Chapter 25
A few days later...
Rocky POV
Riker was literally making himself sick from how anxious he was. We find out tomorrow if he goes back home or not.
But he's thrown up every day this week, so dad hasn't been making him go to school. I guess it doesn't even really matter anyway. He's going to fall behind if they keep pulling him out of school for switching homes. So if he misses 5 days, I don't think it really matters.
But today when I was at school, my teacher gave me a hall pass to go to Riker's math class to pick up his test.
To be honest, I was really nervous, because I just know that if he got a bad grade on it, he's going to be so upset.
But when I went to pick it up, I saw his grade, and he got a 92 on it, which is an A. He's going to be so excited.
When I got home from school, I found Riker and dad in the living room. Riker had a garbage can on the floor in front of him in case he threw up. I feel so bad for him.
"How's Riker?" I asked, sitting down beside dad.
"Not so good. He's super anxious. I don't know what else to do to help him."
"Well... I just wanted to let you know that Riker's math teacher had me come down and pick up his math test from last Friday. Do you want to see what you got, Riker?"
He shook his head no.
"Are you sure? Don't you want to see what you got? You studied so hard for it."
He shook his head no again.
"Ok, then can I show dad?"
Riker just stared at me blankly. So I pulled his test out of my backpack and handed it to dad.
"Riker! You got an A!" Dad said.
Riker took his test from dad and looked at it. He looked genuinely confused. I can tell he's never gotten a grade like this before.
"See? I told you that you were smart!" I said.
Riker smiled a little.
"We should celebrate," I said.
"How?" Dad asked.
"You should go get some ice cream for after dinner."
"Ok. Will you stay with Riker?"
"Yeah."
Dad got up and left. I sat down next to Riker.
"Riker, that's seriously amazing. You got an A even with a fire drill and a panic attack. I knew you could do it."
He hugged me tight. I just held him in my arms. This could be my last night with Riker.
"Have you thrown up today?" I asked.
He nodded.
"I'm sorry. I know you feel sick from your anxiety. Maybe some ice cream later will make you feel better. Have you ever had ice cream before?"
He shook his head no.
"Seriously!? You're going to love it, Riker."
Later...
Rocky POV
After dinner, we had ice cream to celebrate Riker's A. And I think for at least a little while, he was able to forget about everything making him anxious.
Dad put his test on the fridge because we were all so proud of him. And I think he was proud of himself too.
But when dessert was over, he went right back to being extremely anxious and upset.
We got ready for bed and I put on a movie to try to distract him. We were in his bed tonight.
I was hoping he would be able to fall asleep, but so far, he's been crying into my shoulder, then calming back down again, then crying again, and then back to calm, over and over again.
And I have a feeling that's what's going to happen all night.
"Riker, are you trying to fall asleep?"
He nodded.
"Ok. Keep trying."
He had a tight grip on my arm.
"Riker, tomorrow is going to be fine. Please stop worrying."
He sighed and I think he relaxed a bit more. Hopefully that means he can sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Mute
FanfictionRiker becomes a foster child after he is abused at home. And then he gets put with the Lynchs after he's abused by his foster family. Of course all of the Lynchs are super nice and welcoming. But there's just one problem. Riker doesn't talk.
