that day, Riley and I were lying in my bed, going through her Advanced Calculus homework. Riley had planned to major in business and after go to law school, that was her parents’ expectations, which wouldn’t be difficult for her since she loved Law and Politics.
Her weakness, though, was math. Absolutely everything that had to do with math. It was sucky for her since if she had to major in business, she had to pass her calculus courses with flying colors.
Enter me: Her best friend, her tutor and a genius in math. Lucky her.
“I don’t understand shit,” she whined, flopping on her back. Riley closed her eyes and threw an arm over her face, hiding from me.
I gave her a gentle nudge with my toes. “Let’s try the question one more time.”
“That’s the third time. I’m a hopeless case. There’s no way I’m getting into Harvard if I flunk Calculus.”
She was exaggerating. Riley was in no way flunking Calculus. She was currently in the mid-eighties, since she had been busting her ass night and day to practice all her equations and solving extra math problems. Riley Jenson was dedicated to a fault.
“Practice makes perfect, right?” I cajoled, gently. “One more time, babe.”
She lowered her arm a bit and peeked at me. “Then we can watch Riverdale?”
“One episode,” I reluctantly agreed.
“Binge watch the whole season?” Riley gave me puppy eyes, the ones she had mastered, which almost won me over.
I pinched her shin. “Now you’re pushing it, Missy.”
She hissed, pulling her feet away, and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout.
“Let’s go back to the question.”
Riley nodded and sat up, focusing back on her notebook. I explained the steps to her again, she nodded along and gave it one more try.
Twenty minutes later, she let out a shout of victory. “I did it!”
Yes, she did. Just like I knew she would.
The happiness on her face was infectious, and I found myself laughing with her as she did half a twerk on my bed.
We spent the next two hours working on our homework. Once we were done and had put all our stuff away, I went down to get us snacks while Riley loaded Riverdale on Netflix. She wanted to binge watch while I was settling for only two episodes. It was going to be a battle for sure.
Halfway through the first episode, Riley started to get edgier. She was sneaking glances at me, and I noticed the way she was practically poking a hole through her blouse.
I knew Riley long enough to know this was a sign of nervousness, and it had nothing to do with Riverdale. I waited for her to speak instead of pushing for information. If something was wrong, she’d tell me on her own without me having to force it out of her. It was a silent understanding between us. Riley has never pushed me about my past. I told her bits and pieces, and she accepted them without demanding more. I did the same with her. She only gave me what she wanted; we established this understanding early in our friendship.
Her silence didn’t last for more than fifteen minutes. “I have to confess something.”
I paused the episode and faced her. We were both sitting cross legged on the bed. “What is it?”
Riley swallowed hard and chewed on her lip, her brows pulled together in nervousness. Her body was strung tight with tension, and I didn’t like the dreadful look on her face.
She licked her lips, took a deep breath and started. “On Friday, after Maddox pulled you away and Colton grabbed me…”
The night of the haunted house? Confused, I nodded and waited for her to continue. “Yeah?”
“He pulled me behind the dumpster…” Riley trailed off, her eyes wide and glassy.
“Yeah. You told me. They are both assholes. If I could, I’d report them–”
Riley shook her head and cut me off, sharply. “No, listen. I didn’t tell you everything that happened.”
And then she… blushed. She averted her gaze for a second, and she went back to poking holes in her shirt.
“Riley…?” I slowly questioned.
She let out a loud, frustrated sigh. Her cheeks were tinted pink, but there was a guilty look in her eyes. “I messed up. I don’t know how it happened but it just… happened. One minute, I was screaming at him and I even punched him; he was laughing like a stupid, madman and then he pulled me close and… it just happened. I didn’t think. I wasn’t thinking.”