CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Grayson— 17 years old
I’m not really stalking Riley.
I’d say, I’m just merely keeping an eye on her.
Because trouble follows Goldilocks everywhere she goes, and that triggers my protective instincts. I’ve never felt protective over anyone else, other than Naomi.
My sister was the only one capable of making me go haywire, if anyone ever dared to hurt her. But Riley — she’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before.
Except, she’s been avoiding me.
When I saw her on the first day, smiling prettily up at her friend, I had considered myself lucky. I didn’t think she’d treat me like a stranger though.
That’s unfortunate.
But I have an inkling as to why she’s avoiding me.
After watching her for weeks, I’ve realized that Riley has built up a wall around her. A wall that only Lila Garcia is allowed through. Riley keeps everyone else at an arm’s-length.
I don’t blame her though. They treat her like trash, and I can see the life diminishing in her eyes every time someone throws an insult at her. They are unnecessarily cruel, simply for the sake of being spiteful.
So, I see why she’s avoiding me.
Riley doesn’t trust anyone.
She doesn’t trust me.
And I understand that.
Because fate has always been brutal to me; vicious in ways that I’ve long lost trust in everything and everyone. When something strangely good happens to me, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it always does.
Everything good that occurs is followed by something dreadfully unpleasant.
But Riley…
There’s something about her that calls to me.
It’s the longing in her eyes; it speaks to me because I see my own reflection in them. A yearning for something that we don’t quite understand.
So, I stand there, watching her in the coffee shop as she orders her morning coffee. Making sure to stay out of her sight because I don’t want her to think I’m a creepy stalker.
I know my size can be frightening, but I never want to give Riley a reason to fear me.
She grabs her coffee and walks out, hefting her backpack over her shoulders. Riley has earphones in, and she’s scrolling through her phone.
And because I’m watching her, I notice it before she does.
The bicycle coming toward her.
Riley is right in the middle of the sidewalk, and I lurch forward. Trying to pull her back to safety. But it happens so quickly and I’m too far away to reach her in time.
“Watch out!” I call out, my blood roaring in my ears.
Riley looks up, and her eyes widen in alarm. Her reflex is fast, and she jerks back, just in time to escape being hit by the bike. But the motion has her teetering over her feet. She has her coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, and I know she can’t stabilize herself.
Riley loses her balance, and I wince as she crashes hard onto the sidewalk.
“Fuck.” I rush to her, as the rider doesn’t even bother to stop and see if she’s alright. “Watch where you’re going,” I bellow after him, anger pumping through my veins.
She could have seriously been hurt.
I squat down next to Riley. “Shit, are you okay?”
Her coffee is spilled all over the sidewalk, and on her blazer. Riley looks down at the mess in mortification and doesn’t meet my eyes. “Y-yeah,” she stutters.
“You’ve scratched up your knee.” Her black leggings are torn around the knees, and I can see the bloody scrapes. There’s bits and pieces of gravel stuck in her skin.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt,” she says, her voice soft and weary.
Lies.
Riley winces when she tries to stand up, releasing a hiss of pain under her breath.
“Way to go, Riley. Clumsy and stupid,” she mutters to herself, quiet enough I almost miss it. I grab her elbow and help her to her feet. She wobbles a bit before finding her footing.
“You’re not stupid,” I refute defensively, almost like she’s insulting me not herself.
“Huh?”
I bend down to grab her backpack. “You called yourself stupid. That’s not true.”
Riley blinks, her mouth parting in surprise. “Oh.”
“The bike wasn’t supposed to be on the sidewalk,” I tell her softly. “The rider should have known better and should have slowed down when he saw you in his path.”
Riley stares at me mutely, blinking up through her thick lashes. I give her a smile, hoping to put her at ease before she goes back to avoiding me again. I take the empty coffee cup from her and drop it into the trash bin next to us. “Wait for me here? Just two minutes, okay?”
She’s still staring…wordlessly.
“Riley?”
“Yes?”
My grin widens at the look on her face. She seems a little bit bedazzled and I can’t help but think it’s cute . “Do you mind? Waiting for two minutes?”
“Uhm, yes! Yes, sorry. I don’t mind. You—yeah, I can wait. Sure,” she sputters quickly and then promptly snaps her mouth closed.
Like I said…cute.
I stride back into the coffee shop and place an order for a Caramel Brulé latte with extra caramel. I keep a watch on Riley out of the corner of my eye, making sure she doesn’t somehow decide to make a run for it.
Once the barista hands me my order, I rush back outside to Riley. She’s standing there, fidgeting with her long braid. “Here. You can have this.”
She eyes the cup, her expression full of confusion. “You went to buy me coffee?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” She slowly takes it from me, bringing the cup closer to her face and inhaling the scent. I’ve seen her do this before.
“Because the other got spilled?”
Riley takes a sip, eyeing me over her cup of coffee. Her cheeks are flushed and I like the color on her. It makes her look more alive than weary and jaded. “How did you know exactly which drink I prefer?”
Ah, busted. Fuck.
She’s giving me that suspicious look that I’m familiar with. I rub my chin, sheepishly. “If I tell you the truth, you’ll think I’m a creep. So let’s just say…It was a lucky guess?”
“A lucky guess, huh?” A smile graces her pink lips and I swear, my heart stutters in my chest at the sight of it. God, she’s pretty. And so fucking cute.
She takes a sip of her drink and I see her hand drifting back to her knee – the ons that are still bleeding. I heft her backpack over my shoulder, and point toward the main building of Berkshire Academy. “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”
“You’re a little bossy today,” she mumbles, but follows after me nonetheless.
Oh, am I? I’m just trying to—
Wait…
What exactly am I trying to do?
Why am I buying her coffee and taking her to the infirmary…?
I pause, running my fingers through my hair. Shit, Riley definitely thinks I’m a wack-head now. Earlier, I was just following my instincts, not really thinking anything else through. Now that she mentions it, maybe I am being a little bossy.
We silently get to the infirmary, only to find that the nurse is not there.
“You can go,” Riley offers, limping over to the bed in the corner. “You’ll be late to class if you stay here with me. The nurse should be coming back soon. She’s probably doesn’t expect anyone so early in the morning.” There’s a sheepish look on her face, as she plomps down onto the squeaky cot.
And leave her alone?
Like I said, trouble follows her everywhere she goes. Not of any fault of her own. But because she’s surrounded by insensitive jerks and shallow assholes. Berkshire Academy is full of them.
I drop my backpack on the floor and start to rummage through the cabinets. “What are you doing?” she questions slowly.
“Neither of us is going to be late to class,” I tell her confidently. Once I locate the antiseptic wipes and band-aids, I go back to where Riley is sitting.
Her eyes widen when I kneel down in front of her. Gasping, she pushes at my shoulder. “What are you doing, Grayson? Get up!”
“I’m just helping you.” I frown. Is that bad?
Riley gapes at me. When she doesn’t try to push me away again, I take the antiseptic wipe from its packet and gently disinfect her scratches. The blood made it look worse than it actually is, and relief instantly fills my chest.
I make sure to remove any piece of gravel I find embedded in her skin before putting the band-aids on. “There, all done.”
I lift my head and our eyes meet. My heart thuds . Riley swallows, and there’s a softness in her expression that wasn’t there before. “This reminds me of the night in the alley,” she says quietly, with a slight breathy hitch in her calm voice.
Riley is right.
We’ve been in the same position before, just with the roles reversed. I wonder if this is fate somehow playing a trick on us.
I get to my feet, pointing at her blazer, that’s still wet from the spilled coffee. “Do you have a spare in your locker?”
Riley shakes her head, dejectedly. “No. I don’t have another blazer in my locker. I didn’t think I’d need it.”
I don’t wait for her to finish her sentence before I’m shrugging off my own blazer and dropping it over her shoulders. “Take mine,” I tell her, but then grimace at the bossy tone in my voice. Clearing my throat, I try again, “You can use this for today, I don’t mind.”
“But you will get in trouble for not wearing the proper uniform. Do you have an extra?”
I simply grunt in response. “It’s fine.”
“No.” Riley stands up, wincing in pain as she does. “I can’t let you get in trouble because of me. That’s not fair.”
She tries to hand it back to me, but I give her a look, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not taking it back,” I tell her, my voice softening when she pouts.
Riley is pouting. And she’s doing it so petulantly, as if she’s comfortable enough with me to show that side of her. She’s always so closed off, so quiet and lost in her own world. It’s shocking to see this side of her. To see the walls she’s built around her slowly chip away.
Fuck, this girl is capable of making me weak to my knees. I just know it.
I shift closer to her, and I feel her more than hear her suck in a shuddering breath as I start to button up my blazer over her body. Her bottom lip is snagged between her teeth, and she makes a tiny sound in the back of her throat — a sound of both protest and approval. As though she’s not so sure herself, if she should be complaining or not.
The bell rings, and we both jerk back in surprise. “Let’s go.” She breathes shakily.
I nod, and we grab our backpacks to leave the infirmary. Only to see Oaklynn waiting for us outside. Riley comes to a halt, and I pause too. Oaklynn eyes us suspiciously, her gaze bouncing back and forth between Riley and me, before she confidently moves closer to me.
“I saw you going into the infirmary, was just coming to check if everything is fine,” she purrs softly, latching onto my arm. “By the way, I’m thinking we can leave together after school. My parents told me we’re going to dinner at your place tonight. So, I can just come with you and wait for them at your house. I don’t think your aunt would mind. She likes me.”
Riley takes a step away from me, and she clears her throat awkwardly. “Thanks for your help, Grayson.” She skids away, her smile strained now. “Uhm, bye.”
She’s gone before I can stop her.
“Good riddance,” Oaklynn mutters under her breath.
Goddamn it!
Frustrated, I roughly tug my arm out of Oaklynn grasps and she stumbles back, frowning. “What the fuck, Grayson? What’s your problem?”
I lean down, bringing our faces closer together. I’m pissed. “My problem is that I don’t like clingy people.” I growl.
I’ve been trying to play nice with Oaklynn, but she’s getting on my last nerve. “And lastly, I don’t want to hear you speak of Riley like that ever again.”
She gasps, outraged, but I don’t stay to hear her useless rambling.
I stride away, going to find Goldilocks.
Because she ran away from me…again.