Chapter 36 Riley
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Riley
With the cut on my head being so close to my hairline, you can barely see it when my hair is down. It still stings when I touch it just right, though.
I fiddle with my hair again. I don’t know why it even matters what I look like. It’s an elementary school science fair, for crying out loud.
I grab my phone from my room, heading downstairs. Maverick looks like a little grad student ready to defend his dissertation. That will likely be him in a few years.
“You look very handsome,” I tell him, eyeing his button-up and gelled hair.
“Thanks,” he says, standing a little straighter. “Are you ready for tonight?”
His smile is wide. “Yeah. I can’t wait.”
Of course, this is what he is busting at the seams for—a science fair. Most kids would be excited to go to an amusement park or to get a new video game, but not Maverick.
I love this kid so much. A pang of regret zings through me, remembering how that vibrant flame of curiosity was almost put out.
Cole steps in behind his son, resting his hands on Maverick’s shoulders. “Are you ready to go?” He directs the question at me.
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
Finn tries to give me the front seat in Cole’s truck when we get to the garage. Maverick puts a quick stop to that by insisting I sit next to him in the back. Finn mopes, but lets me go without any more complaints.
Once at school, Maverick darted off with armfuls of his last-minute supplies to where his board is set up in the gym.
“This really is his Disney World, huh?” I ask.
Finn and Cole both nod with gentle smiles on their faces. I don’t think Theo even heard me. He’s gazing around the room in wonder.
“I think it’s his, too,” I add.
Finn and Cole both start laughing, which finally snaps Theo’s attention back to us. “What did I miss?” he asks.
“Nothing, bro,” Finn says, patting him on the back.
Theo’s eyes narrow. “Are you guys making fun of me?”
I step in, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I think it’s adorable that you love all of this so much.” I lean in a little closer. “It’s kind of sexy, too.”
There’s a definite blush on his cheeks. “I’m glad my brain is sexy.”
Finn’s laugh draws the attention of several groups of people around us.
“Behave,” Cole warns.
“Oh, good. There you are,” Abby says, breathlessly stepping in beside us. She’s still in a set of blue scrubs, and her hair looks like it has seen better days.
Cole hugs her. “He already left to get set up.”
“Was he nervous?” she asks him.
He smirks. “What do you think?”
“Who am I kidding? He has been ready for this since the project was assigned two months ago.” She looks at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
“Good. I’m glad.” She links her arm through mine. “I’m going to steal Riley for a bit. You boys have fun,” she says, pulling me to walk beside her.
“What? Are we chopped liver?” Finn asks from behind us.
“Yes,” Abby says, not even turning to look at any of them.
I can’t resist. I peek over my shoulder. Finn is standing with his arms spread out at his sides, like he’s offended by our departure. Theo has a smirk, like he knows something everyone else is missing.
Cole is running his hand over his face, like he’s truly terrified of what will be said between us. I don’t know which one of us he’s more scared of, though.
We turn the corner, walking down one of the aisles. Kids are stationed on either side, with their boards propped up on cafeteria tables set up around the gym.
“So… how are things going with Finn and Theo?” she asks while we’re looking at a project about growing mold.
I have no idea what to say. I didn’t even know she knew about any of that.
She cringes a little. “Sorry… I should have eased into that one. I feel like I already know you so well from everything Cole has told me.”
“He’s talked about me?”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s one way to put it.”
My face scrunches up in confusion. He’s hated me since I left. Why would he be talking about me other than to talk trash about me?
“Why don’t you hate me, too?” I ask. She and Cole are best friends. I don’t understand how she can tolerate being around me after everything that happened.
She shrugs. “I’m not happy that you hurt Cole, but I’ve always known that things must have been far more complicated than they seemed. He told me a couple of days ago what you overheard.”
I nod, dreading what else she’s going to say.
“I get why he is struggling with all this right now, but I also don’t think there’s any reason to dwell on the past. Things happen, but it doesn’t have to control our lives.”
I give her a small smile, grateful for her understanding.
“Plus, if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have Maverick.”
“What do you mean?” I ask as we turn to walk down a different aisle of projects.
“Cole moped around for nearly a year after you left. That’s when he and I became friends. When he was finally ready, we tried to see if there was more between us than friendship.” She laughs. “Well… there did end up being something more. It just wasn’t romantic feelings. It was Mav.”
I don’t know which part of what she just said to process first. He was heartbroken over me for a year. A whole year?
I was in the same boat, but I never would have expected that from him.
They’re just friends? I know why I care about this so much, but I can’t let myself go there. Cole still hates me, and I’m pretty sure that’s never going to change.
“There’s no way he was that affected by me leaving,” I say.
“Oh, believe me. He was.” She shakes her head. “He was a moody asshole for so long. He had walls higher than the Great Wall of China up around him. It took me forever to climb. Eventually, I wore him down.”
We stop walking, turning to face each other.
“He was in love with you. It took him a long time to get over it, and if I’m honest, I don’t think he ever really did. He’s going to kill me for telling you all this right now, but oh well. He’s fighting it, but he still loves you.”
Hope that has no right to exist flares to life in my chest. Cole has every right to hate me. I don’t deserve for him to still have any kind of feelings toward me, other than animosity.
“I hope you two can work things out,” she says. I can tell she really means it. She isn’t just blowing smoke up my ass.
With as much honesty as she has given me, I decide to give her some of the same. “I hope so, too, but I doubt it’s possible.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she says with a wink. “Let’s go find that brainiac of mine.”
We walk side by side until we find Mav. The guys are standing nearby when we get there.
“Mom,” Mav shouts, running to wrap his arms around Abby.
She hugs him close. “Hi, honey. You look very dapper.”
“Thanks,” he says, patting the front of his shirt. “I wanted to look like a real scientist.”
This kid.
“You definitely do,” Theo tells him with a thumbs up.
“Is everyone liking your project?” I ask Mav.
He nods enthusiastically. “Yeah.” He pauses, tilting his head to the side. “Some people seem kind of confused when I start explaining things, though.”
“I think we’re all confused when you talk about your grass and stuff,” Finn says.
“Not Theo,” Mav says, pointing at his uncle. “Or Mom.”
“Hey,” Cole says, splaying his hands wide. “I understand what you’re talking about… most of the time.”
Finn pats him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, bro. Welcome to the ‘Mav has passed our intelligence level club.’ It isn’t so bad here. I promise.”
All of us laugh as Maverick moves over to talk to a couple who are studying his display.
Wanting to give him his space to present his project, we all wandered off to look at other kids’ work.
Cole shocks me by gently gripping my forearm. “Everything okay?” he asks.
I stare at him, not sure what to say after everything Abby said.
His eyes widen. “What did she say?” He steps toward where Abby is walking between Finn and Theo. “I’m going…”
I grab his arm, pulling him back to face me. I can’t help but smile because he reacted just the way she said he would.
“Abby is great. She didn’t say anything bad. I promise.”
He’s still staring at me, like he doesn’t quite believe me. He does let out a relieved sigh, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly.
There are a million things I want to tell him, but this isn’t the time or place. That knowledge isn’t enough to snap us from the moment we’re both trapped in.
I’m vaguely aware of all the people milling about around us, but I can’t focus on anything other than him.
My hand is still wrapped around his arm. That one point of contact seems to be tethering us together.
“Riley,” a female voice rings out.
Cole and I step away from each other. My hand falls to my side, feeling vacant without the warmth of his skin.
I blink a few times, then turn to see Hadley walking in our direction. Her men are all dutifully following behind her. They almost look like her bodyguards.
She gives me a quick hug, while her guys greet Cole.
“This is a nice surprise. I didn’t think we were going to see you here,” she says.
“Maverick asked me to come. I couldn’t say no to that.” Not that I wanted to. I wouldn’t be anywhere else tonight.
“That’s really sweet.” Her eyes widen. “His project is… wow. We just talked to him a few minutes ago.”
I laugh. “Yeah. I was pretty amazed. Where’s Evelyn?”
She points to the last aisle we haven’t made our way down yet. I promise to stop and say hi.
We talk for a few more minutes before heading off to explore more.
“Hey, Cole,” I say. I clench my fists to keep them from visibly shaking.
He turns, glancing at me over his shoulder. His expectant eyes nearly make me fall to my knees right here in the middle of the busy gym.
“Do you think you can ever forgive me?” I ask, nails sinking into my palm.
His lips part. He swallows thickly. His delayed answer is going to give me an aneurysm.
“I hope so.”