was too surprised by his outburst to say anything so I just gave a slight nod.

"Then tell me what happened."

"What?" He stared at me incredulously.

"Tell me why mum left you." I say.

"Riley, I-I don't want to talk about it. It's something I'm very ashamed of and I never want to be reminded of it ever again." My dad turns around and slowly starts to walk away.

"I have a right to know." I simply state.

"No Riley, you don't." He says sternly, running his hand through his matted hair. "Look, I have had a very long and exhausting day and so did you. So please clean up and go to bed."

"But dad-"

"No buts. Goodnight Riley." With that, he walked off. Leaving me confused and all alone in the dining room.

***

"Are you even listening to me?" A voice said, snapping me out of my daydream. I turned to look at the source of the voice and smiled guiltily.

"Sorry Dominic. I just have a lot of things going on right now." I apologized.

"What kind of things?" He asked.

"Family stuff." I say with a sigh.

He shuddered in response. "Ugh, those are the worst."

I lifted an eyebrow at him. "You've got into a fight with your parents?"

"Ah ah," he says wagging his index finger,"many fights." I couldn't help but laught upon hearing this. Sure it was no surprise that Dominic would have arguments with his parents but the fact that he was 'proud' about it made it funny.

"What's so funny?" He asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Nothing," I replied with a short laugh.

"Glad I could cheer you up then," he said, showing his straight row of sparkly white teeth.

"Yeah thanks."

"Anytime," he said, smiling again.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt you two love birds but-"

"Tyler!" I rushed to him and hugged him. Although I couldn't see his face, I could still tell that he was surprised at my reaction from his breathing. I quickly stepped away to look at him but only to see him turn away.

"Okay, you can stop hyperventilating now bro. She has let go of you already." Dominic said jokingly.

"Shut up." I say to him before turning to face Tyler." Hey, where have you been?"

"Why? Missed me already?" He asked, his cocky self coming back.

"As if." I snorted.

"So you don't care if I didn't tell you where I have been the past few days?" He taunted.

"Mhmm, no."

He nodded and started to walk away. Dominic and I stared at each other for a few seconds before running after him.

"Okay okay, you win. Now tell me." I say, holding up my hands in surrender.

Tyler laughed at my desperation before beginning. "I went on a business trip with my dad that's all."

We stared at him deadpanned.

"Seriously? That's it?" He nodded in reply. "You just made me waste my precious breath by running to you. Sheez." I say.

"Well, I'm going to make you waste more if you don't start heading to class now." He says tapping his watch.

I glanced down at mine.

"Shoot! Dominic! We gotta go!" I grabbed Dominic and we quickly ran towards the classroom.

"See ya later!" I shouted back at Tyler who was busy laughing at us.

"You can let go of me now," Dominic says before ripping my hand off his wrist. "Oh my gawd. You left claw marks on my wrist!" He whined.

I rolled my eyes. I swear, sometimes I couldn't tell if he was a girl or a guy.

"Psh, grow up." I say.

"Says the girl who's mental age is 4," he retorts.

And we bicker like this all the way to class. I must say, hanging around Dominic and seeing Tyler almost made me forget about the drama last night. Almost.

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Hey! So sorry for not writing. I know I've made alot of you wait for this chapter and I really apologize for that. But it's been so busy lately and since I have a big exam at the end of the year, I've been focusing alot on my studies. So I hope this chapter makes up for it although I'm a little rusty. I'll try to write as often as I can despite my hectic schedules. So please like or comment! Thanks you guys. <3