RIDING AWAY

CHAPTER 33 - Can my heart both be broken and dripping with love?

"What can I do for you, Beautiful?" Riley murmured sadly when we were back in Uncle Mickey's car.

"Just keep holding me..." I said through my tears.

"Always..." He answered, making me shiver in spite of the situation.

Uncle Mickey had stayed behind to talk to the manager so the three of us were now waiting for him.

"Can I ask what happened?" Shawn asked us from the passenger seat.

"It was an accident..." I repeated because it had been one. My father hadn't meant to hit me with that chair.

Shawn sighed.

"B. Told him she'd missed him, which he disagreed with, arguing that she hadn't answered his phone calls in months..." His voice sounded bored but I knew it was because he was trying not to let his fury show. "B. then went on to show him that someone had changed her number on his phone and he lost it..." I felt him stiffen above me. "Threw a table against the wall, kicked chairs... B. approached him to stop him just as he was picking up another chair... I didn't have time to move her away... He didn't see her... And as he lifted the chair in the air to throw it, it hit B.'s face full force..."

"Shit..." Shawn mumbled.

"When he realized what he'd just done, he broke down and told B. he'd failed her, that he was worse than her mother and that she should go away from him..."

Shawn groaned this time.

"No matter what, we'll always be there for you Blake..." He then mumbled and I knew he meant it.

"Thanks..." I muttered, before closing my eyes, praying for sleep to take me away from this nightmare.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I woke up what must have been hours later in my bed, with my head on Riley's chest and my arm draped across his middle.

When the earlier events came back to me, I let out a defeated sigh.

"Hey, you're ok?" Riley's clear voice told me that he hadn't been sleeping.

I shrugged.

"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked him.

"I'm keeping an eye on my girl..." He answered with a small wink which I translated as I've been so worried about you that I couldn't sleep.

"No way am I going to let you be dragged down by my crappy life, Ri." I was as surprised as he was by my outburst.

I guessed I was no longer numb.

"We're flying you to the World Champ in Austria in ten days because you're a hell of an amazing snowboarder. If you think, even for one second, that I'm going to let you lose focus to take care of me, you don't know me very well..." I went on shouting. "Just promise to hold me every night and not forget about me when you're surrounded by all your fans, and I'll be good..." I added with a grimace, which he couldn't see, thankfully, since we were in the dark.

I was suddenly lifted in the air and put down so that I was lying on top of him.

"Why do I feel like I'm Mowgli and you, Baloo?" I blurted out to hide how hot I felt and he chuckled.

"I love you so much, Blake..." He then exclaimed and I froze. "Don't sound surprised, besides you love me just as much..." He added and it should have sounded cocky but it didn't. He was merely stating a fact.

And he was right. I loved him for being there for me when nobody else was.

"So back to the real conversation..." He started playing with my hair. "First off, we're flying the two of us to Austria..." I frowned. "Because you got your letter today..." I blinked several times.