𝗗𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗥 | 𝗦𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲

14. Cheerleader Tryouts

"Bring me to life!"

I drummed my fingers to the beat. The fuzzy red rug was wrapped around me tightly and I rested my head on Riley's shoulder. Mr Chanter allowed me to stay at his house, but I wasn't too thrilled with the idea since Riley abandoned me in a time of need. My face was red and my eyes were swollen from crying.

I watched Riley play video games as I ate some snacks, then I started listening to the song Bring Me To Life by Evanescence while Riley read a book on the worlds best video game players. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. I was really tired because of my sleepless night last night, but I tried to stay awake for a few reasons.

Firstly: I was wondering if some hater in school sent a text to Talin pretending to be me to make him go all 'killer mode' on me.

Secondly: I was curious as to what Riley's excuse would be when I confronted him about leaving me during my panic attack.

And thirdly: I had a crazy imagination that haunted me, telling me if I fell asleep, I'd be murdered or kidnapped or tortured or teleported to the middle of the ocean or all of the above!

"You can go to sleep, you know?" Riley said suddenly, putting his book to the side.

I looked up at him with a confused look. "How did you know?" I mumbled.

"Every once in a while you tap your fingers on my knee, then you'll stop for a few minutes. Then your head jerks up a bit and you go back into a tapping rhythm on my knee." Riley said with grin. "You can go to sleep if you're tired."

I shook my head. "Nah ah, no. Not here. I'm just your friend visiting, it'd be rude if I suddenly just fell asleep on your couch." I said.

"No it wouldn't. I'd be here. Go to sleep, I want you to relax."

"Why did you leave me?" I asked suddenly, changing the subject. "You abandoned me! Why?"

"I had to go get your bag. It had your medication in it. I tried to be as quick as possible, but when I got back, you were unconscious." Riley explained.

Oh, okay...that's actually a pretty good excuse. Well, now I feel pretty stupid.

"Thank you, Riley. I'm sorry for fainting. I couldn't breathe properly and it was difficult to stay awake."

"You don't need to apologise, Aria. It's perfectly okay. Now get some rest. You need it." Riley said.

I sighed and reluctantly settled down, telling my crazy inner voice to run and take a flying leap off a cliff into a pit of larva! I took Riley's headphones off and listened to the beat of his heart, enjoying the moment as he stroked my hair for a bit before continuing his book.

As I was about to drift off to sleep, Riley's nerdy ringtone blared causing me to jolt up. He gave me an apologetic look before checking his messages. As he stared intently at his phone, he glanced once at me worriedly before scrolling through a few more messages.

Riley said nothing for a moment as he tapped the screen hurriedly. Propping myself up on my elbow, I stared at him intensely. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Uh, okay, Aria, I don't want you to panic, but..."

Panicked eyes instantly appeared. "Panic?!" I exclaimed, my voice rising an octave as I leapt to my feet with a new found energy, causing me to start to pacing back and forth. "Nothing good ever comes after someone says 'I don't want you to panic'. I mean, it's like being in one of those horror movies and someone says don't panic. Stay calm, and then the next thing that happens is some axe weilding, chain saw roaring, hook scraping maniac comes busting into the room!"