INFINITE (Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 30: Love The Way You Lie

Chapter 30: Love the Way You Lie

Riley spent the whole night tossing and turning. No matter what she did, she couldn’t fall asleep. After the whole showdown at Marshall’s house, she’d found her old photo albums in one of the boxes. She hadn’t looked at them in years. And when she opened them, she found pictures of her and Marshall everywhere. It explained everything… why she and Marshall had made a connection so quickly, why Detroit felt like home, why she always felt nostalgic around him.

When she’d moved away, she’d wiped the slate clean and focused on her career. She’d wanted to forget the pain and that’s exactly what she did. After fifteen years, she’d even forgotten his name. And when they’d met again, he had forgotten too. Neither of them knew what they were getting into. The world was too goddamn small. But she didn’t think Marshall was lying. Even after everything, she knew he didn’t remember what happened when they were kids. And he was right… they were kids. People grow and change.

Feeling restless, she rolled over again and groaned. The new apartment felt so harsh and empty, especially with her emotional state. It wasn’t how she’d planned to spend her first night here. In fact, she hadn’t planned on being along at all. She’d wanted Marshall to be here with her. Giving up, she flicked on her bedside lamp and her mobile. Sitting upwards, she pulled her knees to her chest and dialed in Mark’s number. Checking the time, she was all too aware that it would be three in the morning, Miami time but she felt so alone and prayed that he would pick up the phone.

It rang through eight times before he answered, “Riley?” He sounded tired, like she’d woken him up. “Do you know what time it is?”

Riley instantly felt her throat choke up as she heard his voice. Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn’t help but sound upset as she managed to croak out a “Yes”.

She heard Mark scramble and he sounded worried, “Oh god, are you crying? What’s wrong?”

That’s when she let her emotions out. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Mark did nothing but comfort her as she cried. While he was her manager, they’d been friends for so long. This wasn’t the first time she’d cried on the phone to him. And she’d even been the comforter for a long time when Mark’s wife passed away. They’d been through so much together.

After a few minutes, and several tissues, she managed to pull herself together and explain the whole story to Mark. She told him about moving and the confrontation with Kim and dating Marshall as a teenager. When she finally finished Mark was quiet for a moment, “What should I do?”

Mark sighed, “You’re going to hate me for this.”

She smiled a little, “Be honest, even if I don’t like it.”

“I think you should give him another chance.”

“What?” She was shocked. “You told me you didn’t trust him.”

Mark paused, “I never said that.” He laughed, knowing that he was lying. “By the sounds of things, just like you, he forgot. Maybe he felt bad about what he did to you and wanted to forget. It’s quite funny that you both met each other again, after he got famous and all, after so long apart and neither of you remembered. But… was it Kim?”

“Yeah,” Riley assured.

“Right,” Mark continued. “Kim must have remembered, though. And that’s how everything unfolded. You know, how much the idea of you being with that reckless rap star kills me but it’s just… not his fault, Riley.”

She sighed, letting her other hand fall to her lap. “I know…”

“And, if you don’t want to think about it that way,” Mark said in a lighter tone, “He’s giving you an amazing career opportunity. So if you don’t want to personally work things out with him, think about your career. He’s not going to want to take you on tour for three months if you won’t talk to him.”