Breaking Free

04

"Riley?" My eyes slowly opened to the soft voice that was speaking. I blinked a few times, attempting to wake up. When my eyes finally adjusted to my surroundings, I saw Bryson sitting above me. A smile formed on my lips as I sat up. The last couple of days had been hectic between unpacking all my stuff into my new room at Bryson's, dealing with work, and dealing with all the crap that Matt had done, I was beat. Today was the day that Bryson and I would be making our trip back home to see our families.

"Today's the day," I said, still holding a smile. He nodded, smiling in return.

"I have the car packed and ready to go, so whenever you get your ass out of bed and get ready, we can leave," he said, causing me to laugh. I glanced over at the clock noticing it was only six thirty.

"Are you in that much of a rush?" I questioned.

"No, Emmy's just been blowing up my phone since like three this morning." I chuckled, getting out of bed.

"She's still on Paris time." I went over to the dresser, searching for something to wear. I settled on a pair of skinny jeans and a flowy tank top. "I'm just going to take a quick shower and then we can go," I said, making my way into the bathroom. I did take a quick shower, and it was probably a new record for me. I got dressed and headed back into the bedroom.

"That was quick," Bryson commented, making me laugh.

"I'm ready to go." He smiled, nodding his head.

~~~~

We loaded ourselves into the car to begin our trip home. It wasn't going to be a long drive, but the anticipation was killing us. We both wanted to see our families. It had been years since Bryson had. I had been home for Christmas, but I had a lot of explaining to do to Angela. I had only given her bits a pieces of the story because I didn't want her to worry too much, but I knew once I got there, she would be hounding me about it. I had officially become full time at work, and I was preparing to start the police academy soon. This was my vacation before life become too crazy. I knew for the four months that I would be at the academy, I would only be able to travel to Bryson's on the weekends. They only gave us the weekends off, and we had to be back fairly early on Sunday's.

"You hungry?" Bryson asked after about a half an hour on the road.

"Not at the moment, but I'm sure I will be later," I said, causing him to chuckle. We all knew that I had a huge appetite. Bryson and I hadn't really come to a decision about what we were. All we knew was that neither one of us was going anywhere anytime soon, but we wanted to take things slow to make sure it was really what we wanted. I looked out the window, watching the scenery change the further we went. I could slowly feel my eyelids becoming heavy, and it didn't take long before I was out.

~~~~

"Riley, we're here," Bryson said as he shook me awake. I opened my eyes, looking around at my all too familiar surroundings. A big smile spread across my face when I realized I was actually home. Bryson had stopped at my house first so we could see Angela and at least let her know we made it okay, but before I could even get out of the car, I saw Angela running out the front door.

"Riley, I missed you so much," she said as she wrapped me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, smiling.

"I missed you too, Angela. It feels like it's been forever." She laughed, pulling away.

"Bryson, get over here! It really has been forever," she said with a big smile. Bryson wrapped her in a hug, chuckling at her.

"I know you guys have other things to do, but why don't you come inside for a little while." We nodded, heading into the house. We all sat down in the living room, and Angela gave me that look. I knew she wanted to hear the whole story, and I knew that there was no way out of it, so I told her everything.

~~~~

"Angela, we really have to go. Emmy's waiting for us," I said. We had planned on eating at Mr. C's house for dinner to catch up with them.

"Okay, I'll let you guys go, but you have to come over again before you leave," she said as she gave us both hugs.

"You know that we will," I said with a smile. We quickly said our goodbyes and headed to the car.

"Boy does she like to talk," Bryson said once the car doors were closed. I chuckled, knowing all too well that it was true.

"She just missed us, and I know she's happy that we're talking again. She always had a soft spot for you." He shot me his signature grin before heading down the road to his house. When we got there, Emmy and Mr. C were waiting for us on the front step.

"It's about damn time," Emmy said as we walked up.

"Sorry, you know how Angela is," I said, causing Emmy to laugh.

"Why don't we go inside and have something to eat," Mr. C said as he gave us both a hug. We went inside, sitting down at the table. Mr. C brought out salad, lasagna, and garlic bread. I, of course, took two big pieces of lasagna. "Well, Bryson, how have things been with you?"

"Great. I got an amazing job shortly after moving down there, and I was able to get my own house. The only issue I have are those damn alligators." This caused me to laugh, almost choking on my food. "That's honestly how Riley and I reconnected." Mr. C chuckled as he took another bite of his food and Bryson explained the whole situation.

~~~~

"I still can't believe Matt did that," Emmy said as we sat outside on the porch.
"I know, I never thought he was like that, but looks are deceiving, and I've learned that with the job I'm in." She nodded. "I'm honestly happy with my life now though. Things happen for a reason, right?"

"That is too true, my dear," she said with a smile.

"Boy did I miss you. Tell me about Paris!"

"Paris was amazing. It was so beautiful, and it never got old. School was great, but I really started to get home sick. Obviously I made friends there, but it just felt weird being away from all of you guys. I needed to come back. I had to be closer." I nodded, knowing exactly where she was coming from.

"Well, we're glad you're back." She smiled. 

~~~~

The night seemed to go by quickly, and before I knew it, I was ready for bed. I got into my pajamas and got comfy in bed. I looked around the guest room at Emmy's and took in all the familiar things about the room. There were so many memories attached to this room. Thinking back on all the memories helped me fall asleep. I was comfortable right where I was.
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Hey guys!
I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I've been super busy lately, but I'm hoping to be able to update more frequently!

I know this was a short chapter, and it was pretty much a filler. The next chapter will definitely be better!

I hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to comment and rate :)