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-@_meni_me
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Chapter 23: As the World Turns
After over a week, Riley was finally starting to relax in Michigan. Alaina and Hailie both seemed to like her company and despite the whole situation with Kim, she and Marshall were getting along well. She’d even had a good relationship with Proof. He came over just about every other day. The three of them always got along apart from the occasional arguments while she dominated in every video game they played.
She was standing in the backyard, baseball bat in hand, the fall breeze rushing through her hair. The weather had been almost like summer over the last few weeks but the temperature was starting to drop again as the wind picked up. Autumn leaves swirled around the grass, around her feet. Marshall stood ten feet away from her, holding a soft baseball in his hands. Hailie was on third base and Alaina was standing centre field, wearing a glove too big for her hand.
Marshall pulled a smile as he looked back at Alaina, “You ready? If she gets this, they win.”
Alaina adjusted her baseball cap and returned his toothy grin, “She won’t.”
As he turned back, Riley prepared herself, bat slung over her shoulder. “Bring it on, Marshall. Hailie and I are going to win.”
Marshall drew back the ball and bowled it at her, faster and with way more force than she predicted. She swung quickly but missed, the ball flying straight past her head and bouncing against the wall of the house. Sighing, she retrieved it and threw it at Marshall.
He caught it and yelled back with a sly smile, “Strike.”
Planting her feet firmly, she pulled back the bat as Marshall bowled again. Now prepared for the fact that he wasn’t taking it easy on her, she swung at the perfect time. The sound of the smack from the ball hitting the back rang through the yard. The ball soared across the grass towards the trees by the fence. Alaina was so close to catching it but missed. It was too late anyway, as Hailie has already sprinted from third base, which was actually Marshall’s jacket to home base, which was a broken stick.
Cheering, Hailie jumped up and down and raced over to Riley, “We WON!” She was so excited. Despite losing, Alaina and Marshall still looked happy as they retrieved the ‘bases’. Riley looked up as she heard her phone start ringing. As they used it as first base, she only had to take a few strides to reach it.
She forgot to check the caller ID, “Hello?”
Mark’s voice was chirpy as ever as greeted her, “Morning my favorite model.”
She had to smile, “Hmmmm, sucking up… what job do you have?” Mark would always be more complimentary when he had a good job for her.
“It’s a good one,” Mark insisted. “Miami Shoot Magazine cover.”
Riley nearly fell over, “You got me the cover of MSM?” Riley’s mouth dropped and she put her hand over it. “That’s amazing.”
“Who’s the best manager in the world?” Mark asked.
She could hear the smile in his voice. “You are.”
“That’s right,” Mark said, enthusiastically. “So I’ve got you booked in for Monday, so you better be bright eyed and bushy tailed by 9am. Clear?”
Riley was simply beaming, “Okay. I’ll book some flights back to Miami ASAP.”
There was a pause before Mark slid in a suggestive comment, “Still in Michigan?”
She just rolled her eyes, “Goodbye, Mark. I’ll see you Monday.” She snapped her phone shut and looked across the yard at Marshall, who was being trampled by his two daughters. They were clinging onto him, the three of them laughing and smiling.
Riley felt a wave of sadness go through her as she watched them. Marshall couldn’t hold the both of them up and felt backwards onto the grass where Hailie and Alaina tried to tickle him. But he wrestled back, playfully. She wondered what it would be like to have a family, so happy and close. She’d never experienced the warm embrace of a father or mother or understood the connection they had. Forcing a smile, she pushed her feelings aside and ducked inside, not wanting to intrude on a moment she greatly desired to be a part of.
Upstairs, she pulled out the suitcase she’d arrived with and placed it on the bed. Staring at it empty, it almost felt wrong that she had to pull everything out of the closet and pack. Even if it was for an MSM cover, the idea that she was going to have to leave Michigan was harder than she thought. And more surprisingly, she wasn’t that excited to go to back. Miami was never a home for her… just another place to live. For once… she felt like she belonged somewhere.
Shaking her head, she knew she couldn’t stay forever. She had to be realistic. She had a job… somewhat of a life outside of this dream she’d been living in for the last week. Swallowing, she started folding her clothes and putting them in her suitcase. It was funny how it felt like she was leaving home instead of returning to it.
“Knock, Knock.”
Riley jumped and dropped the shirt in her hands as she head Marshall’s voice. She turned and saw him leaning against the doorframe, rapping his knuckles on the door. He looked down at the suitcase and up at her with a blank face. “You disappeared out there.”
He wasn’t mentioning it? Riley swallowed and folded the shirt, placing it neatly in the suitcase. “Mark called.”
“Oh.”
She frowned at his tone of voice. It wasn’t a ‘that’s-interesting-oh’, it was full of disappointment, as if he knew what she was going to say. “He got me a photo-shoot for the cover of MSM.”
She looked back at him and saw him smiling but his eyes weren’t full of happiness. “That’s great,” His enthusiasm seemed shallow. It was like he wanted to be happy for her but wasn’t. “Does this mean you have to go back to Miami?”
She sighed, “Yeah….” There were both silent. She knew he didn’t want her to leave. And she didn’t want to go. But she had to make money somehow. And this cover was going to get her a lot. As it was, she was going to have to look for a new apartment. Closing her eyes, she figured it would just be best to forget about this week and try going back to her normal life. Her normal… boring life.
“Why don’t I come with you?”
Riley looked up, wildly at Marshall. “That’s crazy, Marshall. And completely impractical.”
He stood straight and stepped into the room, posing his argument, “In what way?”
Riley placed her hands on her hips, “What about the girls?”
Marshall shrugged, “They miss Kim and Kim misses them.”
“Aren’t you worried about leaving them with her after what happened?”
There was a pause but Marshall looked confident as he spoke. “No. We talked about what happened. She’s changed.”
Riley tried to hold back her smirk as she folded up a pair of jeans. “Must have been a motivating talk.”
“I told her that if anything like that happened again I’d fight for full custody of the girls.” Riley placed the jeans in the suitcase and bit her bottom lip. That was motivating. “They’ll be safe with her. I’ve never seen Kim look so healthy. And she wouldn’t do anything with them around.”
Riley still wasn’t convinced that Marshall coming to Miami was a good idea. “What about your work?”
“I’m between albums at the moment. I can write on the go. A few days off isn’t going to ruin my career,” Marshall almost seemed persistent on going with her.
She sighed, “And the media?”
He chuckled. “They’re always a problem. I’ll deal with them the same way I usually do.”
“By flipping them off?” She teased.
He smirked but shook his head, “By laying low.”
Riley still wasn’t sure. This whole idea was radical and very last minute. But maybe she was overthinking things. Her decision to go and audition for a music video for a famous rapper had been radical and last minute… and it ended up being one of the best decisions she’d ever made. “Fine. As long as you can figure out everything, I guess its okay.”
The light returned to Marshall’s eyes, “Good. I’ve got it all covered, don’t worry.”
As Marshall left the room, she would have never guess she would be booking two flights to Miami, instead of one.
It was late Sunday evening when Marshall pulled up to Kim’s two bedroom house. The lights were on and the garden was perfect, giving him hope that she’d gotten her life a little more organized. Hailie and Alaina were very excited as they grabbed their backpacks and raced out of the car. Marshall got out quickly and made sure they weren’t running onto the road. Crossing safely, he let them sprint to the door and run inside.
As he caught up, he walked in and shut the wooden door. Kim’s house was comfortable with big sofas and an open wood fire. It reminded him of the homes he wished he lived in as a child, something spacious and ‘homey’. He spotted Kim in the kitchen where Hailie and Alaina were at her feet, giving her hugs and handing her the get well cards they’d made.
Kim’s smile was the biggest he’d seen on her face in a long time. It’d faded quickly once they started fighting again. As she spotted him, she closed her mouth and straightened. The girls ran off, dumping their bags in the open living room and went straight for the box of toys Kim kept in the corner of the room. She offered him a polite, but cold, smile and she returned to making dinner.
“Would you like a drink?” She offered.
Feeling uncomfortable, he shook his head, “I’m good.” As he stepped forwards, he noticed she had a few books open, which he believed to be recipe books but as he looked closer he saw they were old photo albums. Why on earth did she have those out? Most of the time they wanted to forget about their childhoods, not remember. Kim suddenly cleared her throat and he realized she’d said something.
“What was that?” He asked, stepping back, dismissing the old albums.
Kim raised a brow, “How long are you in Miami for?”
Marshall shrugged, “Couple of days I think.” He drew in a deep breath. “Just… working on some more music.”
“Right,” Kim said, believingly. He caught his breath as she didn’t suspect anything. He didn’t like lying to her but it was probably best she didn’t know that he was going there with Riley. In honest truth, he was going mostly because that worthless sack, Dick, was there and there was no way he was risking the possibility that he could give her trouble over there. That… and if he was really honest with himself, he didn’t want to be away from her either. It was like he was addicted to her. He couldn’t stand the idea of her being apart from him.
As Kim stirred the pot on the stove she spoke without looking at him. “Thanks for letting me take care of the girls…” She looked up at him with blue eyes that were a shade lighter than Riley’s. “I promise nothing will happen.”
He jingled the keys in his hand. “I know.”
Turning away, he said goodbye to the girls with big hugs and told them he’d bring them back presents from Miami. As he walked out the door, he found it easier that he thought to leave them with Kim. He thought, after what happened he’d have trouble trusting her again. But he didn’t. He knew they’d be safe with her.