Hate Me, Love Me(GirlxGirl)

Chapter Twenty-Six: When the Bookworm Faces the Devil

I love every single one of you. 

The amount of love I got from you guys was something I never expected. Thank you. You don't know how much I'm grateful for it. <3

_________________________________

Hate Me, Love Me:

Chapter Twenty-Six: When the Bookworm Faces the Devil 

It was three weeks and four days since Riley been staying over at my house. Ivan and I didn't mind at all but I knew the longer Riley stayed, the more worried he was. He had not received a text or call from Kat and that bothered him. He tried to hide his worry with smiles and jokes but I could see it in those gray eyes of his. When school was over, I would watch Riley search the parking lot for his cousin. His eyes darting everywhere, fear sketched onto his face. There was a few times he had mistaken a woman who resembled Kat except I would see the differences immediately. The first woman he mistaken his cousin for was way too short in height. The second woman's black hair was dyed in an ombre style.

I saw the way his shoulders deflated when he realized those women weren't his cousin. It was heart-wrenching to see Riley disappointed. As the days went by, I would wake up to the sound of crying from the guest room next to mine. My heart ached for Riley and I decided to go to his room and have a sleepover with him. I didn't mind being the big spoon, consoling Riley that everything would be alright. He needed all the comfort he could get. After the first week went by, Evelyn's grandparents allowed her to stay at my house for a while considering Riley's worry for his cousin got worse. He moped about in the house – not even Ivan could bring a smile on his face and that was something. Evelyn slept in his room every night (though, I knew how much Ivan wanted to put his foot down on that, he allowed it for Riley's sake) and I didn't hear Riley cry after that.

Ivan asked around with his friends if they had seen Kat but no one did. The fear of losing Kat was eating at me. I did my best to push it away to be there for Riley but I could still feel it, clawing its way up my spine. Those cold tendrils of fear that Kat might had lost in one of her fights. The thought of her losing made me breakdown in the shower as I was getting ready for the day. I already lost my parents, I couldn't lose Kat. As much as I wanted her here with me, Riley needed her more. I could see the toll her absence took on him. From what Evelyn had told me, this was the longest Kat has been away.

Oh, please be okay, Kat...

"I'm going to go run some errands, would you guys be okay?" Ivan said from the doorway of my room where his gaze was solely focused on Riley who absentmindedly threw the baseball up in the air before catching it then continuing his actions.

I nodded, tearing my gaze away from Riley to focus on my brother. "We'll be okay."

He smiled, his brown eyes held sadness for our friend but there was something else behind that sadness. Almost like...anxiety. What was he anxious about?

"Call me for anything, got it?" He said, pointing at me as if to scold me. He knew I hardly touched my phone for anything except for the times when Riley or Evelyn decided to text or call me. "And don't burn the house down. I'll be back in a few hours. I left money on the counter if you guys want to order take-out."

"Thanks, Ivan. Be safe."

"I will," he said before waving us goodbye before he left.