Arden's Boisterous Summer with River

(9) Arden's Sky Dive with River

dedicated to stulala for sticking with this story from the beginning and for all the nice things she says about it

EDIT: Arden is now 18, explained in author's note. also, no italics (my laptop's broken), but things in between '', consider them italic.

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Today is when of those days where I'm brooding about my mother. An uncomely sulk is tainting my face. I'm in bed, which I haven't left since I awoke, and mulling over why my mother didn't bother to care at all.

I know the story. I know why she left. It's not like Dad told me anything; I had to find out myself. I mean, he told me the bare facts when I was a little girl. "Listen, sweetie, I know you wonder about your mother and why she isn't here. But she made the decision to leave us. I know it's hard, but I'm going to always be there for you. She isn't here and I'm sorry, but remember, you're not alone," he had told me.

I'm not complaining, but it wouldn't hurt for her to be there. I had to fish for information from Grandpa. The best thing is that he didn't sugarcoat, and he gave it to me straight. He told me all I needed to know, and the things I definitely didn't need to know, like how Dad was a womanizing player before he met my mum who had sex with his groupies. That was an 'very' unnecessary piece of information.

When I'm lost in thought, a rap knock on my door electrifies me. I drag myself to the door, and I open the door to find a grinning River.

"Hey." He enters my room with me following closely behind. Plopping on my bed, he espies my lookand takes in my tired eyes behind my black-framed glasses and ashen face. "You look like shit."

I shrug, curling up on my chair. His eyes narrow, perceiving how I'm not my usual self. His smile falls.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Worry entwines with River's voice.

"Yeah, I'm alright." My voice comes out groggy and weak. He marches towards me. He stoops down to me and rests his knees on the floor, reminding me of yesterday when he gripped my chin and left me kind of winded, like I've just received a blow to the stomach.

"What happened? Did someone hurt you?" His brows are furrowed and his eyes are clouded, like the sky on a stormy night. Rage ignites in him. His eyes swirl with anger, dark clouds whirl-pooling. "Who hurt you, Arden?"

"River, relax. Nobody hurt me." His stance is still tense and poised for attack, so I awkwardly place my hand on his shoulders. "I promise, I'm fine. I'm just a bit down the dumps today."

"Why?" He takes my hands and traces circles and patterns on their my palms.

"Stop, that tickles," I warn. He lets out a fleeting smile before awaiting my answer. "It's nothing, River, just drop it."

To be frank, I don't want to tell River. It's not like I've known him forever. I've just known him for a short period of time, even though I feel we've been friends for much longer. It frightens me a little how I've grown close to him a such a small matter of time, and it's weird how much I know about him already. I shouldn't even get too attached to him; he will be leaving by the end of the summer anyways, like everyone always does, and I'm 'still' going to be stuck here.

I find River staring at me in an impenetrable way. His gaze is intense enough to make me squirm in my seat. His eyes are leeched to mine, but I can't look back at him. I know that if I did, I would blurt out everything on the brink of my tongue. So, I sit numbly with my face as blank as a statue.

"Okay, well, let's cheer you up."

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"So, we can't take the car," River addresses me glumly when we try to walk without drawing attention through the hotel. We're currently walking through the lobby, which has so many people fluttering around it you'd be lucky not to bump into anyone. The lobby feels astounding humongous. I take note of the abnormally high ceiling and the neutral colours of the lobby enhanced by the golden sunlight streaming through the large windows, the spontaneous splashes of red in the lobby are appealing, the flawlessly polished floors gleaming proudly and the exported luxe furniture in either a creamy white or a rich gold adorning the lobby.