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  “You don’t realize how jealous you sound.” He laughs. “Seriously, Aiden, just admit you like the girl, tell her, then both of you can live happily ever after.”

  I turn around and walk into my room, slamming the door in his face.

  Chapter 25

  Riley

  When I get back home, it’s about six in the afternoon. I sigh when we pull up to the house.

  “The trip wasn’t too bad, was it?” my mom asks me.

  I shrug. “No, not really.”

  “I’m glad everything is fine now,” she tells me.

  Me too, I think. I grab my bag and my phone and get out of the car. Mom and I walk up to the front door and she unlocks it. When she walks in, she turns and smiles at me. I frown in return. “Why are you smiling at me?”

  She continues to grin. “I know you’re eighteen already, but it’s starting to settle in that you’re going to be off doing great things in the near future. Soon enough I’ll have a son-in-law and a grandchild—”

  I stop her right there. “Mom, please.” I don’t know what brought on this sudden speech and it’s kind of weird. “It’ll be a while before you get grandkids, much less a son-in-law.” I scoff.

  She smirks. “Well, don’t be in a hurry to have kids just yet. I wouldn’t mind a son-in-law though.” She winks. I roll my eyes and she chuckles at me. “Just put your stuff up and come back down for dinner.”

  I nod and make my way up the stairs to my room. When I walk in, everything seems to be in place. I throw my bag on my bed and turn around. My attention is immediately directed towards the flowers on my dresser.

  I slowly approach the lilies and smell it . They’re all white and are placed in a glass vase that’s sitting on my dresser. I look around the flowers for some sort of hint of who they’re from. But I can’t find anything.

  “Mom!” I yell as I run down the stairs. I find her in the kitchen, and she looks up at me. “Where did those flowers come from?”

  She smirks. “I’m not supposed to say.”

  What? My own mom is turning against me! “Mom, that is not fair,” I say, crossing my arms. “Who are they from?”

  “He told me not to tell you.” She smiles. “It was quite sweet of him, don’t you think? The flowers are absolutely beautiful.”

  “That is cruel, Mom. Why can’t you just tell me?”

  She grins. “I told you I can’t say! He said he’ll tell you eventually though.”

  I huff and goes back up to my room. As soon as I walk in, my phone starts buzzing on my bed. I sit down and look down at the screen. I roll my eyes but answer anyway.

  “Yes?” I ask.

  “A simple hello would have been nicer,” Aiden responds.

  “Why did you call?” I ask as I lay back on my bed.

  He sighs. “Isn’t this what friends do? Call each other for no reason?”

  “How would I know?” I ask him. “I never had any friends before I met you, Kelly, and Ryan.”

  “Well, now you do,” he comments. “And I’m glad you can refer to me as a friend again.”

  I smirk. “Yeah, I guess I’m not that mad at you anymore.”

  “I want to say something though, and I don’t want you to get pissed off about it, okay?”

  What’s he going to say? “That depends on what you’re going to say.”

  “Just let me clarify a few things,” he says. “First, Nicole and I are not together. I know that stupid rumor was going around about us, but it’s not true.”

  For some reason, I feel some kind of relief in me after he says that.

  “Second, that time I went to her house was a one-time thing. It won’t happen. Never.” He continues. “And last, those messages that Nicole showed you were real. It was a mistake going to her house though.”

  I close my eyes and sigh. I feel like hanging up, but I want to hear what else he has to say.

  “And now I want to ask you a serious question that only requires a yes or no,” he says finally. My heart starts to beat rapidly in my chest. “Riley, did I steal your first kiss?”

  Part of me wants to lie and say no. “Yes,” I answer.

  “Seriously?” he asks. I can already see him smirking.

  I frown. “Go ahead. Make fun.” I groan.

  “No, I’m not making fun of you,” he says. “I’ve just never been someone’s first kiss.”

  My cheeks heat up. “How many girls have you kissed?” I blurt out.

  He laughs. “Not as many as you think.”

  My eyes flicker to the flowers and I sit up on my bed. “It’s my turn to ask you a question that only calls for a yes or no.”

  “Okay, what is it?”

  “Did you bring flowers to my house?” I ask him.

  “No?” His answer comes out as a question. There’s a slight pang of disappointment in me. “Wait, someone sent you flowers?”

  I play with one of the petals on the lily. “They were here in my room when I got home a while ago.”

  He doesn’t respond for a minute. “Shit. That son of a bitch!”

  I raise my eyebrow from his sudden outburst. “What?”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at school, Riley,” he says then hangs up.

  ***

  Turns out I won’t be seeing anyone for school. I woke up last night not feeling well and I ended up puking up everything that was in my stomach. Not pleasant at all. I’m now stuck in bed for the rest of the day. I honestly feel miserable. I don’t even remember the last time I got sick like this. Maybe those mystery flowers are cursed or something.

  “Call me if you need anything, Riley. I’ll be right over,” my mom says.

  Since I have a headache too, it sounds like she’s yelling at me through a megaphone. I roll over on my bed and groan. “Okay, Mom. I'll be all right,” I say, closing my eyes. I didn’t get much sleep, so I intend to sleep all day if I have to.

  My mom eventually walks out of my room and I hear her leave the house. I sigh and try to fall asleep. That doesn’t work out. About fifteen minutes after my mom left, I run to my bathroom and throw up again. I eventually fall asleep around ten o’clock.

  “I’m just checking on her. Why does that even matter, Alex? Listen, I’ll call you back. I think she’s waking up.”

  I groan and roll over on my bed. The headache is still there and so is the nausea. My eyes slowly open and I look around my room. I raise my eyebrow when I see Aiden sitting at the end of my bed, putting his phone in his pocket. “What are you doing here?” As soon as I ask that, I feel something in my stomach. Before he can respond to my question, I get up from my bed. At the same time, Aiden stands up, and I push him out of the way to get to the bathroom where I shut the door behind me.

  When I finish throwing up, I emerge from the bathroom and walk back to my bed.

  “Well, don’t you look lovely today?” I hear Aiden say.

  I roll myself in the blankets. “Shut up,” I mumble.

  “Friends are supposed to be honest with each other, so I’m going to be totally honest with you,” he says, sitting back down on my bed. “You look like death, Riley.”

  “Gee, thanks.” I roll my eyes. I’m not in the mood for this.

  “No problem.” He grins. “And you’re pretty strong, you know that?” I frown at him. “You nearly knocked me down when you ran for the bathroom.”

  I pull the blankets tighter against my body, suddenly feeling cold. “You were in my way. Be lucky you didn’t get thrown up on.”

  He smiles. “I see being sick hasn’t affected your charming personality.”

  I look at the clock on the small table next to my bed. It’s around one in the afternoon. “Shouldn’t you be at school?” I ask him. Lunch was over at twelve thirty.

  He shrugs. “I thought I’d check on you since I didn’t see you this morning.”

  “Thanks,” I mumble. I start to think about how much work I have to make up since I missed Friday and today. I wince and stop thinking about that for now.


  “Are these the flowers you got?” Aiden says, gesturing to the lilies.

  “No, they aren’t. How did those get here?” I ask sarcastically.

  Aiden chuckles and shakes his head. “Do you even like lilies?”

  I shrug. It isn’t my favorite flower, but they are beautiful. My favorite flowers are white roses. I don’t know why, but there’s just something about them. The average person would like the romantic red rose, but I’m not average.

  Aiden smirks. “Someone is trying too hard.”

  “Wait, you know who sent them?” I ask, slightly sitting up.

  He hesitates but shakes his head. “Nope.”

  I know he’s lying, but I don’t push the subject.

  “Have you had any water today?” he asks me. I shake my head. “I’ll be right back.” He stands up and exits my room. I sigh and sink into my bed. I move around until I’m comfortable. But when Aiden walks back in, he tells me to sit up so I can drink some water.

  “You know, I’ve seen you at your best, and now I’m seeing you at your worst,” he says to me as I take a sip of the water.

  I raise my eyebrow. “You’ve seen me at my best?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugs. He takes the water and sets it on the small table next to us. “At the rehearsal dinner when you were all dressed up. I never would have guessed that you’re a nerd.”

  I roll my eyes. “Thanks.”

  “That was a compliment, Summers.” He smiles. “You looked good that night.”

  I feel the blood rush to my cheeks while he chuckles. “Well, that was probably the last time you will ever see me in a dress,” I tell him.

  He reaches in his pocket suddenly and pulls out his phone. He looks down at it and frowns. Then he shakes his head and puts it back in his pocket.

  “Not going to respond to your girlfriend?” I find myself asking him.

  Aiden smirks. “If you would call Alex my girlfriend, then no, I’m not going to respond. He’s being stupid.”

  “How?” I ask curiously.

  He purses his lips. “That’s confidential information.” A slight smile forms on his face.

  “Ah, I see.” I nod.

  “So, you seem fine to me. How about I take you to school?” he asks, smirking. I roll my eyes at him.

  “I am not fine. And it’s already the afternoon,” I say, pulling the covers tighter around me. I’m surprised I’m not freaking out over Aiden being here while I’m still in my pajamas. Whatever, I’m sick. And if he has a problem with that, then he can leave.

  We fall into a somewhat comfortable silence and I notice Aiden looking around my room. I’m starting to feel nauseous again, but I take deep breaths hoping the feeling will go away. I feel Aiden’s gaze on me again.

  “So, how did everything go with your dad?” I hear him ask.

  I don’t have time to answer. I scramble out of my bed and run into the bathroom, making sure to shut the door. When I finish, I slump over the toilet, ignoring the fact that doing so is disgusting.

  “Are you okay in there?” Aiden asks from the other side of the door. When I don’t answer, he asks, “Riley?”

  I take a deep breath. “I’m fine.” I stand up shakily and clean up before walking back out. I crawl into bed and make myself comfortable.

  “You wanna tell me what went down up there?” he asks as he sits down next to me on my bed.

  I sigh and nod. I inhale before telling him what happened with my dad over the weekend.

  Chapter 26

  After we had got back from Village Inn, Alyssa suggested that she and Amanda should some time by themselves for part of the day. Amanda, of course, complained that I’d get to spend time with her daddy, but Alyssa promised to buy her some candy at the mall, and if she’d stop her pouting.

  Alyssa told me that it would be a good time to start bonding with my dad. I’m about to protest, but then I remembered that the whole purpose in going there was to get to know him and “bond.” So Alyssa left with Amanda, and I joined my dad in the living room where he’s watching TV.

  “Food from Village Inn really hits the spot, don’t you think?” my dad asked me.

  I nodded. I loved Village Inn. I loved it so much that I overate that’s why, for the rest of the day, I felt like an inflated balloon. “Yeah. Village Inn is great.”

  He stayed quiet for a few minutes. He grabbed the remote and changed the channel to ESPN. Then he spoke again. “So, everything is good at home?”

  Once again, I nodded. “Yep. Mom keeps up with the house chores and I look after our dog.” At the mention of Sassy, I instantly missed that fur ball.

  “Let me guess, it’s a Pomeranian isn’t it?” he asked, sounding amused.

  “How did you know?” I asked back, raising my eyebrow.

  He shook his head and chuckles. “Your mom always wanted a Pomeranian.”

  “We got her when I was about twelve,” I said to him.

  Another silence followed. My dad eventually sighed and turned the volume down on the TV. “Riley, I know you want to know why I left you and your mother…”

  I took a deep breath. I knew the conversation would come up at some point. “I do,” I said.

  “There are some things you have to understand, Riley. Your mother and I were only twenty years old when she had you. It’s not too young, but it’s not that old either. We were both still growing up ourselves, and raising a child was difficult for both of us. As much as I loved your mom, things were only getting harder instead of better,” he said then sighed. “I started to think that I wasn’t fit to be a dad, and if I stayed, I would only screw things up.”

  “Doesn’t that cross every parent’s mind though?” I found myself asking him.

  He nodded. “I didn’t realize that at the time. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy leaving you and your mom. You were such a cute kid and I loved spending time with you and her. I was going through a rough time with my family and everything seemed like it was crumbling down around me. So I did end up leaving.”

  “You gave up,” I said. He was beating around the bush and I hated it when people do that.

  “I did.” He admitted, slumping his shoulders. “A few years later, I met Alyssa. I didn’t expect to find someone else, but I did. And I ended up lying to her. I had told her that I was never married or anything, which was a huge mistake.”

  In all honesty, I didn’t want to talk about Alyssa at that point. “So, instead of trying to reach out to your own daughter, you went out and found a new wife?” I asked, trying so hard to keep my voice steady.

  “When you put it like that—”

  “You know, I never really cared that you left us.” I cut him off. “Because I honestly thought I would never speak to you, ever. I thought I could go on in life and not make a big deal about this. Then I see that you’re married again and had another daughter. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” I asked, pointing to myself.

  “Riley—”

  “It makes me feel like I’m not wanted. As much as I hate to admit it, I am jealous of Amanda because you’re here for her and you weren’t even there for me. She gets to have the childhood I never had.” I ranted. I was already on a roll and I didn’t want to stop.

  My dad wore a sad expression. “I was afraid your mom wouldn’t let me see you after what I did.”

  “You could have tried still,” I told him. “The thing is, though, I wouldn’t change my childhood. I think Mom did a pretty good job raising me on her own.”

  “She did.” He nodded. “She raised a beautiful young lady who is going to do great things later in life. Even though I wasn’t there to see you progress to where you are now, I’m still proud of you. And I don’t want you ever to think that I love Amanda more than you.”

  I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. I knew this would happen, and I wanted to handle it well.

  “What I want from you, Riley, is your forgiveness. I haven’t been the perfect dad, hell, I haven’t even been a dad to you, but I
want you to forgive me more than anything. I promise I will try to be there for you whenever I can.”

  We both stood up and I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. I didn’t have to say it, but we both understood that he was forgiven.

  ***

  After I finish telling Aiden about my conversation with my dad, he whistles. “Pretty emotional stuff,” he says to me.

  I nod in agreement. “Everything was fine after that. Alyssa was nothing but nice to me for the remaining time I was there and Amanda even complimented me on my eyes,” I tell him. I almost choked on the water I was drinking when the girl said that to me.

  Aiden grins. “At least things didn’t take a turn for the worst.”

  “I’m glad for that,” I say, leaning back into my pillow. I’m feeling a little better at this point.

  Sassy walks into my room at that moment and jumps onto my bed. She goes straight for Aiden and starts licking his arm.

  “Awe man!” Aiden yells. I chuckle at the sight before me.

  Aiden points to Sassy. “You are an evil dog. You lost my respect.” Sassy just tilts her head then comes and sits beside me.

  I pat her back. “Good dog.”

  Aiden shoots me a glare. “You’re real funny. I now have dog saliva on my arm.”

  “You can easily clean it off.” I shrug. “You’re being a drama queen.”

  He smirks then. “You wanna lick my other arm, so it’ll be even?”

  “No, I don’t want to lick your arm. I don’t want to get even sicker than I already am. I don’t even know where your arm has been,” I say to him, crossing my arms.

  He chuckles. “I promise my arm is clean.”

  “Aiden, I am not going to lick your arm. That’s disgusting and weird.” Seriously, who licks someone’s arm?

  I hear a buzzing noise and I turn my head. My phone on my dresser goes off. I look at Aiden. “Can you grab my phone for me?” I ask as nicely as I can.

  “What do I look like, your goddamn servant?” He crosses his arms.

  “Yes, you do. Now, get my phone.” I point to it.

  He sits there and sticks his nose up in the air.

  “Please?” I plead. “It could be my mom.”

  He sighs and stands up. “Dammit. This is the only time I’m doing this,” he says as he grabs my phone.