Treat You Better

28.

I leaned my head back and blew out a puff of smoke towards the ceiling, watching the fumes twist and curl in a mixture of grey and white. My parents think I am at work, I decided not to tell them anything yesterday, couldn't be bothered to keep up another lie. 

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Holden asked, talking the blunt from me. 

"I'm suspended for two weeks." I snarked, picking up one of the bottles of liquor from the table and taking a swig. 

"Suspended?" Holden coughed out passing the joint back to me. 

"It's Luke's fault." I stated. 

"What has he done now?" Holden asked, I put the joint down in the ashtray, a sighed, bringing my knees up to my chest.

"He drives me insane." I muttered, "He's racing again, he came to my work and we fought in the janitor's closet, again. My boss warned us last time but I never thought it would happen again. She just suspended me right on the spot- didn't even hesitate." 

"It's their loss." Holden comforted me, wrapping his arm around me. "These two weeks will pass and everything will be back to normal." 

"Will it?" I countered. "Since Luke came back, everything has been upside down. Tyler isn't himself, Ashley is so infatuated with him that she can't see straight and I- I'm not sure of anything anymore." 

"What aren't you sure of?" He enquired, but I didn't respond. "Luke?" 

I shook my head in response, picking up the bottle and talking another sip.

"Tyler?" My silence was enough of an answer. 

"I don't know whether I am in love with him anymore and the more I question it, the more I question whether I actual felt anything for him in the first place." I admitted. "That's the first time I've said it out loud." 

"What about Luke?" He asked. 

"It's complicated, like we're friends but we are more than friends at the same time." I responded, I couldn't describe what Lucas and I are exactly. We don't actively seek out each other, everything just sort of...happens. 

"I think you need to figure out what you want." Holden advised, I nodded my head and decided that tonight wouldn't be the night for that. Instead I sunk into the couch and fell asleep. 

He probably shouldn't have been driving but after my nap, Holden took me home- making it look like I had been at work all afternoon. I stumbled up my drive and was met with Josh, standing by the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as he pulled me into a hug.

"Just wanted to see if you were okay." He smiled, I nodded and thanked him for coming. "You look tired, I'll let you get some rest." And with that he was gone, it almost seemed like I had imagined the entire thing. 

I tip-toed into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich, the munchies getting the better of me. I then ate it as I creeped up into my room. I nearly screamed when I saw Lucas sitting on my bed. I shut the door behind me and put my food on my desk.

"What the fuck are you doing here Luke?" I asked. 

"I wanted to see you." He answered.

"Why? Why the fuck do you want to see me?" I could feel myself getting angrier, the drugs and booze having no effect on me. "You shouldn't be here, I have a boyfriend." 

"He doesn't care about you Riley." 

"And you do? I feel like we are having the same conversation over and over again. But it still doesn't change the fact that you being here is wrong." Luke pulled me towards him, down onto his lap and bringing our faces close. 

"He doesn't deserve you." He whispered but I was just silent. "I can treat you way better than him." 

"Him? You mean your little brother?" I scoffed, he held my tighter, clenching his jaw. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just in each other's presence. 

"I'm sorry." He whispered. 

"For what?" I mumbled back.

"For yesterday, for everything." I nodded letting him know that I acknowledge his apology. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, finally connecting out lips after minutes of agony. I wound my fingers in his hair as we kissed, but as soon as he started pulling at my t-shirt I stopped it. 

"You should go." I whispered pulling away, he gave me one last kiss before rolling me over to lie on the bed, then getting up and sneaking out using my window. After he left, I curled up pulling the covers up, over me and falling asleep. 

My slumber didn't last long as I was, all of a sudden, being shaken. I opened my eyes and saw Tyler leaning over me. I smiled and sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, I wasn't expecting to see one Matthews brother tonight, let alone two. 

"I just wanted to see you." He answered, but he had a wild look in his eyes. Tyler grabbed me by the legs and pulled me towards him, I started trying to move away.

"I'm tired, Ty, not tonight." I said. 

"Come on." He moaned, running his hand up my thigh. 

"Tyler I'm serious, I need to get some sleep." I backed away from him. 

"Fine whatever." He snapped, like a child, standing up and making his way to my bedroom door. 

"So, you're just going to go?" 

"Yeah, I've got work to do." He mumbled, leaving me alone in complete amazement at how childish one person could be. I lay back down and attempted to get back to sleep.

●

A/N

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

~Jadey6688