Chapter Two: Two Truths and A Lie
Riley ducked as a football came flying to her head. She stood up and motioned to her brother, who'd jumped over the back of the couch to catch said football that was thrown to him. Patrick grinned, popping to his feet.
"Outside," she prompted, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.
Patrick's eyes shifted aside to face his twin, who was the one who had thrown the ball. Noah's mouth twisted to the side, very reminiscent to the lopsided smile that Patrick always sported, and said quietly, "Uncle Christian said we could throw the ball around."
"Did Uncle Christian also want to have his window broken again?" She asked.
At the same time, Patrick and Noah both frowned, though she could tell they were trying not to laugh. Because she was trying not to laugh either. She and her siblings all had to split the cost of the window once it was broken, mostly because she, her twin Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and their youngest brother Sydney all tried to hide their breaking it—by purchasing what they thought was an identical window and fixing it themselves—instead of telling their uncle in the first place.
Their scramble to fix it had been fun and funny. Very reminiscent to the days they lived in the Tipton hotel, Riley realized, watching as her brothers quickly dashed—football and all-to the back door and outside where Sydney and their cousin, Aaron were playing a game of soccer. Things seemed to be simpler when they were at the Tipton. Save for how often Mr. Moseby yelled at them. Then again, that's also when you were being beaten on nearly a daily basis, Riley reminded herself. A con with a pro. That seemed to be the major stages of her life.
BPD and APD.
The first three letters holding more meaning to her than anyone knew or she'd like to know. Something bad happened that'd off set something good that happened. She could pinpoint every moment of her life where it'd happened and as much as she didn't want to dwell—it got boring fast, honestly she didn't have any idea why so many people wanted to talk about her dead parents so much—sometimes it back to slap her in the face.
Hence her slight apprehension about Ian being anywhere but Australia. She supposed she hadn't lied to Zack per se, she really didn't know Ian was going to be there until he showed up. But she did know he had planned on going to see her at some point. He'd been very clear about that, as he was with a lot of things, until he wasn't. Until he managed to turn into the Hyde others never got to see.
And continued to piss her off with how easily he got away with it. That was the worst part for her, honestly, that no one else got to see it and how she continued to fall for it. He was charismatic, that was for sure, or else she wouldn't have paid much attention to him in the first place. Ian kind of reminded her of Zack in that way and only that way, she couldn't entertain how much else they'd have in common. It'd probably send her more into a tailspin than she already was, barely managing to hold on.
Once her brothers left the living room, the silence of the house stretching around her, Riley sighed. Then gritted her teeth. She wouldn't have to get rid of her brothers if he hadn't been around. Or, if she could put her foot down where Ian were concerned. Somehow, despite being able to say everything off the top of her head with very little filter—and care for what other people thought-went by the wayside.
Riley turned no her heel and went to the pantry. She grabbed a few packets of PopTarts, strategically hidden in the back of the cabinet that held their cleaning supplies, and took them back to the room she shared with her twin sister and her cousin. Riley closed the door behind her with her foot before jumping to the bed set in the center of the room, bringing her legs up before landing on the cerulean-blue comforter—as blue as the ocean.
She bounced a few times, then finally sat still, noticing her cousin staring hard at her. "What?" Riley passed out the PopTarts before tearing into the foil to open her own packet.
"I just finished making my bed," Crystal pointed out. To prove her point, she reached out and smoothed down a crease that had appeared in her comforter at Riley's bounce along the bed.
Riley glanced dismissively at it. Then she smirked over at her cousin, who rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming next. "Then you'll have to do it again."
Crystal couldn't help but laugh along with her twin cousins, continuing to smooth out as much as she could. "What, were you raised by wolves?" She asked. Once everything was in place, she opened her own food.
"No, but that'd be sweet as, yeah?" Rhuben said with a teasing smile. She brushed her hair back from her face, pulling a pair of headphones from her ears to her neck. She reached up and Riley bumped her fist against hers.
"You're all insane."
"I think we established that ages ago when we first moved in," Riley cracked, easily remembering how long it took for Crystal to get used to having her cousins around.
Because, as not many people knew, for a long time, the Jacksons and Mannings were jealous of each other. Crystal—before her little brother Aaron was adopted-was jealous as she had no siblings while Riley and the rest of her siblings were jealous that she, at least, still had one of her parents. Their abuse from Robert aside, it drove a rift between the families that had constantly visited each other to stewing in their own bitterness and jealousy.
When Robert was taken away in handcuffs, Christian Manning immediately found his nieces and nephews, moved to Boston, and moved them all into one house. Crystal, who had been so used to having a small family and space all her own, was shocked to have five of her six rambunctious cousins move into her space.
There were many times Crystal would go to her father and complain prompting Christian to ask, "Would you prefer they go back into the foster system."
Crystal frowned, shaking her head. "I don't want that but…"
"But…"
"They keep touching all my stuff! I have no space!"
And Christian had laughed, hugged his daughter, and promised everything would be better, that he was sorry he didn't prepare her more, and that he'd find a space for her. It was the attic, which was actually Julius's room when he came to visit, but as he only came to the states when he was on vacation, she used it as a quiet room to retreat to when things became too hectic.
"But if it took you this long to notice it, that's okay, too."
Crystal rolled her eyes. She opened her Pop-Tart and examined it for a minute before breaking off the sides, preferring to only have bites of the crust and filling together, not just crust. "So, what are you going to do about Ian?"
Riley's upper lip curled at the mere mention of his name. She couldn't help it, anything that had to do with him and she viscerally reacted. Someone who was very good at hiding her own worries behind a tough exterior couldn't keep quiet It was the only reason they were barricading themselves in their room, to come up with a plan. But the thought alone still made her want to throw herself—though preferably her tormentor—off the nearest cliff. The violent image in her head of them crashing to the ground said enough. "Nothing."
Rhuben's eyebrows immediately lifted. She gazed at her twin in surprise and concern. Her words were filled with strength as she tapped her finger against the bedspread for emphasis. "This guy came all the way to see you and you're going to do nothing about it."
"What can I do?" Riley hated how helpless the situation was, but, truthfully, there wasn't much she could do.
"Uh, call the bloody police!" Rhuben said with massive amounts of 'duh'.
"And say what?" Riley pursed her lips. She dropped her snack, completely losing her appetite. She rested her chin in her hands. "That a guy I don't like decided to come visit the States and talked to me once. And, oh yeah, I don't like him."
"No!" Crystal's frown deepened. Her eyes flashed. She looked closely at her cousin, saw the frustration within her eyes. There really wasn't much they could do. But the best thing was to at least start a file. "Tell them everything that Officer Clay knows."
Riley couldn't help the fond smile that came to her face. Officer Clay had been part of her and her siblings' life as long as her parents had been dead. He was the first officer on the scene—the scene being their house up in flames—had been the one to advocate for the children as they were asked what had happened, and was the one who did his best to prove what their then foster parent, Robert, had been doing to them until they moved to the US. He'd grown to be a good friend to them all. "I don't think Officer Clay has any jurisdiction over here." Riley then shrugged. "And what has Ian done? The bloke's never hurt me."
Rhuben snorted. "Hasn't he?"
Riley paused. Her hesitation spoke volumes. "Well, not physically," She conceded. Rage slowly started to consume her, the more they spoke about her predicament. Memories of humiliation, frustration, and getting her hopes up all for him to laugh and smirk at her made her want to smack the crap out of him. But he knew all her trigger points, knew what'd get her to lose control and used it against her.
"He manipulated you."
"He can't manipulate me if I willingly went along with it," Riley reminded them. He wasn't the only guilty party in the equation. True, they'd never dated in the sense everyone knew. Didn't go out in public, didn't go to dinner, didn't go to movies, didn't do anything that would've shown others they were something of an item. That should've been her first clue that something was wrong. The others she somehow managed to ignore, simply because—and she hated to admit it—he had taken note of her when she was vulnerable and exploited that vulnerability.
Crystal sighed. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Have you told dad, yet?"
"Yeah, I told him," Riley said. She scratched the back of her neck, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She hated having to rely on telling her Uncle about her problems. He already had enough to deal with; having seven kids under eighteen in his house, working long hours at UMass, and not having a lot of time at the house when he was laden down with papers and tests to grade along with his own research, it was a wonder he was able to give each of them individual attention. "He said he'll keep an eye out."
"Do you think he'd be dumb enough to come over here?" Crystal asked.
Rhuben shook her head. "I hate to say anything nice about the bloke, but one thing he isn't is stupid. He knows exactly how to play a situation to his advantage. He wouldn't jeopardize that."
Riley nodded.
"So, what are you going to do?" Crystal asked again. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," Riley confirmed. She purposefully paused and when she spoke again, her words took on a slightly more sinister tone. "Unless he does something first." She had to, she was tired of him constantly being able to hold power over her. She was stronger now, physically, mentally, emotionally…If that were the case, then you would've said something when he first showed up. "Shut up," Riley muttered.
"We didn't say anything," Rhuben pointed out.
"Not you."
"You're losing it, sis." Rhuben swung herself off the bed and moved to the window. She pulled back the curtains and looked out, watching their brothers run back and forth across the backyard, heaving the football directly at each other's heads.
"Not that she ever really had it in the first place," Crystal teased.
Riley picked up Crystal's pillow and whacked her with it before throwing it to the ground, simultaneously giving her the finger with her other hand. There, now she had even more to pick up when she cleaned her part of the room again. Riley glanced at her part and sighed, seeing how much work she still had to do on her own. She'd managed to put it off long enough, planned to clean after her shift at the restaurant and now had no desire to do so. It reflected her life perfectly.
"Haha." Riley ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes. She'd hardly seen Ian and now here she was, completely shut off in her own room. Fuck that. She was going to have some fun. "What time are Bailey and Max getting here?"
"Half hour, I suppose," Crystal said.
"Okay, I'll clean up and then we can get the food ready."
"You're just saying that so you don't have to try and keep the boys from eating everything," Rhuben pointed out. Nevertheless, she and Crystal left the room to get ready for their sleepover.
Riley set about cleaning up her part of the room. She removed her guitars form being haphazardly strewn across the floor. Moved all her dirty clothes into a large pile, removing the trail it made from her closet to her dresser. Stacked up all the papers on her desk that were needed for homework and upcoming tests. She worked so hard she didn't realize her phone was ringing, sliding across the top of her dresser, until it reached a bare spot, the amplifying sound catching her attention.
Zack's name appeared on-screen and Riley quickly answered it. Had she waited too long, he would've left some sort of a passive-aggressive message about being left for voicemail as he did on all his friends' phones. Except Cody, who he would continuously call because, "no one called him, anyway."
"So, I figured it out," Zack said as soon as she answered the phone. Riley's face screwed up in confusion. He couldn't see her, but she was sure he knew how her face looked as he quickly clarified with, "Why this guy isn't your friend but is someone who came to see you. I figured it out. What he is."
"Oh yeah?" Riley folded her arms. Her lips curled up into a smirk. "And what is he?"
"He's your drug dealer," Zack said. Riley immediately started to smile, doing her best not to burst out laughing. Zack clearly wasn't taking himself too seriously about his guess, she could hear the laughter in his voice as well. "No, seriously. He's pretty shady, you seem to want to avoid him like the plague, and you're really secretive about him. That has to be it."
"Mate, what makes you think I'm on drugs, let alone have a drug dealer?"
"What else could it be? You said he's not your boyfriend."
"He's not."
"And I am?"
Oh. That. Riley sighed, placing her free hand on her hip. She supposed she'd have to talk to him about that sooner or later. It was better to let him know the truth than let him continue to follow along with a lie. "About that. Look, I'm sorry—"
"—What was that?" Zack interrupted.
"I'm sorry—"
"—Bad reception, I've been telling Mr. Moseby he has to upgrade the telephone systems around here. It's the only place that still has landlines in all the suites. You're going to have to say that again."
Riley pressed her lips together. "I'm not saying it again."
"Oh, come on! It's, like, the only time I've ever heard you apologize to me—"
"—That's a lie," Riley swiftly interrupted. "I've apologized to your many times."
"I know. You've had to."
Riley let out a bark of laughter. "Like you haven't needed to apologize for practically everything you do, boofhead," she pointed out. "I have a full laundry list of things that you've needed to apologize for and still haven't yet."
"Well, yeah, but no one ever actually expects me to mean it."
Riley sighed. It created a static sound between the two phones. "Zack."
"Riley," he replied. "You were about to apologize, I'm sorry. What was it you were going to say?" Riley rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I know you're shaking your head. You're always shaking your head."
"I can't not shake my head when I'm around you, Zack. I do it so much I'm surprised my bloody head hasn't right fallen off." She cleared her throat. "But as for what's happened at the restaurant, I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that."
Zack's voice took on a smug tone. "Are you really apologizing for making it seem like I'm dating the hottest girl in school? I don't know about you, but I don't feel like that's something you need to apologize for." Zack made a show of clearing his throat. "Apart from Amber, I mean."
"You never had a chance with Amber."
"I totally had a chance."
"Yeah, when Vance wasn't around."
Zack paused again, making Riley laugh. She knew he was pouting, just as he always did when Vance was mentioned. Not just because Vance had been Amber's boyfriend, but because he'd been Zack's bully as well. For a long time, Zack had been used to being the top dog. All through middle school he was the captain of every team he played on and had the talent to back it up. Once they started their tenure in high school it all turned to crap faster than he could blink.
His popularity waned. The senior boys taunted and teased him, with Vance going so far as to personally bully him. (Though Zack could admit later it didn't help that he was completely convinced he could sway Amber away from dating Vance to date him). He wasn't the best player on the basketball team anymore, often sitting on the bench for his first year rather than playing point guard. And, of course, the school work got harder. He couldn't play up his usual antics to keep things from becoming too boring. All the teachers were used to his tricks and wouldn't allow him to goof off.
True to form, Zack still tried. But when he saw it wouldn't work, he kept his comments to a minimum, but still didn't try too hard when it came to his homework and test. "What's the point?" He'd always ask when it was brought up. "I'm just going to invent something and make it rich anyway? Then I can pay someone else to do the work for me!"
All until he'd fallen into his eating disorder, anyway. Since then, Zack tended to be more mature about things, Riley'd noticed. Though he was still Zack and Zack wouldn't give up the chance to have fun, even if it were at the most inappropriate times.
"You might have a point," Zack finally admitted.
"There, now didn't it feel good to get that out in the open?" Riley teased. "Hey, I have to go. I need to finish cleaning my part of room or else Uncle Christian won't let us have the girls over for a sleepover."
"If you're in such a cleaning mood, maybe you can do mine after yours. Mom's been getting on me since I haven't cleaned mine yet."
"Zack, yours will take a bomb blast to get rid of everything."
"Yeah, but Mr. Moseby won't let us play with fireworks around the Tipton anymore. I accidentally set his suit on fire once and I'm branded for life."
Riley laughed. "Whatever. I have to go." She started to hang up, but heard Zack call her name, making her replace her phone to her ear. "Yeah?"
"For helping out at the restaurant, you don't have to apologize for that. I would've done it anyway. Though a head's up would've been nice. I could've laid it on real thick, you know. A hand hold, a kiss on the cheek maybe."
"In your dreams."
Zack laughed. "You're right,"
"Bye, Zack. I'll see you later."
Riley hung up. She put her phone back on the desk, but it buzzed again. This time a text. Swiping her finger over the screen, Riley pulled up the message and sighed warily, rubbing at her forehead.
Ian: Come over.
A demand. Not a request.
A/N: Took me a bit longer to update than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed a look into what's going on, on Riley's side. I think every chapter will flip back and forth between their POVs.
Cheers,
-Riles
