Windows

Chapter 36 : Dinner panic

Chapter 36    

Rocky POV

"Should we leave him up there or should we go get him?" Dad asked.

"I'll get him down here," I said.

"Make sure he's ok," mom said.

"I will."

I got up and went upstairs, looking for Riker. Mom and dad told us he was nervous, but I wasn't expecting him to be this nervous.

We had waited a few minutes to see if he would come back down. But he never did. But I'm pretty confident I can find him and get him to come back down.

The bathroom door was shut, so I knocked on it.

"Riker?"

I didn't get a response, so I knocked again.

"Riker?"

Still nothing. But I can see that the light's on. So I know he's got to be in there. So I got the key above the door and unlocked it. When I opened it, Riker was sitting on the floor on the other side of the bathroom with his knees pulled to his chest. And he was crying.

I was honestly not expecting my older brother to be like this.

I walked in and sat down next to him. He looked really nervous but tired at the same time.

"I don't know if you were able to hear downstairs, but I'm Rocky," I said.

He didn't say anything back. He just sniffled.

"Did you want to have some dinner?" I asked.

He shook his head no.

"Ok. Well then do you want to just sit here for a little while?"

He nodded.

"Ok. Well I'm going to sit with you then."

"Why?"

I smiled. Now I got him talking.

"Because you're my brother and I want to make sure you're ok."

He looked at me, kind of confused. I know he probably wanted me to leave and give up, but that's not happening. I know I can get him back downstairs.

"Tell me something about yourself," I said.

"Like what?" He mumbled.

"Like what do you like to do?"

"Um... I don't really know."

"Do you have any friends?"

"Yeah."

"Well what do you do with your friends?"

"We hang out and sometimes go to a diner. We have movie nights and watch a bunch of movies."

"Ok, so you like movies."

"Yeah."

"Ok. How many friends do you have?"

"2."

"That's good. You're about to have 4 more."

"How?"

"All of us."

"I thought you were my siblings."

"We are. But mom likes to tell us how we're each other's best friends."

Riker looked kind of confused.

"Can you tell me what you're so nervous about?" I asked.

"I don't want to get hurt. Or bullied," he said, super quietly.

"Well I can promise you that neither of those things will happen here."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm your brother?"

"That doesn't mean I know you."

"How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?"

"Yeah. Mom said you have this one friend you're really close with. So here's the deal. If you get hurt or bullied, you can call your friend to come get you and you can leave. But if you don't get hurt or bullied, then you have to spend the night here."

Riker looked really unsure. I know he doesn't know me and he doesn't trust me, but I think that's a pretty fair deal.

"Fine..." He said.

"Ok. So will you come back down and have dinner with all of us?"

"Do I have to?"

"It's part of the deal."

He sighed.

"Ok..."

I stood up and then held my hand out to him. He took it and I helped him up.

"Riker?"

"What?"

"I know you don't know us yet, and you don't trust us yet. But I promise, you're safe here. I know you might not have felt safe at your previous home. But nothing like that will ever happen here."

He sighed again, not meeting my eyes.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Ok. Let's go."

I went to put my arm around him, but he jumped when my hand touched his shoulder. I tried again, and he let me put my arm around him this time. I led him back downstairs to the kitchen table again. Everybody stopped talking and looked at us, kind of surprised. Me and Riker sat back down at the table.

"Told you I could get him back down here," I said, smirking at mom and dad.