direct messages | gmw

fourty-five | cory and topanga

RILEY CONT.
on pavement, going to school, in New York.

Who the hell was that woman? What the hell was she doing in Farkle's room?

I racked my brains to think of anyone I knew who was a blond—

No. No, no, no. It can't be. It couldn't be her. She would never do such a thing to me.

Maya was the most lovely and beautiful girl I've ever met and she was the best friend I could ever have. She was the peaches to my honey. It couldn't be her.

But... on the other hand... who else could the girl at the window have been? We only knew one blonde - Maya.

Could she have done it?

I closed my eyes, trying to forget all about it as my dad held onto my wrist, still pulling me, as if he were afraid I would run away.

When we stopped at the traffic junction, I kept quiet for a while, before opening my mouth to ask Dad quietly, "Dad?"

He turned around and said gently, "Yes, princess?"

"Wha... what would you do if Mum cheated on you?"

He looked at me with his eyebrows raised, and asked in concern, "Riley, why are you asking that? Did something happen?"

"N— no. Just wondering."

His eyes wandered off, as he tried finding the words to say. "Your mum... she can be abusive towards you, to me. I know how you feel, Riley. And you know I always try to stop her from hitting you..." He paused and looked at me, holding my shoulders lightly.

I reminisced the times Dad tried to help me. There was once, when I had done super badly in my History exam paper, and Mum was furious.

"Riley, have you gotten your results back?" She asked sternly, during dinner that day.

I looked down at my clammy palms and stammered, "Y— ye... yes. I got my History results."

I looked up a little to look at Dad, who was looking at me in concern. He already knew my results, since he was my History teacher. It was terrible, and he knew what Mum would do when she finds out.

"And? How was it? And speak up, Riley. I hate people who stammer. Mmfmfmfmfmm... annoying."

"58 out of 100," I said softly.

Immediately, she stood up forcefully, causing her chair to overturn. She banged her hands on her table, and then screamed at me. "RILEY MATTHEWS. HOW DARE YOU FAIL YOUR PAPER? YOU AND YOUR STUPID PHONE AGAIN? YOU USE YOUR PHONE 24 HOURS A DAY. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE KIND OF RESULTS YOU GET. YOU ARE USELESS, YOUNG WOMAN. IF YOU KEEP THIS UP, I WILL DISOWN YOU. I CANNOT STAND HAVING A CHILD WHO NEVER WORKS HARD. STOP BEING SO LAZY AND DUMB!"

Her words hit me hard. Tears were already rolling down my cheeks like rivulets. I was a useless dumbass. I should've gotten used to this long ago, but her words still hurt. A lot.

She then reached out her left hand to the side, to grab the long bamboo stick.

My eyes widened because I knew what was coming. I got off my seat as quickly as I could and ran behind Dad. "Mum! Please! I promise to work hard the next time!" I cried as loudly as I could.

She was walking really quickly towards me, holding the stick in her hand, ready to beat me up. "You won't, until I teach you a lesson! Come here, young lady!" She shouted.

I ran away, begging Dad to help me. "Daddy, help me! Please!"

He stood up quickly, blocking me from Mum. "Hey, hey. Topanga. It was just one test. It doesn't have a heavy weightage. No need to resort to this. I'm sure Riley will work hard the next time."

Mum then shot daggers at Dad, screaming at him now. "You, Cory! You're the one who spoilt her. Look at her now, useless! She can't get good grades, for God's sake. Get out of my way, or I'll beat you too."

"Topa— ow!" He exclaimed in pain, rubbing his hand as Mum had beat his hand, like she said.

I cried my eyes out as I ran around, Mum trying to chase after me. Dad quickly ran in front of me, and grabbed Mum by her hand, trying to get the stick out of her grasp. "Stop it, Topanga!"

In the end, Dad received a slap from Mum before she stormed back into the room, leaving Dad and I to cry in the living room, comforting each other.

I was brought back to the present when Dad nudged me to tell me that we could cross the road. As we walked, he continued what he was saying. "Anyway, though she does beat us, it's a part of her personality and I can't control her. I once loved her, and no matter how much she has changed, I still do, whether or not she still loves me or thinks I do. So if she cheated on me, I don't know what I'll do. Because I love her. But I would go find out the reason why, and if it's because she didn't love me anymore... then I'll let her go."

I smiled weakly, and hugged Dad from the side. "I love you, Dad."

"Well, we gotta rush to school now, so!" He walked quickly, I followed after him, looking back in the direction of Farkle's house before continuing on.

I loved Farkle, and even if he WAS cheating on me with some girl, whether it was Maya or not, I'm going to find out what happened.

If he doesn't love me anymore... I'll let him go.