Chapter 23 Riley
TWENTY-THREE
RILEY
When I see the words ‘I need help’ pop up across my screen, everything else that needs to be done doesn’t seem important.
I sent August a text saying I’ll meet him at The Surf Shack in ten minutes. There wasn’t a bone in my body that doubted the situation. There was no way I was going to say no to the opportunity of helping him.
August is much more capable than he thinks. And I’m going to help prove that to him just like I did when we were in high school.
A movie in my head plays out moments we’ve had together when he would say those three words, ‘I need help’. The late nights we had at his kitchen table with textbooks open and calculators waiting to be used. Bags of different chips and cans of soda open.
Nostalgia hits me at once, and suddenly I’m terrified to meet up with him. At this point, we’ve been alone more times than I can remember, just like old times. It’s like time is rewinding, giving us another chance to fix things. Giving me another chance to fix things with him.
I’m walking in circles around my bedroom, and I grab whatever is in front of me. I shouldn’t be overthinking this much about what to wear. I put on black leggings, a T-Shirt, and my jean jacket. When I step in front of the large mirror in my bedroom, I look at the rats’ nest on my head.
My hair hasn’t been washed in three days. I flip my short hair this way and that, but nothing looks good, and now I’m considering just shaving my head completely.
The green hat on my dresser that says, ‘always tired’ will have to do. I eye my outfit one more time. I’m too lazy to put makeup on and when I lean closer to the mirror, I see a few pimples starting to form on my chin and forehead.
“Awesome,” I mumble.
I miss the days when I had zero breakouts or blemishes. Tugging on my bottom lip with my teeth, I consider putting on pimple patches.
August wouldn’t care, would he?
Grabbing the box on my dresser, I put on five small star-shaped patches. The only colors I had left were green and pink.
I’ve decided to ride my bike to the shop, needing some fresh air and a clear mind. As I pass by stores in town, most of them are decorating for spring, hoping summer will come sooner.
Some stores have large posters in their windows for the high school Spring Fling dance. Those stores typically sponsor the dances and supply whatever the school needs.
It’s one of the popular dances the school holds, where they vote for the Spring Fling king and queen. Why they have a king and queen for a spring dance is beyond me.
When August and I went together, rumors started swirling, and I had to shut those down quick. Not that I wanted to. The idea of being August’s girlfriend during that small moment of time was kind of nice.
I’m almost thirty years old and trying to figure out what love means and what it feels like. Do you see stars? The kind of love where you can’t eat or can’t sleep, and all you want is to be with them?
Pulling up to the store, I lean my bicycle against the building. Waves crash and seagulls dance along each other in the sky. I walk into the store with an action plan, and I’m kind of excited to get started.
If it weren’t such a last-minute request, I’d have gone to the store and bought supplies I know will help him. But we can worry about that later.
“Riley?” Ellie calls out from one side of the store.
I stop in my tracks and turn to look at her. “Oh, hey. What are you doing here?”
“I was bringing August some lunch and decided to pick up some stuff for Rowan.” She walks toward me and tilts her head. “What are you doing here?”
I say the first thing that comes to mind. “I’m here to help August with some work.”
I wasn’t expecting those words to come out of my mouth. I was expecting something along the lines of, ‘Just here to grab a new swimsuit.’ Then again, Ellie knows I own about fifty of those. But you can never have enough.
I’m tired of fighting and coming up with lies or excuses when it comes to him.
Ellie’s eyebrows knit together. “Wait, he reached out to you?”
A knot forms in my stomach.
“Uh.” My voice cracks, and I stammer. “Yeah, he texted me. Something about paperwork.”
“And you came here willingly? Like he didn’t blackmail you or something, did he?”
I chortle at the thought of August blackmailing me. “I chose to come here and help. No blackmailing. Not even a bet.”
Ellie studies my face. The same blue eyes as her brother’s, bouncing back and forth between mine. Suddenly, I feel like I’m in an interrogation room, waiting for the twenty questions to hit.
She slowly narrows her eyes at me, and I widen mine, coming up with answers to questions I don’t know yet.
The corners of her mouth turn up into a smile as she shrugs both shoulders. “Okay. Let me know how it goes. I’m gonna get going, I’ll see you later?” She hugs me.
“Yeah. See you later.”
She saunters through the store and disappears through the exit.