INFINITE (Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 17: Living Proof

Standing up, all too quickly, he said, “You should get dressed. Alaina and Hailie are in the kitchen. They’re really excited to meet you.” Just at the mention of their names, his face lit up.

As he headed for the door she told him she’d be down in a minute. He left and she unzipped her suitcase, pulling out a pair of jeans and a loose black shirt. Making sure her hair wasn’t too messy from sleeping, she slipped on her shoes and wandered down stairs.

It took her a little while to find the kitchen but the noise of two little girls gave it away. Smiling, slightly, Riley ducked around the corner wall and into the large, modern kitchen. Sitting at the island bench on tall stool were two girls, one with blonde hair, one with brown hair. Nervousness pounded through her. What if they didn’t like her? Would Marshall be upset?

Marshall lifted his eyes to hers, and they twinkled, though his mouth didn’t turn upwards. The two girls turned their heads to see who their father was looking at. They didn’t smile at her but looked intent. Riley had a give a weak, uncomfortable smile. They looked adorable.

“Alaina, Hailie, this is Riley,” Marshall introduced, staring at me intently from the other side of the bench. The girls both gave toothy grin and waved. “She’s going to be staying with us for a little while.”

Riley stepped forwards, waving back. She was never amazing with kids and felt awkward and under pressure by the whole situation. “Hi, girls. It’s nice to meet you.”

Alaina turned, so she sat backwards on the stool. “Our names are the same. Laney, Hailie and Riley.”

Hailie’s mouth dropped as the realization dawned upon her. She turned back to Marshall, “Daddy! You have to write a song about it!”

Marshall smirked, “Okay baby.”

Alaina crawled up onto the kitchen bench and reached over, snatching Marshall’s wide brimmed baseball hat and reached out towards Riley. She carefully lowered her head so Alaina could place the hat on her head. Straightening, she pulled her best ‘classic rapper’ face and crossed her arms, posing. She felt silly but Alaina and Hailie’s faces lit up as they started laughing.

Hailie squealed and pointed, “She looks like daddy!”

Riley smiled, and pulled off the cap, placing it on Hailie. It was too big and sat low on her forehead, she could hardly see past it. Jumping off the chair, she started dancing around the kitchen singing, just like she thought her father did. Alaina joined her, both impersonating him. Riley giggled and glanced up at Marshall. He was shaking his head in disbelief at his daughters, but smiling all the way.

“Okay girls, why don’t you get started on your homework?” Marshall insisted, trying to calm them down. The girls looked disappointed but skipped off, leaving his hat behind. He looked like he was about to say something when a booming voice interrupted him.

“-Doody!”

Riley turned and saw a man standing in the doorway, dressed in a beanie, despite the warmer weather. He had a big smile plastered on his face. Marshall grinned back, just as big and slapped the man into a hug.

“Riley, this is Proof,” He said, proudly.

Riley blushed a little, knowing they were best friends. Marshall had spoken so highly of him, she almost felt intimidated in his presence. “Hi.”

Proof stared at me for a minute. His eyes were beautiful, such a deep brown. They reminded her so much of Mark’s eyes. He looked back at Marshall, “Damn, you didn’t tell me how good looking she was!” Riley stepped backwards, blushing like crazy. She couldn’t believe he just said that out loud. Proof started laughing. “Oh, check out that face.”

He and Marshall were both laughing. Riley had to smile. She must have overreacted again. Marshall suddenly had an excited look on his face, “Man, I got the new Mario Kart game you wanted.”

Proof high fived Marshall and they ran off like a bunch of teenage boys. Piling onto the sofas in the living room, they started fighting over the best remote. Riley just had to laugh as she reached out and snatched the white one off the coffee table. They both stared at her.

“I’m going to kick your sorry asses,” Riley insisted, squeezing between them. “Mark has this at home and he can’t even get close to beating me.”

Proof shook his head as he grabbed the TV remote and flicked on the Nintendo 64. “You got nerve, girl. I’ll bet you anything that Marshall and I will fry you.”

Ten minutes later, they were on the last race for the cup and Riley was closing in on Mario and Luigi, who were actually Proof and Marshall. They’d knocked her off the edge of Rainbow Road and she’d lost her position. Carefully maneuvering her way through the crowd of other drivers she knew she had to act quickly, with the finish like closing in.

“Proof! She’s got three red shells!” Marshall yelled, madly punching the buttons.

“What?! How did she get that in third?!” Proof exclaimed. Riley passed into third as saw Mario up ahead. She fired off one of the circling red shells. It went straight ahead and knocked over Mario. Proof yelled. “NO!”

She passed him and saw Luigi up ahead. Firing another red shell she was disappointed that Marshall blocked it with a green shell he had in store. Smiling, she knew although he’d blocked her first attack, he had nothing to protect him. Firing the next one, Marshall started yelling in horror as it hit him and she flew passed him and over the finish line.

Standing up, she exclaimed in celebration. The two looked horrified.

“Best out of three!” Marshall exclaimed, high-fiving Proof behind her.

“WHAT.” Riley flopped back down onto the sofa. “I beat you two fair and square, even with you ganging up on me!”

“We were just taking it easy on you,” Proof insisted. “We’re actually way better.”

“Oh right,” Riley retorted, sarcastically as they set up the next race.

“It’s true,” Marshall threw back.

Riley selected the same car she had last time. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to get along with them. It was like they’d been friends for years, things were so relaxed.  Staring at Marshall, with a coy smile she said, “Fine. Play your best. And if I win, I get the gold remote.”

Proof raised a brow, “And if you lose?”

“You get ultimate bragging rights for the rest of the week.”

Marshall and Proof eyes each other before he smiled at her, “Oh, it is on!”