Chapter Thirty-Four
Riley
I spent the morning with Paisley. She wanted to cheer me up, so she took me out for breakfast and then out to get my hair done. I hadn’t treated myself in a long time, and it was nice to get some pampering done. It obviously didn’t take away from what had happened, but it did make me feel a little bit better.
“You see, I told you that you would feel better after this,” she said. The two of us were now sitting at Ruben’s café having a cup of coffee on the house.
I smiled at her. “You’re a good friend, Paisley. Thank you for all of this. And you’re right. I do actually feel better.”
“Good. And you look gorgeous.”
I chuckled. “It’s amazing how good it feels to have nice hair. Who knew I would care so much?”
“You’re beautiful, Riley. So, now that you’re feeling so good, why don’t you let me hook you up with someone? Ruben has some very gorgeous looking friends.”
“I heard that,” he said as he walked by, but he smiled so I could see he wasn’t really upset with her.
She chuckled. “Not as gorgeous as Ruben of course,” she said loudly. “But seriously, why don’t you let me organize something. We can go on a double date even?”
I shook my head. “Ah, I don’t know, Paisley. It’s a little soon.”
“Is it though? Don’t you deserve some happiness? You should go out and enjoy yourself. Why should he stop you from having fun? It’s not fair that he did this to you, Riley. You know, he tried to call me again yesterday.”
I groaned. “Yeah, he tried to call me too. I just left it. I don’t want to talk to him. I mean, what exactly can he say? I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. All he’s going to tell me is lies. Or he’s going to apologize to me. Or he’s going to tell me that he was never in love with me. None of those are responses I particularly want to hear from him.”
“Will you at least consider it? It doesn’t even have to be a proper date. It can just be for fun. No pressure or anything.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I’ll consider it. I promise. Just not right away.”
“Okay, just don’t let him win, Riley. I know you’re sad, but you have to move on. You have to show him that you can live without him. And you can, you know.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “You’re probably right. Okay, give me a little time and then set something up. I can’t say my heart will be fully into it. But I will at least try. I can promise you that.”’
“That’s all I ask for. So, do you want to come back to my place after this?” she asked. “We can ditch Ruben and spend the night watching movies and drinking wine.”
“I heard that!” he said, and we both laughed.
I shook my head. “I think I’m going to just stay in and do some illustrations. I’ve been neglecting them lately, and I want to get back into them.”
“Good idea. You know, a part of me thinks you should’ve kept that money. I still think the idea for the troubled teens was a good idea.”
“It is a good idea, and I’m going to do it regardless. But I won’t use his money. I’m going to save up my own money to make it happen. Even if that takes years. I’ll feel better knowing that I did that on my own. I won’t be happy knowing it was his money. It would be like he still had a hold on me. He has his own life now. His big shot singing career to attend to. He doesn’t need me, and I don’t need him. It’s time to move on.”
“Good for you, Riley. And I’m glad you’re not giving up on this dream. I think you can make it work without him.”
“I think so too.”
“Well then, if you’re not coming back to my place, I think I’m going to hang around here and bug Ruben some more,” she said.
I laughed. “Good idea. Be a difficult customer and then don’t leave him a tip.”
She giggled. “Oh, I’ll give him a tip all right. But much later.”
“Paisley! Have the two of you finally done it?”
She blushed. “Shhh. Not so loud. You know he’s trying to listen in.”
“He’s talking to a customer. It’s okay. We’re safe. Tell me!”
“I . . . I didn’t want to say anything. I mean, you’re going through a tough time.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to know about your life! In fact, it will make me feel better. So, tell me!”
She giggled and nodded. “Yeah.”
“And?”
“Amazing. Totally worth the wait. Different from usual. I mean, it was special. I’ve never really had special sex before. It meant so much more.”
“I’m so happy for you. Okay, girls’ night soon so I can hear all the details without anyone around.”
“Deal!”
I hugged them both goodbye and made my way back to my car. I was happy for her, but I couldn’t help but think about what she had said about the sex being special. That was what I had thought about Silas. It had been special with him too. How could he turn his back on something so special? Or had it been special for him at all? Maybe that was just the way he was with all the girls. I sighed. Maybe I really should let Paisley set me up with one of Ruben’s friends. I needed to get my mind off Silas and sitting at home was more than likely not going to do it. Especially with his room sitting there all empty now.
I decided to take the long way home, just to clear my mind. I drove around for another half an hour, the window down as I let the fresh air rush through the car. It was nothing like being on a motorcycle, but it would just have to do. I remembered that the motorcycle was still sitting in the garage. For the past few months, I had been cleaning it and making sure that it remained shiny and spotless for when he got back. But now I didn’t want to see it anymore. Perhaps Dominic would come back and collect it.
When I got home, I saw a car in the driveway and immediately thought it was Dominic. Although the car was different and there was no way he’d be able to take the motorcycle in it. I pulled up next to it, and when I got out, I saw a big burly man get out. He was covered in tattoos, dressed in black, and had one of the hardest faces I had ever seen on a man. I gulped and almost backed away. But I had always promised myself never to judge a book by its cover, so I went forward regardless.
“Uh, hi, can I help you?” I said.
“You live here?”
“I sure do. Do I know you?”
“I’m looking for Silas.”
“Oh,” I said. “He doesn’t live here anymore.”
“Are you covering for him or something? I know he lives here,” the man said.
“Uh, sorry, but who are you?” I asked. I was officially starting to feel nervous now. The man was glaring at me, and his dark brown eyes had no trace of kindness to them. Why was Silas hanging out with a man like this?
“Let me call Silas.”
“Uh, okay, well I’m going to go inside then. I hope you find him.”
“No. You will wait right here,” he said.
I waited while he called Silas and listened nervously to the exchange between them. I couldn’t hear what Silas was saying, but I didn’t like the way this man was talking to him.
“If you want to see your girlfriend alive again then you will get back here immediately and give me the damn box,” he said.
I was just about to scream when he put a hand over my mouth and told me that he would shoot me if I shouted. I believed him, so I just nodded and prayed that he would let me go. He told me to get in the car and then drove off, ignoring my pleas. He drove for about twenty minutes, but it felt like hours, and during that time he didn’t say a word to me. It was only when we got back to his place that he finally opened his mouth.
“Why the fuck didn’t we go to your place?” he said.
“Uh . . .”
He shook his head. “I’m such an idiot. We should’ve gone to your place. That’s where the box is anyway, isn’t it? Or have you guys done something with it? Have you hidden it? Have you sold it? I told him not to open the box. The idiot! I thought I could trust him.”
The box? What was he talking about? “Uh, I don’t know,” I said meekly.
“You don’t know? Of course you know. The two of you are in cahoots. Aren’t you? Just like him to bring a stupid girl into the mix. So, what did you do with the box? This would all be so much easier for you if you just told me the truth.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about a box.”
“Of course you do. Don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not lying. I swear. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Silas knows. I gave him the box to look after. Did he tell you anything about it then? Didn’t you see a box?”
I shook my head. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I should’ve gone back to Paisley’s house for the night. Why hadn’t I said yes to her?
“I didn’t see a box. And Silas didn’t tell me anything. We’re not even talking right now. He moved out.”
“The thing is, how can I believe you?”
“Please, you have to believe me. I haven’t done anything!”
“So are you saying that Silas did it then?”
“No!” I said. I suddenly felt desperate to stick up for Silas. I didn’t know who this man was or why Silas was in trouble with him but I knew that Silas wasn’t a bad person. He might have kissed another girl, but he wasn’t bad. I knew that the only person that I was to be scared of was this man in front of me. “Silas is innocent.”
“Ha! Of course you would say that. Okay, let’s see if your innocent boyfriend cares enough about you to come and get you then, shall we?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said.
He laughed. “Well, then you’re in even more trouble. I don’t like liars, and I don’t like people who take things that do not belong to them.”
I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I kept quiet and looked down. A tear fell down my face and dripped onto my knees. The man laughed when he saw that I was crying. He started calling me weak and told me that Silas didn’t have too long to come and get me.
“Your days are numbered, my pretty girl. Or, you know, you could just tell me where the box is.”
I was trembling now. My legs seemed to have taken on a life of their own. “I don’t know anything about a box,” I said. Why couldn’t he hear that I was telling the truth?
He laughed. “Well then, I guess your fate is now in the hands of the man you say is not your boyfriend. Will he save the day?”