I watched as Rebecca's call went to voicemail, and moments later, there was a notification that Rebecca had texted her.
I didn't even know that Riley didn't have her ex blocked.
I sat up in bed, debating whether to wake up Riley or not. It was still early in the morning. But I knew that my mind was going to go crazy if I didn't say anything right away.
I knew that it had to be about us seeing Sara at the New Year's Eve party. This wasn't a coincidence.
Why does she have to reach out to Riley about it though?
I put my hand on Riley's shoulder gently and said, "Hey. Wake up."
Riley is a very light sleeper, so she immediately opened her eyes and said, "Good morning. Is everything okay?"
She must have seen my expression, because she sat up and said, "Things don't look okay. What's going on?"
I sighed, "I wasn't trying to intentionally look at your phone, but it was vibrating and I saw the caller ID. It was Rebecca calling you."
Riley looked pissed right away.
"I don't mind that you saw. In fact, I'd want you to see that," Riley said, "I'm sure she's calling me to go off about the interaction with Sara. I'm not giving into that."
"She texted you as well," I said to Riley, "I didn't read it."
"I wouldn't have cared if you did," Riley said, "I'll read it right now."
Riley grabbed her phone and unlocked it with her passcode, which was my birthday.
She went to her messages, and Rebecca's was at the top.
It said: Heard you saw Sara last night. Give me a call when you can.
Riley rolled her eyes, "Yeah. No. I'm not calling her."
I looked at Riley, "I'm not trying to sound some type of way...but why is she not blocked?"
Riley said back, looking at me, "I never blocked her. I probably should have, honestly. But I never really thought to. Even right after we broke up, I just didn't think it was necessary to block her. I knew we wouldn't talk again, there was no reason to. And since being with you, it hasn't really been a thought in my mind to go ahead and block her. I can definitely do that though. I'll block her right now."
"Riley, you don't have to block her. It's okay."
"No, I'm going to. It was wildly inappropriate for her to call me, especially with her now knowing that I have a girlfriend."
Riley went to her contacts list, typed in Rebecca's name, and blocked her.
"I promise, you didn't have to do that. I don't want you to feel like I pressured you."
"Jenny, you didn't at all. I promise. It's something I should have done a long time ago."
"Okay," I nodded, giving Riley a small smile, "I just wanted to make sure."
Riley put her hand on mine and rubbed her thumb gently over my hand, "I'd do anything for you. Blocking my ex is a very, very easy thing that I can do for you. For us."
I knew Riley meant every word, and I did as well.
As some time passed, Riley and I were relieved that the first few months of the new year were not nearly as eventful as the year prior. I knew that Riley was still grieving her mother, but overall, it felt like we could finally breathe.
I didn't hear from my mom, which was not surprising. My dad called me once to ask how I was doing, and we had a nice conversation, but it was disappointing that he only called me one time between January and March. Part of me missed them, I couldn't help it. But the other part of me felt free, finally, to not be living a lie anymore.
My siblings, however, really pulled through for me. I was speaking with my brother more than I had in years, and Brittany seemed to really like having Riley and me over her house. My nieces loved Riley as well.
How could you not?
One night in early March, Keith called me. I had a tiring day at work, but I still wanted to speak to him.
"How are ya, kid?" he asked me, "How's work going?"
"Same old," I said, "Just trying to keep my clients happy, which can be mentally draining, especially when they have issues. But it's never too bad. How are you and Kristen, and of course, May?"
"May and I are good," Keith said, "Kristen is doing okay. Her family doctor wants her to be on medication, but she is being resistant."
For once in my life, I actually felt bad for Kristen. She was suffering from post-partum depression after having the baby, and she was struggling.
"Medicine can really help," I said back, "It's not a happy pill, but it'll make her feel more like herself."
"I'm trying to get her to do it. Of course, it's ultimately her decision, but I think it would help us all out."
"I'm sorry," I said to Keith, "I'm sorry that you're all going through this. This should be a really happy time for Kristen."
"I know it'll get better. How are you and Riley doing? Any word on the cops catching the fuckers that attacked you?"
"No word," I said, "I really don't think that they will. I've come to accept that, and Riley thought that from the start."
"Just remember, my offer still stands for you and Riley. I know it's a drive, but you're both more than welcome here anytime."
"We'll plan a day. I'm still really happy that I got to meet May a few weeks ago when you all came down here."
"How could she not meet her Aunt Jenny?" Keith chuckled, "Just let me know when you and Riley want to come here."
I told Riley the next day, when we were both in the office at work, that Keith wanted us to come up and see him, Kristen, and May.
"That would be great," Riley said, "I'm down. We'll see what weekend works best for us."
At that moment Hailey stuck her head out of her office door and said, "Riley, can I grab you for a few minutes?"
"Of course," Riley answered, and as she started walking away she shot me a glance. A glance that said, "I wonder what this is about?".
I went back to my cubicle, wondering what Hailey could be talking to Riley about.
There's no way she did anything wrong. Riley is great at her job.
Maybe she's getting a raise? She deserves it.
Around 10 minutes later, Riley walked out of Hailey's office. She didn't look overjoyed, but she also didn't look upset by anything. She came over to my desk right away.
"What did Hailey need you for?" I asked her.
Riley lowered her voice, "I want to tell you, But I can't in the office. How about we get dinner after work and I can tell you?"
I nodded, "Of course. You pick the place."
Riley grinned at me, "You got it."
Riley and I each drove over to Las Margaritas, a really good Mexican restaurant in town after work. We met up in the parking lot and walked in together.
"It feels really weird meeting up," she chuckled, "This is what people do on their first dates."
After we got seated at our table and were given chips and salsa, I said to Riley, "So. Tell me what Hailey spoke to you about."
"She spoke to me about a promotion. A pretty big promotion, it would be for the position that is above hers. Some of the company executives have noticed my work, and think it could be a really good fit for me," Riley said. I noticed that she didn't seem as excited about it as I would have expected.
"Riley, that's amazing," I smiled at her, "I'm so proud of you. Are you...nervous about it or something?"
"There's one issue with it all Jenny. It's in Colorado."
Oh.
"Okay," I said, "I can see why you don't seem as excited as I expected you to be."
"Yeah," Riley nodded, "On one hand, it's a huge promotion. I'd be making double what I make now. But...it's so far away."
"Are you considering it?" I asked her.
Riley nodded, "I am. It would be a really great opportunity. It's just...well, Colorado is far from Pennsylvania."
Would I consider going with her if she takes the job?
"I know," I said, "I wasn't expecting that. You know I'll support you in whatever you choose to do, Riley. When do you have to decide by?"
"Not for a few weeks. I've decided that I am going to try to not worry about it for a few days. I know that's probably not the best thing to do, but mentally I need to."
"That's okay," I said to Riley, "It's a really tough decision."
Riley looked at me, "Would you go with me there?"
I froze for a moment, unsure of how to answer, "I-"
"Sorry," Riley shook her head, "I can't spring that upon you now. It would be a huge decision for both of us."
I nodded, "It would be, definitely."
"Let's not talk about it anymore if that's okay with you? It's stressing me out."
"I am perfectly fine with that," I smiled at Riley softly.
But it was on my mind. I knew it was going to stay on my mind.
What is going to happen with this?