Heath finished the impromptu tour by leading me to the closed door of River's room where we could both hear the sounds of some sort of video game.
I turned to look up at the attractive professional fighter, "Thanks." I murmured, now uncomfortable by the way his slight smile made my cheeks heat up.
He flicked one of my curls, "No problem, Kitten. If anyone asks, I'm out in my gym and I'll be back in for dinner."
"Sure," I smiled slightly as I watched him turn back down the hallway until he reached the stairs.
I drew in a deep breath and knocked on the door - Heath had explained that River knew where we had been since I had walked away from him but I was suddenly unsure of my welcome.
I waited for a moment, knocking once more when it became obvious that he either hadn't heard the first time or was choosing to ignore me.
After everything that Heath had admitted to and the way that River had forced his brother into apologising, I was convinced that if I was being thrown to the side, it would be after being told firsthand.
"Come in," I finally heard muffled through the door.
I rolled my eyes and twisted the knob to push my way in, cautious since I didn't know what to expect from a boy's bedroom.
The volume of the television nearly knocked me over as I stepped through and closed the door behind me.
The room was larger than what I had thought but I quickly realised that even with the queen size bed, entertainment area with full lounge set and desk, it was still a good deal smaller than my own.
"This is nice," I murmured to myself as I took in the warm white walls and blue accents - it was immediately apparent that River's favourite colour was navy blue since everything from the quilt to the curtains matched.
I turned to the lounge where my friend had paused the game to look over his shoulder at me while I absorbed everything. It felt strangely intimate to be standing in the one space where everything represented him and the kind of person that he was.
His eyes were dull and guarded, "Hi Riri."
Disliking the way his voice sounded defeated, I trotted around the side of the couch and loosely dropped down next to him before I gave him a bright smile, "What a day? Your family is almost as awesome as mine."
His brow furrowed, "What?"
I chuckled and poked him in the stomach, "Did you think that I was coming in here to 'rip your balls off again' as Heath eloquently put it?"
"Well, yeah. I figured after he told you about the background check I had done, you would be majorly pissed."
Everything froze as I tried to process his words, his confession, "What background check? What are you talking about?"
I would have worried about the way that his face paled if not for the sudden tightness in my chest and the way my stomach rolled. "You had me investigated?"
"I thought that Heath would have told you."
I shook my head and moved so that my leg no longer pressed against him, "When did you have it done?"
He dropped the Xbox remote onto the coffee table as he slowly faced me completely, "My uncle runs a security company and after my first day at the high school, I called him about you."
My breath puffed slightly, "So you know who I am? You know who my parents are?"
He nodded, his eyes tracking the way that face contorted.
"So that's why you decided to trust me with being your friend. I was your only choice and you knew that you'd be safe from any attempts to get to your family's money," I whispered. It hurt beyond imagining to realise that he had never chosen me because he genuinely wanted to. He saw me as convenient and his only option.
"Alira..." He shook his head frantically as he reached forward to grab my hands between his own.
"Is that why your brother suddenly changed his mind about me? You told him who I was?" I had no idea why tears started to gather along my bottom lashes but I knew that my heart was shuddering in pain.
I had been so stupid to think that someone, anyone, would want me for me even if it was just as a friend.
River was unlike anyone before him - he didn't see my money as something to be exploited, he had used it as a safety net to protect himself.
"Alira, I want you to listen to me - at least give me five minutes to explain," he pleaded.
"Just tell me why? I understand your reasons for having it done and I can't say I blame you but why did you never confront me? Do you even want to be my friend or are you just desperate?" His head snapped back as though I had slapped him as a terrible thought crept into my mind. "Or are you just using me for your brother's career? Having the backing of my father could assure his success in whatever he chooses to do next."
He dropped my hands, "How could you even ask me that? After everything I've told you and after the way that Heath reacted earlier, I would have thought you would see that I understand. Knowing you, finding out about your parents and what you have, I understand and so does Heath. Even that first day when I didn't know, you stood out. You had no idea who my brother was and it was like I could finally breathe around someone for the first time in years." His voice rose as he shifted, agitated, "Yeah, it shocked the absolute shit out of me when Uncle Raine called me back but my first thought was - wow, how on Earth have I ended up friends with the most absolutely perfect person? You're my friend, Alira - my RiRi and yes, you being rich has helped it has nothing to do why I want to hang around you and it sure as hell has nothing to do with why I wanted to introduce you to my family."
He paused to take a breath and sharply push his glasses higher.
I had no idea what to say - I was playing the injured party because he had gone behind my back but could I really blame him? I had spent whole days listening to our peers try to weasel their way between us and with the unique way I had handled my own need for normalcy, I suddenly didn't really feel like I could punish him for it.
My head felt as though it was on the cusp of exploding with the way my emotions had jumped around so far that day and I knew that I couldn't handle much more without indulging in a completely female breakdown.
"RiRi, please." He whispered, "I was going to tell you today about what I knew - I don't want those kinds of secrets between us when you're the only friend I've got."
I laughed brokenly, "I was going to tell you truth after we had dinner. I didn't think that it was fair of me to keep something like that from you - and I knew that you would find everything out when we started the assignment for school but I didn't want that to be the main reason I confessed."
"Does that help my case?"
I gave him a small smile, "A little bit but I think that this proves that we still don't trust one another enough yet."
"Yet? As in you're not going to punch me in the face and walk out?" He muttered, quiet and hopeful as he seemed to hold his breath.
"Do you actually want to be my friend?" I asked, looking for honesty rather than the smalls lies that we have seemed to be feeding one another.
"I can honestly say that you are an awesome person and I one hundred percent want to be your best friend forever," His eyes screaming with sincerity.
I couldn't help but giggle, "Are you sure that you're not secretly a female?"
"Last time I check my bits were all still different to yours," he answered, deadpan, "but if I was a female, I would be way prettier than you."
I patted his shoulder, "You're already prettier than me now, River."
He beamed for a second before his face fell into serious lines once more, "Are we ok?"
I thought it all over for a moment, thought of what might happen if I simply walked away without giving him a chance when I really had nothing to lose. I put out a hand, "No secrets?"
He nodded slowly as he wrapped his fingers around my own, "Definitely no secrets."
"Then yes, we're ok as long as whatever your uncle told you remains private."
"Always, RiRi."