The Probability

Chapter 16

----Elyse----

I feel a sense of deja vu as I stand in front of Riley's house. After the spectacular time I had with Drew last night at the coffee shop I realized that I didn't want more conflict and confusion in my life this summer. He might have not been telling me the truth about everything but at least he was still making an effort to be my friend. It might not always be such a good thing but I'm the kind of person to forgive someone for their wrongdoings and in my head, let the good that they usually always have in them overtake the bad. With this in mind I decided that he must have a good reason to have lied to me. For his sake, I hope he does. When he ran after me I saw the pain in his eyes. He didn't want to lie. Something was causing him to.

As I press my fingertip to the circular doorbell I hear the sound of Riley's mom call out 'I'm coming' before the door opens to reveal a pretty woman with the warmest smile that always made me feel welcomed as a kid.

I smile back just as warmly as she hugs me. "Elyse! It's so nice to see you again! Your mom mentioned you had gotten back, but I've been so busy at the hospital lately," she pulls away, holding on to my arms gently "Come in!" she leads me into the living room.

"It's nice to see you too Sam,"

She flashes me another one of her welcoming smiles "Riley! Come down here for a second!"

I hear him before I see him, his footsteps thundering down the stairs.

When he sees me he stops at the foot of the staircase mouth agape. Blushing, I look down at the floor.

"Hey mom? I'm just going to bring Elyse upstairs for a while," he gently grasps my wrist and pulls me up to his room, shutting the door behind him.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he scratches behind his head bashfully.

"That's actually what I came here to say," I flop backward onto his bed with a thump " I'm sure you had your reasons, I overreacted."

He sits on the side of the queen-sized bed "I need you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you, I would never mean to hurt you."

"I know," I get up and sit next to Riley so that we're shoulder to shoulder.

"Come here." He pushes himself up and opens his arms.

"Thank you." I whisper against his shoulder.

"For what? I should be the one thanking you," he says pulling away but we're still close.

"For not forgetting about me after I left," he tucks an askew piece of hair behind my ear.

"I could never do that Lyse," he says walking over to his shelf "do you remember this?"

"How do you still have that?" I say in awe as I take the picture of us three years ago. By us, I mean the three of us – Rosa on my right and Riley on my left. All three of us smiling. All three of us the best of friends.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you've bumped into Rosa," he says walking over to sit on his bed. I sit by him.

I nod looking down at my lap. "She's going through some tough times and she needed a friend." He says.

I look up into Riley's eyes and I find truth. "Oh," is all I manage to say.

"I saw her for the first time since she left a little before summer started," he says barely audible in a whisper.

"Thanks for telling me this, Riley." I say as I lean in to give him a hug.

"You've never done anything wrong to any of us and you don't deserve to be in the middle of all this Lyse," He returns the hug with warmth and kindness.

And somehow, I know something has changed between us. For the better.

I get up to leave. Just as my fingertips wrap around the doorknob I turn my head "I have to go home, but I'll see you soon,"

"I'll walk you to the door," he says behind me as we exit his room.

Before I know it, I'm walking down the steps of his porch with a silly smile spread across my face and peace rested upon my features. I feel like I've just taken a breath for the first time in years.

--------------Melati for Nuria-----------------(As she is currently in camp with ridiculously hot princes everywhere, lost in the alps....*leave it up to me to drift.)
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