I looked up to see the dreamy blonde called Riker standing over me with his hand extended.
“Yeah, thanks.” I said. Once I was up I brushed my dress off a bit and then turned to Riker. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” I blurted. Riker raised an eyebrow at me.
“Really? I’ve been looking for you, too.” He said.
“Well now we found each other.” I said, giggling nervously. “So, Riker, can we talk?” I asked.
“Of course. Just not in here. It’s packed and it’s loud. How about we walk?” Riker offered. I nodded and slipped on my shoes. Then we walked outside and started down the road, with no particular place in mind. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.
“It’s such a beautiful night, isn’t it?” He said.
“It is.” I replied simply.
“So, I wanted to talk to you about something really important.”
“Ok. I wanted to talk to you, too, but you can go first.” I said.
“Alright. Well, there’s….. there’s this girl who I like a lot.” He paused. “Actually, I think I love her.” He said. My stomach twisted at the mention of Riker loving another girl. My brain immediately filled with questions I wanted to ask him, but I quickly pushed them away. “She’s been through a lot lately and I think she likes someone else. But when I look at her, I see a glint of love in her perfect eyes. She makes my heart beat like crazy and sometimes I get really nervous around her.”
Riker’s words made me feel like I just took a knife to the heart. There was no way I was gonna tell him I love him tonight. He obviously didn’t feel the same way back, so there was no reason to tell him anything. I stood silent, keeping pace with Riker as he keep talking.
“I don’t know what to do, Hayley. That’s why I came to you. You’re a good friend of mine and I trust your opinion. What should I do?” He asked me. I was tempted to slap him in the face and yell how much he meant to me, but I held my ground.
“Well, um, I think you should tell her how you feel if she really means that much to you.” I said, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.
“What if she doesn’t feel the same?”
“Riker, you’re an amazing guy. I’m sure she’ll feel the same.”
“Thanks, Hayley.” Riker said, smiling. “I will tell her. In fact, I think I’ll do it now.” He said. That’s when I cracked. The fact that Riker loved someone else broke my heart in two.
“I gotta go.” I said, before taking off.
“Wait! Hayley!” He said, chasing after me. I stopped for a mid second to slip off my shoes and throw them aside. I rounded a corner and turned around briefly. Riker was no where to be seen. Slowing my pace, I made my way up to the old abandoned house I had my ‘freak out’ in last month. I opened the door and peeked in. Slowly, I closed the door behind me and walked down the hallway, the floorboard creaking under me.
I stopped when I got to the sitting room. The scene of the incident exactly the way I remembered it from last month. I walked across the room not caring that I was barefoot and stepping on glass that would most likely make me bleed. I glanced down at the broken glass on the floor. The moonlight from the windows made the glass glisten, something that looked so beautiful but was so dangerous.
I walked until I came to the wall and turned around. Slowly, I slid down the wall, my bare back cold from the walls touch, and plopped down on the floor. Bringing my knees up, I buried my face in them and cried.
