She passed me a milkshake cup then opened the bag of fries.
She got right to the point. “I don’t want you to be my dirty little secret anymore.”
“You don’t?” I sipped the caramel milkshake she’d handed me.
“No.” She popped the lid off of her cup and dipped a fry in the chocolate. “You were right to be mad. I would have felt the same way in your place.”
I reached over and dipped a fry in her shake.
“But Nate, I’m scared. I’m scared of what will happen when Nola finds out. I’m worried about what Frank will say when he finds out.”
I reached over and took the cup and bag from her hands, setting them down on the floor. I tugged her close to my chest. “It’s okay to be scared. But Riley, you can’t keep living your life in what-ifs.” I felt her head nod against my chest. “You can’t let those fears win. You’re too young to give up on life.”
“I’m not giving up on life. I’m keeping my sister safe.”
“Have you talked to her?”
Riley mumbled against my shirt.
“I couldn’t hear what you said.”
She groaned. “I talked to her last night.”
“And what did she say?” Though, I was sure I knew the answer. Wren wasn’t a coward.
“She said Frank could go to Antarctica for all she cared. She said we should be out living our lives, not waiting on a plan. Which only makes me think I’ve been a horrible guardian these past couple years!”
I leaned back and placed a hand on either side of her face. “You have not been a horrible guardian. You’ve done what you needed to do to take care of your sister. However, now you have a boyfriend who wants to help you. And you have a family who wants to take care of you. Dad and Mom are ready for you to come home. Dad wants you for Christmas—he even promised to not cheat at Monopoly. They want to meet Wren.”
“You didn’t tell Nola yet, did you?”
“No, I was waiting until you wanted me to. I made you a promise. I’m not going to break that.”
“Thank you.”
“You know, you coming over here has completely ruined my persuasive speech I’ve been working on.”
She looked at me with a sparkle in her eyes. “Don’t let that stop you. I’d like to hear this speech you’ve been working on.”
“I don’t know if you’re ready for this speech.”
“Oh, please. Just give me the speech.”
I cleared my throat—three times. Riley squirmed impatiently.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Imagine we’re walking through a dark fog. There’s only one flashlight.”
She frowned. “Why aren’t there two flashlights? I would have packed a second one.”
I held a hand over her mouth to stop any other unneeded outbursts.
“We’re walking in the fog, and I’m the only one who can see, but you don’t want to take my hand because you want to prove that you can find your way out of the woods by yourself. So, you don’t take my hand. What happens?”
“I probably stay lost in the fog.”
“Knowing you, you’d find a way out, but it’s going to take you way longer than if you had taken my hand and we both used the light to find our way. If you take my hand and stretch out your hand to the person behind you, then the three of us will make it out of the woods together.”
“So, what you’re saying is that not everything is a competition.”
“I’m saying not everything is better alone. And you know that I value being alone. But there comes a point where it’s okay to rely on the people around you.”
Riley sat there, staring at me.
“Well, what did you think about my speech?”
She grinned. “I’m glad I decided to keep you before I heard that speech.”
“Oh really? I worked hard on that.” I pulled her closer and began tickling her ribs mercilessly. “So, you don’t like my speeches?”
She shrieked and flailed at me, trying to escape my hold. I’d forgotten how quick she was—and how bony those elbows were.
“Ouch!” I let her go after one extra-hard elbow caught me under the chin.
She hurried to her feet. “I’m not apologizing for that. You started it.”
“That’s true. And I can finish it.” I made a half-hearted grab for her that she easily dodged.
She headed to the kitchen, and I followed her, pulling out the coffee supplies.
“Do we drink coffee after a milkshake?” Riley asked.
“Yes, all the time is coffee time.”
“So...Wren’s dad.”
“You met him, didn’t you?”
“Yup. I think he took my favorite travel coffee mug.”
“You’ll never see it again.” Riley shook her head. “He used to come into the market when I worked there. He’s the kind of guy who literally, every time, empties out the “take a penny, leave a penny” container. He was a big motivator for me to move when Wren came to live with me.”
“You think we haven’t met other people like him?”
I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “But they weren’t people you’d have to deal with on a regular basis. He’s Wren’s dad. I can’t just tell him to go take a hike.”
“Why not?” He shrugged when he saw my glare. “Okay, well, I see your point. But I think you’re going to be surprised at how he doesn’t care. He’s probably forgotten all about us.”
Riley grimaced. “I wouldn’t count on that. You might not like me when you have to deal with him.”
“Why don’t you let me worry about that?”
She propped herself up on an elbow and studied my face before she answered, “I think I will.”
Chapter TwentyRiley
Wren and I sat next to each other on the couch, watching episode 549 of our favorite BBC show.
“We really need to branch out,” I said as I grabbed a handful of popcorn.
“Let’s start that one Turkish show we’ve heard so much about,” Wren suggested.
“You know I don’t like subtitles.”
“Well, I guess you’ll just have to learn Turkish then, because that’s the show that I want to watch next.”
I
