The sun never seemed to rise quick enough.
I frowned, looking at the clock to see that it was only 4am. I was up all night trying to tell myself that there was a reasonable explanation for all of the coincidences that linked Riley to the unnamed girlfriend that Lucas described yesterday.
A gentle knock on my door shook me out of my thoughts. I knew it wasn't Shawn or my mother from their inability to knock before coming into my room.
Riley peeked her head through the tiny crack in the door and smiled at me tentatively. "Morning." She greeted sarcastically.
I was staring at her too intently to form words. Riley was wearing some of the closeted that I lent her. She was taller than me, which caused my t-shirt and cotton shorts to cling to her body in a tight fit that made it hard for me to breath.
I don't remember lending her my favourite Arctic Monkeys tee.
When I didn't reply, and she caught me staring, Riley closed the door behind her. She looked down self consciously at her shirt.
"I might have stole this when you were gone. It looked too cute." She giggled.
A smile crept up my face, accompanied with the sound of her laughter. I made a lazy effort to scoot over to make room for her on the bed. Riley took the action as an invitation to sit and joined me, sitting cross legged.
"Well, I'm wearing your hoodie so I guess we switched outfits. Except you rock my clothes way better than I do." I joked.
My hands gestured to the oversized white sweater that I've been wearing to bed lately. The smell of her at night was comforting, and was almost enough to make me forget that the real thing wasn't actually beside me.
Riley moved closer and suddenly our bare legs were brushing. She whispered in my ear in an effort to avoid waking up others in the house. "Don't say that. You look hot in everything" She said huskily.
My face heated up and I felt guilt overwhelm me when I momentarily hoped that her boyfriend was the same Mason that died so we could have a chance to be together.
I shook those thoughts away, wanting to hit myself for even letting my brain think of something like that.
"Do you want to talk?" I asked, steering the conversation to something different.
Riley nodded shyly and laid down on her back on the bed with her arms tucked behind her head. "I can't tell you anything about me. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to know about you, Maya."
"There's not much to know about me. I'm boring" I shrugged, looking down at her from where I was sitting.
Riley stifled a laugh before playfully kicking me in the side. "Are you kidding me?" She whisper-yelled.
"Even your name is interesting. Come on, Maya Hart" Riley teased. Her face contorted into a more serious expression. "Break down your walls for once, for me." She pleaded
It never ceased to amaze me how she could make me believe that we were the only two people in the world. That all of our problems- my father, her memory, our situation, was all erased.
Deep breath. "I grew up in Los Angeles. Everything there is straight from a movie, Riley. Each day felt like a dream. I loved it. Art is kind of my thing. It's how I communicate when no one will listen to me." My voice is gentle, like I'm afraid to break but knew that she would still catch me in the end.
Riley sat up and stared at me. Neither of us said anything. The room was still.
"You are so beautiful." She whispered it so quietly that I almost don't catch it.
"Inside and outside." The brunette clarified when I don't answer.
"Why does everyone keep saying that." I laughed to myself, knowing that there were plenty more beautiful girls in New York that Riley would probably prefer to be with over me.
"Who else called you beautiful?"
"Lucas, like the instant I met him." I answered.
Riley rolled her eyes. "He probably didn't mean it the way I did, you know. Whoever this Lucas is, only thought that you're beautiful on the outside. He hasn't gotten to see you the way I've been able to." She replied defensively.
I raised an eyebrow at her, curious. "And what way is that?"
"When you're alone, you sing like an angel even though you always refuse to acknowledge your talent. You claim that you're not in love but when I look at your artwork, it says otherwise. You love your mom, a lot. So you bite your tongue when she talks to you about Shawn. You protected me when no one else would. You're a good person Maya." She breathed out.
"Thank you." I replied. "Can I ask you something?"
Riley nodded. "Sure."
"Does the name Lucas or Farkle ring a bell for you?" It was a stupid question, but I wanted to make sure that there was no connection between them.
Her eyes light up for a split second, making me worried that the answer was yes. As quickly as they brightened, they dimmed. I could tell she wanted to say yes, because she thought it would satisfy me. But something I learned rather quickly was that Riley Matthews doesn't lie.
"No." She shook her head back and forth. "It doesn't."
"You should go catch some sleep downstairs, it might help your memory." I suggested, wanting to be alone with my thoughts. Riley's presence made it difficult for me to think straight.
Riley got up from my bed, taking the hint. She took slow steps to the door and turned the knob gently.
"Wait." I called out just before she left. Riley looked at me over her shoulder with anticipation. "Is there something you're not telling me?" The words came out of my mouth desperately, searching for some sort of answer to her mystery.
She paused. "I have a tiny confession."
"Okay." I said tentatively. She doesn't look up from her gaze at the paint stain on my floor. "Are you going to say something? Or are we literally going to watch paint dry?"
She smiled at my joke and looked me in the eye for the first time during our conversation. They're brown and warm and somehow brighter than all of the suns and the stars combined.
"Remember when we saw that picture on my lockscreen?" Riley asked, causing me to promptly nod.
"It triggered a memory for me." She admitted.
"Mason wasn't my boyfriend." She whispered and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding my gaze once again.
"What, did you just say that to get me jealous or something?" I scoffed, trying to hide the relief I felt from her confession.
"Well it worked, didn't it?" Riley teased and the butterflies in my stomach go wild. "He's my best friend.. and my coverup."
"Coverup for what?" I started to worry that I've accidentally taken a bank robber under my wing. Or worse, a murderer.
Riley took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "People are mean, Maya. They started a rumour that I liked girls. Within days, it circulated around the whole school and everyone believed it. I didn't know what to do, I was scared. I figured that dating him would stop their suspicions." She explained.
"Were the rumours true?"
"Well, yeah.." She admitted, clearly embarrassed. "Is that okay?"
My hand reached out to lace our fingers together. She gladly reciprocated and squeezed our hands.
"It's okay." I whisper. "I'm happy for you."
I said, before pausing momentarily. "So you're single?" I asked hopefully.
"Technically." She shrugged. "Why?"
"Just wondering." I replied, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks.
Thankfully, she's too busy trying to hide her own blush to notice mine. "Are you single?" Riley questioned, mimicking me. "I'm just wondering too." She said quickly.
Riley spoke like a teenage girl who was talking to her crush for the first time. It dawned on me in that second, that I barely knew who she was. I didn't know her personality, her life, her family, or what she likes. I didn't know any of that. The idea itself hit me like a truck.
"Yeah, I'm definitely single. I don't know how though, I'm such a catch." I said sarcastically, pretending to be heartbroken.
Riley turned the doorknob again, signalling that she was ready to go back down to the basement. "Maybe it's just that no one's been able to catch you yet."
"Is that a challenge, Matthews?"
"I don't know, you tell me." She smirked and shut the door behind her, leaving me with only the faint scent of vanilla to remember her by.