breaking the silence

two

Riley was distraught. She had been rambling for the last ten minutes about something she saw on Marly's social media. Lucas was drifting in and out of her speech, his eyes glazing over the television screen.

There was nothing in the cinema that appealed to both of them so that automatically meant watching some 90's chick flick on Riley's sofa, no matter how much Lucas protested. He didn't protest much. This might as well had been a sleepover night for Riley and Maya, but even Lucas knew that Maya wouldn't take great interest in the vapid storyline. They both had that in common—choosing Riley's happiness over theirs.

"Are you listening?" His girlfriend tapped on his wrist, her face twisted in displeasure.

"Huh?" Lucas blinked rapidly. He tore his attention away from the screen. "Sorry, I-I was distracted."

"Lucas," Riley spoke in a vexed tone, her shoulders dropping as she drew out a long sigh. "I don't know what to do about Maya."

"Well, just talk to her, she's your best friend." Lucas shrugged. He didn't exactly know how to comfort Riley.

"Best friend?" Riley scoffed, an incredulous smile spreading across her face. "I don't even know who she is, anymore!"

Lucas scrunched his brows together. "She's had a really rough week, why are you being so hard on her?" His voice remained calm. There was no reason to get in a fight over something as trivial as this, but Riley was being irrational and had to be taken down a notch.

"It's just the fact that she lied to me about it that bothers me." Riley seemed to have relaxed a little. Her voice dialled down and her hands had fallen back to her sides.

Lucas bit the inside of his cheeks and his gaze momentarily returned to the characters on the screen. "Well, how would you react if she told you the truth?" He glanced at Riley, trying to gauge an expression on her face. "If she actually told you that she was going to a party."

Riley stared down at her lap. She fidgeted with her friendship ring, silence falling upon them. "I'd probably try to convince her not to go?"

"Exactly," Lucas sat back. "Maya didn't tell you because she didn't want you to try to talk her out of it. I think she was even afraid of what you might think. You know how highly she values your opinion of her."

"I think she's out of control." Riley said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's just having fun, Riley." Lucas let out an impatient sigh. It was like nothing he said even mattered. He just wanted to drop the subject, afraid of what he might say to his girlfriend if it proceeded.

"Oh, and I suppose that you're some sort of expert on Maya now?" Riley was glowering at him, the contours of her face appearing harsh.

Lucas turned away from her, clenching his jaw. God forbid that someone held a different opinion from her. "You do this, Riley. You criticize her."

"Well, I'm sorry for wanting the best for my best friend!" Riley's voice was painfully condescending. He didn't know how to deal with her when she got like this.

"Maya doesn't need your stamp of approval to go to a freaking party." His eyes darted back to her, Lucas was glaring agitatedly now and he was partially shocked with himself. He had never used that tone on Riley. Her remarks really must be hitting close to home.