9th
Dedicated to the creator of the cover on the side -->
Enjoy!
(UN-EDITED)
*
"I didn't know you're this sick."
Riley fixated his eyes to look at me, putting on a serious expression — like he was really shock on how cold my hands were at this point. I just stood there silently, and let him hold my hands for a while, and I just had to admit this,
I love holding his hands.
It's warm, comfortable...
I know, I know — hopeless romantic.
"I'm fine, Riley. Don't worry about me. Gee, I didn't know you cared about me this much," I said jokingly, pulling my hands out of his. If only it's true — that he cared about me that much.
Riley grimaced. "Ha-ha."
I laughed again, and like always, it failed miserably. I let out another loud cough again, turning my head away from him. My throat was dry, and I wished I could be on my bed right now.
I hoped Ms. Gail and Sophie would show up soon because I really wanted to go home — fast. It was bad enough I looked like a freaking monster, with this clown nose and all. And I got to say this, I was thankful Riley couldn't see me like this.
Riley cringed away, but he was still wearing one of the sympathetic looks on his face. And surprisingly then, he took off his hoodie. "Wear this," he said, passing me his brown hoodie.
I shook my head. "No, thanks."
He frowned. "I really don't get you sometimes, you know."
"What?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "Just take it, Ellie," he said, stressing on my name, and he handed over his hoodie.
I beamed at his hoodie, and realized how much I actually wanted it. I knew I'd turn into a huge ice cube if I didn't wear something else to cover my body. Slowly, I took it from his hand.
"Thanks." I muttered.
Riley nodded as I slipped into his hoodie. It was a little big for me, considering how tall, and broad-shouldered he was. A strong scent of something between citrusy, and woodsy swept into my nose. Whatever it was, it was a really great smell.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
I hesitated for a second, biting my lower lips. "Just now, when Sophie was missing you looked — um, no, actually, I just want to ask you why did you help me?" I asked, stuttering.
He shrugged, snorting. "I'm not that mean, you know."
I chuckled. "I didn't mean it that way, Riley. I mean, you looked so ... determined to help me find my sister. It was almost like Sophie's your sister," I explained, and he frowned immediately.
Did I say something wrong?
Riley didn't say anything. But I could see a muscle jumping in his jaw, and there was a line creasing his forehead. Like I just said something really insensitive, and it made him angry.
"I didn't mean to — Riley, I was just asking. You don't have to answer that question, really."
He took a long breath. "I had a sister," Riley mumbled, bringing his hands together, with his eyes looking down to the floor. "But she died."
I was stunned, and blinked my eyes as I didn't know what should I say. No wonder he looked so determined to help me — he must have known how did it feel to lose a family member.
"I'm — I'm sorry."
He sighed, raising his head to look in front. "I knew how hard it was to lose a sister. I don't want you to feel the same thing. That's why I helped you, Elle. I knew you wouldn't forgive yourself if you lost her." Riley explained, and his voice strained.
I couldn't imagine, what Riley had been through in his life — he lost his sight, and he lost his sister.
I went closer to him, ignoring that I was still sick. "Can I ask you what happened?" I tried, looking at him intently. "You don't have to answer, if you're not okay with it."
I could see he was hesitating, and I thought he wouldn't tell me before he finally spoke, "I killed her."
My eyes widened, and my heart stopped beating. "Riley, don't say that. What happened?" I asked hurriedly, and I didn't know why — but it was painful to hear something like that coming out of his mouth.
He rubbed his face, obviously trying to hold himself together. "She's with me during the accident, and she died on that day. I was driving the car, and if only I didn't...." Riley trailed off.
I assumed her sister died during the accident — the accident that caused him to be blind. No wonder he said he killed her. Riley obviously lost everything on that day, and I wondered for a moment how did this boy cope with everything.
When my parents died — I thought I lost everything. I didn't know what to do, and what could I do. I cried all night, hoping God would return them back to me. I swore I'd do anything as long as He gave my parents back to me.
But I finally realized things like that would never happen — things like happily ever after never exist.
I wrapped my arm around him, giving him a side-hug. "It's not your fault," I whispered, tears running down my cheeks. This whole thing made me remind of my parents, somehow.
He flicked his eyes to look down at me. "Why're you crying?" he asked slowly as he probably heard that I was crying while hugging him.
I shook my head. "Nothing. I'm just always emotional like this," I said, faking a laugh. I wasn't ready to tell him everything — I was still afraid of the fact my parents died. I looked up to him, smiling. "What's her name?"
His lips curved into that warm smile something I had been missing this whole day. "Lucy." Riley told me.
I smiled. "That's a beautiful name."
"Yeah, she's beautiful too.." Riley trailed off before he continued, "Lucy was just nine when the accident happened." His smile disappeared instantly from his face.
"She's lucky to have a brother like you, Riley."
He snorted, clenching his fists. "Lucky? I killed her, Ellie. I killed my own sister. She's — she's just nine! She's so young..."
I cut him off, "But she had a brother who loves her so much. Lucy is happy up there, and I'm sure she wants you to be happy."
Riley shook his head. "I won't forgive myself. I killed her," he stated painfully. "If only I was careful that night. If only I didn't bring her along with me she'd still alive. She'd still be here."
"You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. It's fate. Blaming yourself would never bring Lucy back alive, Riley." I murmured, but I didn't think he was even listening to what I say. He looked terribly guilty to himself.
I looped my arm through his. "You're a great person, Riley, really. I've never met anyone like you before," I said honestly, resting my head on his shoulder. I breathed in his citrusy scent, and it made me feel so safe, and happy.
I did expect him to push me away, considering how sick I was. But to my surprise, he didn't, and he just sat there, silently. I looked down to our arms as I enjoyed the warmth I was getting from him. Riley seemed warmer than his hoodie covering me.
And I could feel my heart thudding, increasing per moment.
"I have another question," I said, covering my mouth as I yawned.
He's probably rolling his eyes as he said, "You never stopped asking questions, Ellie. It's one of your weird, ridiculous habits."
"One of my wonderful habits, actually."
Silence.
I chuckled. "So, want to tell me the reason why you got mad at me for no reason?" I blurted.
"No."
I cringed away from him, annoyed. "Why?"
Riley shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it. Just forget everything I said," he said, and I felt a tingle of happiness. "It's not important."
I grinned, "That means, we're friends again?"
Another silence.
"Riley?" I insisted.
"Fine, fine. We're friends again. As long as you stop being so..."
I interrupted, "Weird?"
He scoffed. "And annoying."
"Ah, I don't think I can stop doing that," I said, laughing. "It's like — asking you to be nice, and stopping you from being hot."
He cocked an eyebrow, turning his head to look at me. "Hot? Did you just say I'm hot?" Riley prompted.
I blushed instantly, and I didn't how to reply to his question. Why did I say that? Gosh, I could be really stupid sometimes.
"I was just saying that, really! I didn't, um, mean anything," I exclaimed, waving my hands enthusiastically. I shut my eyes, hitting my forehead.
Riley cleared his throat, and turned his eyes away from me. "Oh, okay." he blurted awkwardly.
"Yeah...."
I still couldn't believe, I just said that. Yes — it was true. Riley Flynn was the hottest guy that I've ever met. With that toned, and good physique, and the fact he's got chiseled face, no doubt he was incredibly hot. Even with his shades on, I could say he was perfect.
But that didn't mean he should know about this!
Stupid me!
There's an awkward silence between us, and Riley had kept his eyes to look everywhere, but at me. I wondered where Sophie and Ms. Gail was, and I hoped they'd show up soon enough. This awkwardness were killing me from inside.
"Do you know where Ms. Gail and Sophie could be?" I asked, breaking the silence first.
He looked down. "Maybe Gail's showing Lucy's stuff to your sister. She's very close to Lucy before she — died. I don't know," Riley sighed.
I blinked. "Yeah. That makes sense."
He nodded before he said, "I don't know what I'll do without her. Gail helped me a lot, even more than my own parents." Riley explained, putting on a very disappointed expression.
I controlled the urge of saying 'At least your parents are still alive' and smiled. Instead I said, "She's an amazing person."
He gave out a breath of laughter. "Yeah. You said that on the first day we met, remember?"
I scoffed. "How can I forget."
It took him a few seconds, before he asked, "Ellie, I need to say something,"
I smiled. "I thought I'm the one who does the talking."
Riley seemed to ignore my babblish words when he said, "Thanks." His eyes were looking directly at me even if he still had his shades on.
I couldn't help but to blush again, even though he only said thanks. "For what?" I asked, sounding a little amused. I flicked my eyes to look at his shades, and saw my own reflection on it.
Gosh, just take off the freaking shades.
Riley shrugged. "I don't know. I was just saying that," he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He then pointed a finger to my nose. "Don't flatter yourself too much!" he exclaimed, warning me.
I laughed, knowing what he really meant. Riley would never admit he said thank you. It's just in his nature. "Whatever, and I'm not flattering."
"Good."
I scowled, and then we both said nothing. I peered at him tentatively, and if Riley could see this he'd probably think I was checking him out.
"I'm not done with your eyes,"
"Yes, you are. And you lost."
I grunted. "That's because I'm sick. I'll see your eyes soon enough, Riley. Trust me," I said in a mischievous tone.
"Why do you want to see my eyes so badly?" Riley suddenly gushed, throwing his hands up in the air.
"For fun. We can know many secrets through our eyes, you know. Haven't you watched that kind of movie?"
"No."
"Heartless," I muttered, frowning. "And let me tell you something. There's so many emotions can be expressed through a simple meeting of eyes. Especially love."
"So blind people like me can't fall in love? Because we can't really see anyone's eyes?" he snapped, like I just insulted him or something — even though I didn't really mean it that way.
I slapped his arm as I was slightly pissed. "Can you be more optimistic sometimes? I didn't mean it that way, Riley. Of course, blind people can fall in love. It's not like you're an alien or something," I shrugged.
"Sorry for snapping at you," he mumbled, looking contrite. "It's just — this kind of things is really sensitive when you're blind."
"It's become sensitive because you're a pessimist."
"You would instantly become a pessimist if you lost everything like me, Ellie," he grumbled.
I shook my head, disagreeing. "You would instantly become a pessimist if you think you lost everything when you didn't, Riley." I stated firmly, using the exact tone he had used. "You still have your parents, and a great aunt. You're rich, and smart."
Riley said nothing.
"Stop thinking you lost everything.... because you didn't," I drawled, trying to change his mindset. "And you have me. I'm your friend, and I'll always be there for you."
"You really mean it?" Riley asked, turning his face to look at me. His voice was soft, and smooth, like he's really hoping I would say yes. He actually sounded like a five year old kid who was asking his first friend, would he talk to him again.
It's cute.
I nodded, smiling. "I mean it. As long as you won't get mad at me for no reason," I complained, rolling my eyes.
"Hey, I have a reason why I got mad at you. I — I just don't want to talk about it," Riley defended himself, grumbling. "It's not important anyway."
"Whatever," I replied, looking around the living room. It was a big house — and most furniture was in mahogany, giving the house an elegant look. I looked up, and saw a big chandelier, just above our heads.
Before I could even explore more of his house with my eyes, Ms. Gail and Sophie finally showed up. I stood up walking towards them, and noticed my sister was already wearing a different clothes — she was in a beautiful pink dress.
Which, I guessed, was Lucy's.
"Ellie! How do I look?" Sophie asked excitedly, swirling, showing her new dress to me. "Ms. Gail gave me this. There's so many beautiful dresses in that room! But this is the most beautiful! And there's so many Barbies!"
I smiled, feeling a little uneasy because I knew what happened to the owner of the dress. "Sophie, you're just borrowing the dress, okay?" I said, and stroked her hair which probably had been blow-dried.
"No, let her just take it, Ellie," Ms. Gail said kindly, smiling at the both of us. "No one in the house will be wearing it anyway. It used to be Lucy's but she —"
"I know what happened, Ms. Gail," I said, cutting her off. I knew she'd be sad, if she mentioned what happened to her beloved niece.
Ms. Gail forced a smile. "I supposed Riley told you, huh?" she said, glancing at Riley, who was already standing beside me.
I nodded, giving her an assuring smile. I could see it in her eyes how much Lucy did mean to their family. I was sure she used to be the baby of this family. It must've been hard for them to accept her death. And of course, to accept that Riley lost his sight.
"Ookay, let's get you guys home now!" Ms. Gail chirped, but I knew she was just pretending to be alright. She glanced at a big, antique clock placed beside a fireplace. "Ah, it's late. I'm sure your parents are panicking right now."
I just smiled bitterly, shaking my head at Sophie when she looked up to me. I wasn't ready to tell her, or Riley that my parents were — dead.
"I think I'll just stay home. You just go and send them, Gail," Riley told us.
Ms. Gail nodded. "That'd be fine. Go to bed, Riley. I'm sure you're tired," she admonished him.
"Yup. Sophie, say thanks to Riley," I said to my sister, smiling. Somehow in my heart, I knew Sophie could cheer him up. Maybe she could at least mend his heart that was broken because he lost his sight, and his sister.
Everyone always fell for her charm — Sophie's charm.
"Thank you, Riley," Sophie said, flashing him a cheeky grin. If Lucy was still alive, they'd be at the same age. And maybe they would even be friends — just like me and Riley.
I just had to smile, every time I realized we're friends again.
I watched in awe as a big smile crossed his face. "You're welcome. Don't ever go missing again. You should see how sad your sister was," Riley said, and his hand wandered for a moment before he finally placed it on her shoulder.
"Okay. I promise I won't do it again." Sophie made a promise, looking at Riley before her eyes shot in the direction of me.
Ms. Gail then placed her hands on Sophie's shoulder. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get to the car," she said, gesturing Sophie towards the door. Sophie nodded, and they both went away from there.
I turned my eyes to Riley. "I know you're tired of this, but still... thanks," I quoted honestly. "I didn't know what to do if you weren't there to help me find Sophie."
"Okay," Riley replied, pausing before he continued, "You have an amazing sister, Ellie. You're lucky."
The sincerity of his voice almost melted me. The way he said it, I knew he really meant it. I was in a state of awe for a moment, and the butterflies in my stomach fluttered happily.
I laughed, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah. And she has an amazing big sister, don't you think?" I joked.
Silence.
I laughed even harder, and it turned into a violent cough. Gee, I thought my fever had gone, but no, it was still there. Maybe slightly better, but still — I was sick.
"Stop laughing. It'll get worse," Riley grumbled, shaking his head in disapproval. He pretended to glance at the door. "I think Gail has been waiting for you,"
I frowned. "Kicking me out of your house, huh?" I shrugged, pretending to be sulking.
"Yes." Riley shot me an evil grin. He began to walk away from there, heading towards the staircase.
"Bye! Don't miss me too much!" I exclaimed, watching him walking away from there. I laughed when I heard him grunting as he climbed the staircase, and finally gone from my sight.
That boy was just too cute sometimes.
*
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