petrichor

Do As I Say

Riley

After Riley's little fight with Jared the other day, he hadn't made an effort to contact her again. Riley waited for hours for the phone to ring and her boyfriend to apologize. Seriously, after all that shit and he still hasn't said a word? she thought angrily, What an asshole he is.

Nevertheless, Jared didn't even call or text a single word of apology for storming in and shouting at her so early in the morning or anything. It seemed as if he doesn't care about her anymore. 

The truth was, Riley couldn't even remember when was the last time Jared properly treated her. By properly treating her, she meant, was by listening to her or maybe not swinging his fists to her face once in a while. 

For once, she wanted to see the nice side of Jared, the one who'd say "I love you" every time he wanted to end a phone call, or the one who'd stroke her hair lovingly while they watched Netflix together on Riley's couch, or maybe just the one who would treat her right, the Jared who wouldn't make her feel as if she wasn't worth it.

"Yeah well, it's probably for the better." Riley muttered under her breath as she got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a frizzy mess and she tried to tidy it up by tying it into ponytail, but that just made the matter even worse, sighing, she rearranged her hairdo carelessly into a messy bun. 

Even though Riley prioritized her looks, she didn't feel like playing dress up today, she wore a mustard yellow hoodie with gray sweatpants, that were worn two days ago. Oh well, she thought, I'm gonna look like shit today. 

Riley rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. She had barely got enough sleep last night, the thought of having to face the hours of classes and her ever dropping grades made her even more awake. 

She looked at her reflection in the mirror again, she couldn't believe how disheveled she looked; her dirty blonde hair was unruly and greasy from the lack of shampooing,  there was a bruise on her arm that she wasn't sure how to hide or how to get rid of, and her body was skinnier than ever! Wow. she thought, I look like a hobo.

Riley huffed a breath as she played with a strand of hair that landed on her face. "I'm such a mess." she muttered, the words "mess" "ugly" "shitty" totally described what she looked like today, and not the mention the zits. Oh, the zits, how she wished there was magic antidote that can make all those little red things vanish from her face.

She stared at the mirror intently, inspecting every inch of her body. Somehow, her relationship with Jared made her abandon herself. Riley  forgot the last time she did some self care. Yes, she did her laundry and made her bed and stuff, but when was the last time she felt like she was actually relaxed? 

Her work given by her professors, and her unhealthy relationship made it even harder to focus on herself. To make matters worse, instead of calming her girlfriend down, Jared made Riley even more stressed as he would always criticize her choices. Nothing seemed right in Jared's eyes, and Riley was feeling sick of that 

Look scruffy, and Jared would jeer at her saying an asylum patient looked better than her. Look presentable, and he would flip out accusing of her being with someone else. No matter what, maybe even if Riley killed herself to save him, Jared wouldn't even mourn her dead body and just walk away without saying anything. How do I get out of this? Riley sighed as she headed out.

Riley's apartment was a little gift from her parents after being accepted to college. The campus she went to was one of the best colleges in Portland, so of course they were proud that their only child got a chance to study there.