"Riker!" I cry, completely aghast by his aggression.
"What?" He growls.
"Bro, just calm down," Rocky warns, moving in front of Riker to stop him from moving any closer to Emily.
"Rocky, let go of me now," Riker seethes. "And Emily, we need to talk. Alone."
"Oh hell no." This time, it's me that moves in front of Riker.
He towers a full head over me, but I am not even a little intimidated.
"Marriya, move."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Before I am able to respond, I feel Emily's hand on my shoulder. "Marriya, it's okay."
"Are you sure, Em?"
Nodding slightly, she begins following Riker up the stairs to Ellington's bedroom.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Riker's PoV
The second she enters the room, I swing the door shut behind her.
"You need to leave. Now."
"Riker, let me explain!" She begs.
"I don't want to hear it, Emily! Get out!"
"Riker, please-"
"I actually thought there was something between us!" I cry. "You were this incredibly gorgeous girl who completely amazed me, and I was stupid enough to actually believe you liked me! I can't believe you have the nerve to show up at my house after-"
"My brother has cancer," she interrupts softly.
I open my mouth to speak, but my voice has abandoned me. I reach my hand out to touch her, but she flinches away.
"His name is Cooper, and he's five. A month after I moved to LA, I got a phone call from my mom. She said Cooper was in the hospital, and he was going to die. By some miracle, the doctors were able to save him. They figured out then that he had brain cancer."
Her shaky voice finally gives out, and she begins sobbing. Tentatively, I move forward to hug her. Immediately, she wraps her arms around my neck. Heavy sobs continue to rack her chest as she buries her head in my chest. Emily struggles to gain control of herself, and I just pull her tighter to me.
"It's okay, Baby, you don't have to be strong for me," I murmur in her ear.
Slowly but surely, she stops crying. To my immense disappointment, she pulls away before continuing.
"E... ev... every time he goes for treatment, he gets so upset. He hates it, and he doesn't understand why he needs it. We haven't told him that the doctors don't predict he will live too much longer.
The night of the party, Cooper had to go into the hospital. He always calls me when it happens, because it is the only thing that keeps him calm. I was sitting at the bar waiting for you to come back when he called. I stepped outside to talk to him for a bit, and next thing I knew, you and the rest of the band were leaving. Marriya looked upset, the rest of you looked sad, and I didn't know what to do."
"Are you serious?" I ask softly.
"Riker, I really like you. I would never have left if my brother hadn't called," she replies.
"I'm so sorry for being mad."
"It's okay, I would have been too. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
"Baby, I'm done talking," I murmur.
Grabbing her by the waist, I push her up against the wall. She wraps one hand around my neck, pressing the other against my chest. Not able to wait another second, I close the gap between our lips.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Ross' PoV
It's 11:50, meaning Marriya leaves in 10 minutes. I don't know when I will see her again, but I am determined to make it soon.
"Bye, Ross," she murmurs, kissing me again.
"This isn't goodbye. It's just... I'll see you soon," I reason.
"Well then I will see you soon."
After pressing one last kiss to my lips, she begins walking into the tunnel leading to the plane.
"I love you, Marriya," I murmur. "I'll see you soon."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Two updates in two nights! This one is in honour of me getting 11.7K! That's over 900 reads in one night! Thank you so much all of you who read, vote, and comment! I'm sorry it is really short, but I wanted to put up something 😊
Love you guys ❤️
~ Hannah xxx