whisper | rilaya

sixteen

"Thank you." She said sweetly, offering him one of the few genuine smiles that she only ever reserved for me.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat obnoxiously in an attempt to ruin their moment because we needed to get to work. (definitely not because I was jealous)

"As I was saying," I began, reaching for Riley's thigh to place my hand on it possessively. "My girlfr-" I stopped and corrected myself when I remember that that wasn't the case yet.

"My- Riley." I repeated as I restarted the sentence.

Lucas held back a snicker with the back of his hand and raised an eyebrow at me. "Your Riley?"

"Yes. I meant to say that, okay? Now let me finish." I pouted defensively. From the corner of my eye I could see Riley watching me affectionally with a smile of her lips. She nuzzled into my neck before placing a chaste kiss there.

"There's nothing between us, peaches. You don't have to be worried." Riley whispered into my ear so that Lucas wouldn't be able to hear. Her hot breath down my neck caused my face to heat up rather quickly, a blush settled on my pale skin within seconds.

"R-R-Riley was hoping that you would be able to give her some insight as to what happened that night. It might help refresh her memory." I mentally slapped myself for stuttering so badly and reminded myself not to speak when Riley decided to play with my heart rate like that.

Thankfully, Lucas ignored the opportunity to poke fun at me and took the task seriously. "Well let's start off with what you do remember then."

"Okay. I remember you, Farkle and Mason and I. Mason and Farkle were always much better friends out of the group though. I faintly remember Dani. I think you two are dating?"

Lucas nodded to confirm that they were.

"I remember my family, and where I lived. Just about all of the major aspects in my life." She thought aloud.

Lucas nodded thoughtfully and began to tell Riley what he had originally told me when I asked him about what happened when I first moved here.

"I know that it's hard to remember things when I'm telling you a story from my perspective, but does anything ring a bell?" Lucas asked.

Riley shook her head, disappointed. "No." She frowned. "Absolutely nothing."

Frustrated, I stood up. "Okay, clearly this isn't going anywhere. Besides, even if Riley does remember what happened that night, would they even believe her? We need hard evidence, not a blurry memory."

A loud ding rang from the corner of the room. It was Riley's phone. She ran over to the phone, clearly desperate for something to hold on to from her past. It's been completely useless since the day we discovered it because Riley couldn't remember her password.

The screen lit up when she raised the phone to her eye level. Her mouth opened slightly to gasp when she read whatever had just been sent to her.

"What is it, Riles?" I asked from the other side of the basement, where Lucas was sitting beside me on the air mattress. Her tan skin faded and she looked as pale as a ghost. "Honey?" I asked again, more curious this time.

Tentatively, I walked over to her and gently removed the phone from her hand. A text message from the contact Dani was the only notification on her phone.

My eyes scanned across the screen as I read the text for myself.

See you soon.

"What the fuck does that mean?" I asked, flailing my arms. I definitely did not have the willpower to put up with Danielle's silly games right now.

The hot breath of the tall muscular boy tingled my neck as Lucas read the text from over my shoulder. "I don't see what's wrong? She means well."

I shot him a dirty glare. "You're still going to defend your girlfriend after what she did to Riley and I?" I attacked.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean she was just looking out for you, Maya. She doesn't know what we know. Farkle has shoved the idea that Riley did it so far down her brain that she can't get it out."

"Well then Farkle and I need to have a talk." I growled, turning on my leg to exit through the basement slide door that lead to our backyard.

Before I could leave, Riley grabbed my arm and held my back. "Peaches." She pleaded. "Do you think she's threatening me? I'm scared."

Her beautiful doe eyes sparkled in the light when they started to water. I pulled her in for a tight hug, wrapping my hands around her neck. "She doesn't know what she's talking about Riles, she's crazy. You don't need to be scared of anything. I'll protect you." I said softly into her ear.

The brunette pulled away from the hug first, running her hands from my shoulders down to my elbows. "Farkle is stubborn. Don't take it personally if he doesn't believe you."

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked.

She shook her head no. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. He needs to be in a calm environment with his friends. Seeing me will only freak him out. You and Lucas will be enough." Riley smiled weakly but I could see the pain behind her eyes. She wanted so desperately to see her best friend right now; to see her family again. No teenager should have to go through what Riley has.

"Stay safe princess." I said, kissing her cheek lightly before leaving with Lucas right behind me.