Whirlwind

49 - Part II

[Riley]

"Stop that," I grumbled into the cushion beneath me, barely shuffling my limp body as I felt someone's fingertip being pushed into the flesh of my upper arm. 

The sudden contact was quite annoying and with every second that passed it was beginning to tick me off; it now being the pressure added to each random ass intrusion into my precious sleep and the fact that the pest that was responsible for this had no respect for my personal space. I almost wanted to respond to them with a backhanded smack against whatever part of their body I could blindly reach first, but instead in effort to guard this harmony, I fought against the urge and remained sprawled out. I kept silent, still and myself in high hopes that they would get lost, all while the morning sun permeated the room through the blinds and scaled heat along my partly exposed frame.

There was a lapse in time as I found myself relaxing again, one long enough to almost make me believe that my prayer had been answered. But of course I wasn't that naïve, not when this presence was still suspended over me and that damn index finger went poking away at my arm again. Now I was fully awake, lids breaking open as the frustration boiling inside me finally erupted.

"Stop that!"

"Sorry," Nazanin murmured as she jerked back and nervously bit into her bottom lip. "I was just making sure you weren't dead. You've been out of it since you came here last night."

"Really Naz, dead?" I quizzed, my voice still groggily as I slowly sat up from what was a bed and glanced around the room. 

Those same bright rays were now hitting my eyes and forcing them to adjust with a few blinks as I remembered where I was and what got me here. This was Nazanin's guest bedroom and I had cried myself into a deep slumber after enlightening her about the argument between Lamarr and I. Although I was fully rested now, I was still exhausted from the entire ordeal, and wanted nothing more but to wish it away. 

"What time is it now?"

"It's fifteen after noon, you've been sleep for about eleven hours, Ry."

"No way, you're lying."

"No, I am not." she replied back, diminishing my doubt as she held her phone up to my face. It was 12:19 P.M., actually. "Now, I need you to get up and go home before Cole sends out a search team for you."

"Oh no, nope. I need a bit more time before I go back to that place. So, let's discuss the weather." I digressed and leaned back against the headboard, forcing a smile along my lips. "I suppose it's as nice as it was yesterday, meaning we could go for a hike at Griffith Park again. I need some fresh air and a bit of sun, since I am starting to look like Casper, so I think that sounds like a plan."

"We can go for that hike some other time," she stated, flipping back the thin sheet from my legs. "And that place, is where your belongings are and where you pay rent every month. It's your home! You have to go back there, and soon."

"Why are you in such a rush to get me out of here?" I questioned and folded my arms across my chest with my brow raised. "Is my company bothering you? Am I a burden now?"

"You know that is not the case, Riley." Nazanin swore as she elbowed me. "For one, I don't want to get caught in the middle of your disagreements with Lamarr by harboring you in this bedroom like some criminal. Hell, it might be too late for that anyways since I knew you were pregnant before he did. I've officially became an accessory two days ago."

"I dragged you along with me to that appointment and neither of us were aware that we'd walk out with such news, so don't beat yourself up about that. Also, you're only being a loyal friend by being here for me and letting me hide out here when I need both the most. Thank you, and I'm seriously grateful for it."