Wish You Were Here

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Riley gave me directions to her house and as soon as I had started the car, she was fast asleep.
I drove along and listened to the radio. Some talk show hosts were talking about all the recent news and I wasn't really paying attention until I heard something come up.
"Cole Mason, a sixteen year old high-school student, was recently reported as missing. His family reports him, his father's knife, and his father's handgun missing. The teen was reported coming into his home and going upstairs to his bedroom as the last time he was seen. Here we are talking to his parents, Shelley Ma-"
I cut off the reporter's voice by shutting off the radio. Cole was missing, and he had a gun and a knife.
While inside I was about to throw up, I tried to play it cool and seem fine. Even though she was asleep, I could tell that Riley didn't want me to be upset. So I pretended not to be.

    A few minutes later I pulled into the driveway of a huge 2 story house. It was beautiful, it was painted a turquoise color with black shutters lining every window, except for the very large one that ran across the front of the upper level. The front had a set of black stairs built into the small black concrete porch, that was guarded by a black lattice and consisted of a few turquoise chairs and a Navy blue porch swing. There was a walkway leading from the side of the driveway to the stairs and it was lined with a kind of blue flower I had never seen before. I couldn't stop marveling at the house until I realized why I was even here.

    I began to shake Riley lightly, and said in a semi-quiet voice "Hey...Riley, wake up. I'm here to drop you off."
    She opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around. "Oh. Thanks, Atticus."
    As she climbed out of the car, I couldn't bear to see her leave, but before I could say anything I saw her running back to me.

11
"Riley, tonight was just ama-"
    Before I finished my sentence, she put her lips to mine and left them there for a long time. I almost forgot where I was, for at that moment there was nobody but us in the world, nobody to hurt me, nobody to hurt her, just me and Riley, in perfect silence with our lips forming to each other's, the perfect ending to our night together.
    She pulled away and looked at me, blushing, and started talking so fast I could hardly understand her.
    "Atticus, I want to tell you something and I know we just met and this might be a lot to say and it might scare you and I don't know if this will ruin our friendship but-"
    I leaned in and kissed her again. She had made her point.
    "I love you too, Riley."
    She just smiled, hugged me, and walked to her door. I hadn't realized how cute it was that her hips swayed as she walked. As she opened the door, she turned around and gave me a perfect smile I could see even in the dark.
    Driving back into the dark, I realized I had forgotten my jacket at the park. When I went to get it, I realized I was standing under the tree where I had my first kiss just moments ago. I sat down and realised we had made marks in the dirt where we had been sitting. I sat down on mine and before I knew it I was asleep.
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"We've got a teen with a bullet near the rib cage and a stab wound just below the hip, knife still intact. ETA five minutes. Provided with pain medicine and tourniquets around wounds."
    I could hear things going on around me, but I couldn't move or open my eyes. From the sound of wailing sirens, I safely assumed I was in ambulance.
    "Attempted murder by unknown criminal."
    Attempted murder???
    I tried to move but couldn't. I tried to open my eyes, but couldn't. I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to try speaking yet, but I did, and to my surprise a sound came out. Not the sound I was hoping for, which was Riley's name, but a low, gurgling noise. Then I realized I could try again.
    "Ri-"
    I didn't even get the rest of the name out before I felt a finger touch against my lips.
    "Shh, It's ok. I'm here baby."
    It was Riley! But, why did she call me baby?
    "You were hurt in the park. They found you presumably asleep next to a tree and then when they looked closer, well, you had a bullet near your rib cage and a knife just below your hip. Listen, don't talk, but I need to ask you something. If your answer is yes, squeeze my hand, okay?" she put her hand in mine, and I squeezed it to make sure I could.
12
"I need to know if you did this to yourself."
    Myself? No. Not that I didn't think about it numerous times, but this time was not of my own ideas. I let my hand just sit there.
    "That's good, but I have one more question. This will be the last one, okay? I'll shut up after this. Do you think Cole did it?"
    I squeezed her hand this time. If anyone wanted me dead or almost dead, it would be him.
    "We're gonna get you out of this mess. And I'm going to get revenge on Cole Mason if it's the last thing I do."
    All I could do was listen to Riley's soothing voice and the sirens. I knew that the paramedic with me was prodding my arm with an I.V., but I couldn't care less what they did as long as the throbbing pain above my leg would stop.