Chapter 5
~Riley~
“Whoa.” Hannah lets out a low whistle when I pick up my phone at the end of the day and all the unread messages pop up, just like they have every day for the last week. “Who’s blowing up your phone?”
“It’s nothing.” I quickly switch the screen off before she can catch sight of the names. Trevor has been messaging me multiple times a day. Evelyn did too, at the start, but hers have started to drop off.
I haven’t read or responded to any of the messages, nor have I answered any of their calls. In fact, I haven’t said a word to either of them since I found them in Trevor’s hotel room.
What is there to say?
Logically, I know I should block them and be done with it, but there’s something masochistically satisfying about watching the messages come in, like poking a bruise that I know will hurt. Part of me wants the pain, at a time and pace I can control.
Whenever I need to, I can look at their names on my phone and hold onto my anger, because anger beats sadness any day. I’m not going back to being that girl crying in my hotel room again.
“What are you up to tonight?” I ask Hannah, hoping to change the subject while I finish packing my bag.
“I’m not sure,” she says with a shrug, placing her skates neatly into the specially-made stand for them in her locker.
It’s the cleanest, most organized locker I’ve ever seen.
“Lewis said he and Hudson are going to watch a movie tonight and I can come over if I want to. I haven’t decided yet, but if you want to go, I’ll go. ”
The smile that creeps onto my face at the mention of Hudson’s name takes me by surprise, and I force the corners of my lips back down. “Am I invited?”
“It’s super casual,” she assures me. “I go over all the time.”
I give her a curious look as she straightens something in her locker that didn’t look crooked to me. “You hang out with Lewis that much off the ice? Is something going on between you two?”
“No, of course not.” She closes the locker and spins the combination lock to secure it. “We’re just friends.”
“You and Hudson, then?”
I know all too well about how easy it is to get involved with someone you spend a lot of time with. My old club was full of people who’d dated each other at some point but I’m still figuring out the dynamic at Riverbend. Hudson’s earlier rundown was very helpful, until we got interrupted.
“We tried it once,” she admits. “Dinner was okay, but when we tried to kiss at the end of the night, we both kept laughing every time we got close. Needless to say, there was no second date. We’re better off as friends.”
“Does Hudson date a lot?”
The question slips out of me before I can determine exactly why I’m asking, but thankfully, Hannah doesn’t find it odd. “No, actually. Besides our one dinner, he’s never dated anyone at the club that I know about. He doesn’t keep you up to date on his personal life in your emails?”
Right. I’m supposed to know everything about him.
“Not really. I don’t talk about mine either, though.
It just doesn’t come up.” My dating life is the last thing I want to be talking about right now, so I return to her original question.
“But yeah, if you want to go, I wouldn’t mind watching a movie tonight.
It’s better than sitting in my house alone. ”
“Cool. I’ll text you the address and you can come over around seven. See you then.”
An hour and a half later, after grabbing a quick supper at home, I park in front of a two-storey house on a quiet, residential street in the Pleasantview area, not far from Southgate Centre mall where I spent most of the previous evening, picking up some essentials for my house.
Before I can even get out of my car, the front door opens and Hudson appears, his red hair standing out against the white siding of the house.
“Do I need to plug my car in?” I ask. After giving me a boost yesterday, the mechanic showed me where both my cord and the outlet in my carport were located. Thankfully, he didn’t make me feel like a complete idiot, though I had a feeling he was fighting a smile the whole time.
“Not unless you’re planning to spend the night,” Hudson laughs. “For a couple of hours, you’ll be fine.”
He ushers me inside, the warm air in the house a welcome contrast to the crisp, cool night outside. Hannah’s already here, and she waves from a recliner in the corner of the living room. Lewis walks out of the kitchen with a couple of glasses of water and gives me a welcoming smile.
“Hey, Riley. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water’s perfect, thanks.” Hudson takes my coat once I get it off, hanging it up in the closet next to the door.
A plastic mat sits near the door for my boots, with a tall rim to stop the melted snow from leaking onto the floor.
Aside from the chair that Hannah’s curled up in, there’s a loveseat and a larger sofa, all facing a wide-screen TV set up in the corner near the window.
“This is cozy. Do you guys both live here?”
Hudson nods as he leads me further into the room, his hand gently brushing against the small of my back. “My family lives here in the city so I could have stayed there, but Lewis wanted a roommate and it’s nice to have a bit of freedom even if all we do is play video games and watch movies.”
“No wild parties?” I ask, mostly teasing as I take a seat on the sofa and accept the glass of water that Lewis offers me. Hudson sits next to me while Lewis sprawls out on the loveseat, his back against one arm and one leg over the armrest on the other end.
“We have parties twice a year,” Lewis informs me. “Canada Day and August long weekend. Mark your calendar.”
“I have no idea when either of those are,” I admit, and Hudson shakes his head in mock disappointment.
“We have to get you a Canadian tutor to bring you up to speed.”
I know he’s joking, but I kind of feel like I need it. “Maybe next time you’re telling me who’s who at the rink, you can throw in some Canadian trivia too.”
“Did I make the list of who’s who?” Lewis asks, half-listening to us as he scrolls through the guide on the TV, looking for something to watch.
“She already knows who you are,” Hudson reminds him. “I was just giving her some high-level stuff, who’s nice and who’s not.”
“Well, we all know who’s not,” Hannah pipes up.
“Victoria,” all three of them say in unison.
I shift on the couch, turning to face Hudson more directly as my phone vibrates in my pocket. Even though it’s set to silent, the vibration is still audible, but I ignore it. “Is she really that bad?”
“Yes and no,” is Lewis’ answer. “If she doesn’t like you, she’s horrible. If you’re not on her radar, she’ll just ignore you.”
“Whatever you do, stay off her radar,” Hannah warns.
The movie is soon forgotten as they share more information about my new clubmates and my head spins as I try to keep track of it all.
Natalie and Christian Clarke, the brother-and-sister dance team are nice, but Christian’s very protective of Natalie, so if he thinks I’m a bad influence on her, he won’t like me.
Lydia Chan is good friends with Natalie and is recovering from a bad break-up.
I know how that feels.
“Then there’s Blake Stewart,” Lewis says, throwing Hudson a sly grin.
I’m definitely missing something, and Hannah looks equally confused.
“Who’s Blake Stewart?” I ask.
“Hudson’s biggest fan,” Lewis continues to tease while Hudson shakes his head.
“She’s a singles skater, new to seniors this year, and one of Victoria’s friends,” Hudson explains. “Nothing more.”
“But she wants to be more.” Lewis lowers his voice, like he’s filling us in on a secret.
“She asked Hudson out last year. When he turned her down, she demanded a reason why. Being the nice guy he is, he didn’t say it’s because she’s awful.
He just told her he doesn’t date at all, which is also true. ”
That mirrors what Hannah told me about Hudson not dating, and I can’t help wondering why he doesn’t. Some skaters just want to focus on their career, but Hudson doesn’t seem like that type.
“I never knew she asked you out,” Hannah exclaims, shooting Hudson a curious look.
Hudson doesn’t answer, shooting Lewis a glare. “I told you that in confidence.”
“And I didn’t tell anyone until just now.” Lewis shrugs. “I’m just giving Riley a heads-up. Blake is the type to get jealous if she sees you two hanging out together. She thinks she has dibs on you when you decide to start dating again.”
Hannah snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”
Throughout the whole conversation, my phone has kept buzzing, and when it goes off again, Hudson seizes the opportunity to change the subject. “Do you need to take that?”
I quickly shake my head. “No. It’s not urgent.”
His head tilts to the side curiously. “How do you know if you’re not checking it?”
“Your phone again?” Hannah asks before turning to the men. “She had dozens of missed messages this afternoon.”
Hudson’s eyebrows pinch together in concern. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine. It’s nothing.”
My phone chooses that moment to vibrate again and I let out an exasperated sigh.
Maybe I should just get this over with and admit the truth.
It’s not like keeping it a secret is going to change what happened.
Whether I speak the words out loud or not, Trevor and I are done, so I take a deep breath and let it out.
“My boyfriend and I broke up and he’s trying to get me to talk to him. That’s all.”
Three very different expressions follow that news: Hannah looks stunned, Lewis is confused and Hudson… well, I’m actually not sure what Hudson’s expression means.
“You were together for a long time,” Hannah comments.
“Is that why you came to Riverbend?” Lewis asks.
“Are you doing okay?” is Hudson’s contribution.
I answer them all in one fell swoop. “Yes, yes, and yes. Weren’t we going to watch something? It’s getting kind of late.”
The three of them all exchange glances but no one argues with me.
Lewis puts on a short comedy, and though I can feel Hudson’s gaze on me from time to time, I don’t look away from the screen.
As soon as it’s over, I tell everyone I’m exhausted, thank them for having me, and head home before anyone can ask me any more questions.