Eric Matthews + Listen
"Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself." Lucas chose Maya. Farkle has Smackle. Zay has Vanessa. And Riley… Riley has no one. After an alternate ending to Ski Lodge, Riley turns to her uncles for help.
Family portrait
The Ski Lodge had been the worst weekend of her life, Riley decided. She was sitting on the bus next to her Uncle Josh on their way home. Lucas chose Maya. Farkle has Smackle. Zay has Vanessa. And Riley… Riley has no one. She had her friends, but she wasn't anyone's first choice. And it hurt. Did she have anyone that she could call in the middle of the night? No, she realized. She and Maya had been drifting since the triangle started. Farkle loved her, but Smackle was his priority. Smackle liked her but not enough, and it was the same with Lucas and Zay. That hurt even more. She was on a bus filled with her classmates and her family, and she had never been more alone.
A week later, she had a text from Josh.
'Hey Riles, meet me at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park 12?'
She sent back confirmation, and checked the time. Realizing that she would have to leave shortly, she changed out of her pajamas, into jeans and a sweater. She pulled her boots and coat on at the door and left, getting to the statue with five minutes to spare. She pulled her copy of Perks of Being a Wallflower out of her bag. Sitting on the edge of the statue, she started to read.
"Hey Riles," she heard her uncle greet. Looking up she saw that Josh was there, and that it was noon on the dot.
"Uncle Josh!" She stood up and hugged him, tucking her book away.
"C'mon," he led her through the park.
"Where are we going?" She asked, rushing to catch up with him.
"We're going for lunch with a special guest. My treat," he reassured her.
Soon they were standing outside of a very familiar restaurant. "Serafina! Uncle Josh, this is my favourite!"
"I know it is, I used to bring you here for your birthday, remember?"
"Of course I remember. It's going to be weird to not have Uncle Eric with us, though. It was always the three of us," she reminisced.
"It still is," the new voice caused her to spin around.
"Uncle Eric!" She squealed, hugging her uncle.
"Niche! My brotha!"
"My brotha!" The boys exchanged their typical greeting and the trio entered the restaurant.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you guys, but why are you here?" Riley asked, taking a seat.
"Josh called me and told me about the ski lodge," Eric started.
"Riles, I've never seen you as sad as you were on the bus home."
"I'm fine," she lied, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Riley, the two of us know you better than anyone else, you said so yourself. We're here to listen." Josh reminded her.
"You don't have to pretend around us, we're always in your corner. Start wherever you want, and we'll listen." Eric promised.
"Honestly, I can barely remember when it started, but I think it was with eighth grade yearbooks."