whisper | rilaya

nineteen

RILEY POV

A pair of fingers snapped in front of my face, inches from my nose. Startled, my eyes burst open.

"She's awake." A deep voice said, his voice lacking any sign of emotion.

I sat up, feeling pain shoot up my back when I realize I was sleeping on the floor all night. The room I was in was tiny, barely large enough for me to fit in. There was a dirty mattress on the floor and a toilet of similar nature in the other corner.

Rapidly, I turned my head to face the voice that I had previously heard. The owner of the voice was coming from the other side of a wall of bars.

Wait a minute.

I was in a jail cell.

Instantly, I got flashbacks from the events of last night. I was reminded of how helpless and guilty I felt when they arrested me.

"NYPD, OPEN UP!" someone shouted loud enough from the outside of the front door upstairs that I could hear them.

My heart was racing when I took notice of my surroundings, thinking about where I would go to hide. The first thing I did was run to the slide doors in the basement. I planned to run out through the backyard while a confused Katy Hart and her husband talked to the cops.

Maya's mother's voice sounded so warm and welcoming, just like her daughter's. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about officer. There's no Riley Matthews in this household." She answered nervously.

Those few extra seconds that I received from Katy talking to the officers were precious. I slipped on my shoes and ran for the slide door, pulling it open quickly.

Since it was already nighttime outside, I could barely see two feet in front of the other side of the glass door.

My heart sank when a figure appeared from out of the shadows as soon as I opened the door. "Where are you headed to in such a hurry, miss?" The person asked in an almost mocking voice.

"I- I-"

"Save it." He warned, beckoning for some more people waiting behind him to come forward. "I wouldn't say anything if I were you. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law."

I froze in my spot, unsure of what to do next. Maya and Lucas were gone. "I- I didn't do it!" I sputtered out nervously.

Everything happened so fast. Wishing minutes, there was what seemed to be an entire police squadron in Maya's basement. They thought that I was so dangerous that one person couldn't have handled me.

I held back tears as another officer roughly grabbed my hands and placed them behind my back, putting them in tight handcuffs.

"RILEY!"

Her voice was unmistakable. The sweet tone behind her call never seemed to fail when she said my name. I opened my mouth to reply to her, only to be stopped when a hand covered my mouth. A weak muffle escaped my mouth instead.

The next thing I remember was feeling my heart shatter as I watched her emotional breakdown. I mouthed her a quick 'I love you.' before being dragged away. The first time we exchanged our I love you's and due to my luck, it would probably be the last time.