A/N: Hey guys, it's been way too long and I am so sorry for that. Thank you all for your patience and kind words you posted on the previous chapters. I love and appreciate all of you. I am sorry I kept you waiting for so long. I am trying to do better. To those of you who asked me about my other, also unfinished story, I will come back to that one too, but I can't give you an exact time when. I hope you don't hate me that much and I really hope you enjoy this next chapter. I love reading your comments and thoughts and I hope I hear more from you guys so if you like it or hate it let me know.
Riley came over as quickly as she could. Lucas left her place ten minutes before Maya called. Maya didn't tell her friend what happened over the phone. She waited until she came over. Riley knew Maya's father drank and she knew he hit Maya a couple of times when she was younger but Maya never wanted to talk about it so Riley never pushed. She didn't knew the full extent of it. Until tonight. Maya finally told her everything.
The girls laid on Maya's bed facing each other. Maya talked, Riley listened. When Maya told her everything, including what happened tonight, Riley asked: "Do you want to talk about your father or Josh first?"
"Let's get over the Josh thing first." Maya said.
"I don't understand… You wanted him to stay. So why did you tell him to leave?" Riley asked.
"Because he would've stayed." Maya answered.
"I'm not following."
"I asked him to stay and he looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, the way you look at a little stray, lost in the rain and he would've stayed. Because he's a nice guy and I asked him and he's my friend but I don't want him to stay like that. It felt dirty and cheap somehow. I want him to stay not just because he's a nice guy. Not just because he has to, but because it's the only place he wants to be. " Maya said.
"I get it." Riley told her.
"And also…" Maya started sheepishly. "He knew. He was there the last time I saw my father. We were watching a movie and Kermit lost it and hit me and Josh tried to stop him but he ended up hurt too. And we didn't hang out for a year after that. I avoided him because I liked him but also… he saw me at my worst. He was there and he heard and saw everything and I was so embarrassed. I mean I didn't even tell you about it. I don't want that to be the first thing he thinks of when he thinks of me." Maya said and covered her face with both her hands.
"Hey, you have nothing to be embarrassed about." Riley said and took Maya's hands into her own. "You are so amazing. The only thing wrong with you is your father. And he can't get to you now. For every bad thing he said to you, I am going to tell you the truth. You are smart and beautiful. You are crazy talented. You bring joy to people. You take care of me. "
"We take care of each other." Maya corrected her. "Thanks for being here."
"Anytime, peaches." Riley assured her. "Your dad sucks. He was never here for you. He was never sober. He is a miserable, disgusting excuse for existence and he doesn't know you. Nothing he ever said or did to you was because of you. None of it is your fault. It's all on him. Everything he ever did was about him and him hating himself. He was never good at anything and he was a coward. He took the easy way out where he doesn't have to deal with anything. The worst thing is that he dragged your mom and you down with him. But your mom is strong and fierce and she got out. She is fighting for you now. You can't let everything bad he ever did scream louder than anything good she ever did. You have to promise me you won't let him drag you down with him anymore."
Maya was never more grateful for a friend like Riley Matthews. "I promise."
"Good. I am so proud of you." Riley said.
"Thanks, Riles. That means a lot."
"And Josh just wants to be there for you. Don't push him away again."
"I don't know how to do this. I want him in my life but it's so scary letting someone in." Maya said.
"It's always going to be scary. You think that if you do it enough times, you'll get better at it, and that may be true but trusting someone is always going to be hard. Opening up to someone, showing them all of your wounds and trusting them that they will help you heal them, not make them deeper. You are trusting someone with your hart. You will eventually tell them your darkest secret and they will see you for who you really are and you have to trust them that they won't just run away the first time you cry instead of laugh. And it's paralyzing to think you can be honest with someone and fall in love with them only so one day, they could reject you for being who you are. And that thought will always be in the back of your mind. You will always fear that one day he'll wake up before you and look at your while you're still sleeping and he'll realize he doesn't love you anymore. I guess at the end of the day the only thing you have to ask yourself is if it is all worth it." Riley said.
"Is that how you feel about Lucas?" Maya asked.
"I guess… But not all the time. Mostly when I am alone but when we are together I feel safe. So safe. Like nothing bad can ever happen. But then that scares me even more because if I start to depend on that it will only be worse when I lose him." Riley said honestly.
"I get that feeling too. Josh always makes me calm." Maya added.
"It's a great feeling." Riley agreed.
"I am happy you are not letting that fear get between you and Lucas. He is good for you. You deserve good." Maya said.
"You do too, you know that, right?" Riley reminded her.
Maya let out a little smile. "I am learning."
Both girls closed their eyes and quickly fell asleep, still holding hands.
Maya woke up first. Her phone rang and pulled her out of sleep. She put the phone to her ear, still too sleepy to check who the caller was.
"Yes." She growled in her morning voice.
"It's Josh… did I wake you?" The voice on the other end of the phone said.
"Why are you calling so early?" She asked.
"It's 1 p.m." He said. "It's way past early."
"You don't need to check up on me." Maya tried to convince him. "I told you I was fine."
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." He said.
"Of course I am." Maya said. "But thank you for calling to check."
"I am here if you want to talk." He reminded her. "Always."
Maya smiled and blushed, grateful Josh couldn't see any of it. "I know." She said. "I've always known that."
"You know, the last time this happened, we didn't talk for a while and I don't want that to happen again." He said.
"Good, because it won't." She said. "I don't think I ever thanked you. For last night and for the first night, so thank you. Thank you for being there."
"There's nothing to thank me for. I'm just glad you weren't alone." He said. "So do you want to meet up today or tomorrow?"
"Today is a Riley and Maya kind of day, but we can do something tomorrow." She agreed.
"Great." Josh said with glee. "We can go get coffee."
"Sounds like a plan."
Maya hung up and turned to see Riley awake.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" She said to her best friend.
"Kind of." She said honestly. "But we over slept anyways. We have a lot to do today."
"It's Saturday. All we have to do today is stay in bed and swap sad stories." Maya disagreed and laid back in the bed.
"I am meeting Lucas's parents tomorrow. I have to prepare." Riley said panicking.
"Come on Riles. You are perfect in every way. They're going to love you." Maya assured her.
"What if they don't?" Riley asked worried. "He cares about their opinion a lot. What if they hate me and he just says you're right, I can do better?"
"Objection!" Maya exclaimed as determent as she ever was. "No one can do better that Riley Matthews, you hear me? And that boy adores you. You're going to charm the pants off of his parents. You're going to out-charm their southern charm."
"I am going to charm the hell out of them but only if I prepare." Riley was determent. "And you're going to help me." She pulled Maya by her hands into a sitting position. "I asked Lucas to write down some information about his parents for me and now I have to remember all of them. Please help me."
"I love you peaches but you are a lot of work." Maya said with a smile. "Fine." She finally agreed. "But only if I can do it in bed."
"I'll allow it." Riley said.
They spent the next three hours going over every information Riley had about Lucas's parents.
"You know they're not going to quiz you on this, right?" Maya remarked a couple of times. But Riley would just wave it off and keep reading. Finally, Maya convinced her friend to take a break.
"What am I going to wear?" Riley asked, not being able to let it go.
"Where are you meeting them?" Maya asked, knowing well she won't be able to change the subject.
"Some fancy Italian place. I don't remember the name." Riley said.
"How can you not remember the name? His parents will think you're irresponsible." Maya teased her.
"Oh god, you're right. How could I have forgotten?" Riley started to panic.
"Relax, I was just kidding." Maya calmed her down. "You are taking this too seriously. You need to stop spiraling."
"I am not spiraling." Riley protested.
"You are totally spiraling." Maya said and took her hand. "Let's just take a break, lay down and try to think about something else."
"Okay." Riley agreed and laid her head on a pillow.
"What about that blue dress I wore to your birthday party last year? I look good in that." Riley asked as she jumped out of her bed and rushed to her closet.
"You love her." Maya reminded herself. "You love her. She's crazy but you love her."
XXX
Riley was very anxious. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this nervous. Maybe when she was taking her drivers test but even that was nothing compared to this. Her hand was sweating while Lucas held onto it. Her heart was beating so loudly she could barely hear Lucas's voice as he was trying to calm her down.
"It's going to be fine." He said. "They're going to love you as much as I… I mean they're going to like you a lot… as much as I like you." He quickly corrected himself. Riley was too much in her own head to notice the little slip up.
"What if they don't?" She asked with fear. "Are you going to break up with me? If you do just give me a little heads up, maybe a code word. Like cucumber. Yeah, yell cucumber and I'll know what's up. Maybe if you do it loudly enough, I'll get a free dessert out of it. " Lucas chuckled. He put both of his hands on each of her cheeks.
"Hey, breathe, okay. Everything is fine. They are going to love you. Because they'll be crazy not to." He said and kissed her softly. Riley felt a little better.
"Okay." She responded with a whisper. "I'm ready." They walked in to the restaurant holding hands. They came in a little early because Riley didn't want for his parent's to wait for them. Riley took a moment to look around. The interior was decorated in white and gold, the restaurant manager took them to the table they reserved, on the balcony over looking the whole city. Waiters were dressed in white shirts and black bow ties. Riley couldn't take her eyes off of the glass chandelier that covered almost half the ceiling.
"This is a fancy place." She noted.
"Yeah it is." Lucas responded, like he eats at fancy restaurants every day.
"Like super nice. Like very expensive nice. Do your parents know that?"
"They said they wanted to go to the nicest restaurant in New York city." Lucas responded. "Don't worry about it, they'll pay for everything."
"But I feel bad. I don't want them to feel like they have to take us to a place like this. I have never been to a restaurant this nice. This is not my scene. I would be fine with a taco from a street vendor. That is so my scene. Do they even have tacos here?" Riley said.
Lucas laughed and kissed her. "That's what I like about you. You know what really matters in life." He paused for a second. "Okay, there is something I need to tell you. I've been putting it off because I wanted to know you like me for me and not for what I have. Because I like you a lot and I needed this to be for real because I never felt like this before."
"Oh god, please don't propose. I'm not ready for that. It's way too soon." Riley rushed to say.
"No, no. I'm not proposing." He quickly said.
"Good." Riley let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm rich." He said.
"What?" Riley said with a laugh.
"Well, my parents are. And that kind of means I am too by default."
"Are you joking? Because making this joke minutes before your parents walk in is kind of mean." Riley said.
"It's not a joke." Lucas promised. "My parents own a vineyard. A couple of them actually. And they make wine. Like ridiculously expensive wine. You know that brand 'stallion'? That's theirs."
"What?" Riley exclaimed. "That's a 1000$ per bottle wine." She tried to wrap her head around it. "Are you kidding me? Please tell me this is a joke. I promise I won't be mad."
"It's not a joke, babe." Lucas said. "I'm sorry. In hindsight I probably should have told you sooner but it doesn't change anything. You are still the greatest person I know. And my parents are going to see that. And if they love me that will be the only thing that matters. Because it is the only thing that matters." He assured her.
"I can't breathe." She panicked. "I can't even remember my name. What are my hobbies? Do I even have any? Oh god, I even forgot what kind of weather we are having."
"Riles, breathe. Just breathe." Lucas tried to calm her down. He cupped her left cheek with his hand and rubbed her back with his right hand.
"You are freaking out and I promise you there is nothing to fear, okay? I am here and I am not going anywhere. I got you. I have your back and nothing bad is going to happen." Riley felt a little calmer.
"You lied to me." She said.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't want to deceive you but I had my heart broken before. Too many times. This money has only been a curse for me. My parents use it to try to control me, girls are only interested in me because of it and I just wanted you to get to know me first and like me for me. And I'm hoping that when my parents meet you and spend time with you, they'll see how good I have it here and how I don't need their money." He explained.
"Is there anything else you didn't tell me?" Riley asked.
"I am not at NYU on a scholarship. That I lied about, but I did get in on my own and they did offer me one. I just thought it wouldn't be fair for me to take it since there was someone out there who couldn't fall back on their parents' money if things didn't work out. Buy I pay for it on my own. I am working so I can pay it off on my own." He explained. "Everything else I told you was true."
"Okay." Riley said after a minute of thinking it over. "But don't you ever lie to me again. Or withhold the truth in case it doesn't come up."
"I promise." Lucas said with a sigh of a relief. He kissed her and she kissed him back.
"Khm khm." They got interrupted by the sound of someone clearing out their throat. They both quickly faced two figures who stood above them. Lucas's parents. They both looked very tall and elegant. Mr. Friar wore an Armani suit and Mrs. Friar wore a Dolce & Gabbana dress that hasn't even hit the stores yet because it was from the next season's collection. She even wore a pearl necklace.
"I hope we're not interrupting." Lucas's dad said.
Mr. Friar's voice sounded just like Lucas's if Lucas were to smoke for the next 20 years of his life. As soon as he spoke Riley quickly jumped to her feet.
"Mr. and Ms. Friar, it's so lovely to finally meet you."
Lucas stood up too. "Mom, dad this is Riley, my girlfriend. Riles, these are my parents."
They all shook hands. Lucas's parents sat down across from their son and his girlfriend. Riley's mouth went completely dry and she could hear her heartbeat in her throat. She just hoped she wouldn't throw up.
"So Riley, our son tells us a lot about your character but not much about your situation. Tell us about your parents? What do they do?" Mr. Friar asked with a fake polite smile.
"Really dad? That is the first thing you want to know?" Lucas shook his head in disagreement. "Unbelievable. You don't have to answer that Riles."
"No, I don't mind." Riley said with a smile, hers incapable of being anything but sincere. "My mom is a lawyer and my dad is a teacher."
"Oh, a noble profession. What college does he teach at?" Mr. Friar inquired.
"No, actually he teaches in high school. My high school."
"Oh." Both of Lucas's parents let out a disappointing sigh. Riley knew they thought her father's position inappropriate for someone whose daughter is dating their son, but she refused to be ashamed of her father.
„Yes. And he is very good at what he does. He's the best there is. He taught me everything I know about life." She shot back with pride.
"And your mother? A lawyer? Does she have any plans to move forward and become a judge?" Ms. Friar asked. "Supreme court, perhaps."
"She's still too young for that kind of position. And she is very happy as a partner at her current firm." Riley answered.
"Young?" Mr. Friar was caught by surprise. "How old was she when she had you?"
"She was 20." Riley answered.
"A bit young." Wide eyed Mr. Friar let out under his breath, but still loud enough to be heard.
"Are you happy with your answers? Can we move on from this witch hunt?" Lucas asked angrily.
"We are just trying to get to know your little friend." Lucas's mother said, emphasizing the last two words. Riley could tell Lucas was getting angrier with every word. She squeezed his hand as a sign of support. He took a deep breath and continued, a bit calmer.
"My girlfriend, mother. She's my girlfriend and you are being very rude to her." He said.
"That was certainly not our attention, dear." His mother responded. "I'm sure Rowan doesn't share your observation."
"It's Riley actually." Riley said. "And I'm sure your intentions are not the same as what comes across. Although this is definitely starting to have a Jane Austin vibe to it. Riley answered as politely as she could. "Now if we can move on maybe we can get to know each other a little bit better."
"Certainly." Mr. Friar confirmed. "We wouldn't want the poor girl to feel attacked."
"Emphasis on the poor." Riley whispered to herself.
"What was that my dear?" Ms. Friar asked.
"Um, should we order drinks?" Riley said out loud.
"Excellent idea." Mr. Friar said. "Look honey, they sell our wine here. We should order some."
"I'll stick with apple cider." Riley sheepishly said.
"Oh, that's right dear, you're still in high school." Mr. Friar responded.
Riley wasn't sure how much of this she could take. She knew Maya would give a grand speech and walk out but Riley couldn't do that, to Lucas or to herself. She was determent to stick it out, no matter what. On the bright side, she thought, she never had to see them again. The dinner went on to last forever in Riley's mind. They ordered the drinks and the food, commented on everything from weather to the size of Riley's apartment. Lucas's parents kept asking questions, placing small, carefully chosen insults along the way. Lucas stood up for Riley every single time, without exception, but Riley couldn't help but feel attacked and vulnerable. And soon enough Lucas's hand in hers didn't feel as warm and pleasant and she let go of it. Lucas was too upset with his parents to notice. It was clear to Riley that although Lucas was determent to defend Riley he was even more determent to avoid a real fight with his parents. And even though Riley was only eighteen and she'd only known Lucas for a short period of time, she began to wonder if this is how it will always be? She imagined their wedding day and Mrs. Friar's dismissing demeanor at the sight of her wedding dress. She imagined the birth of their child and his parents' refusal to even be there. She saw Lucas getting more and more depressing over his strained relationship with his own parents. She saw him regretting his decision to stand by her and even blaming her for it. They were in the middle of dessert when Riley couldn't take it anymore.
His mother said: "Surely you both must know that this is not the best pairing for either of you. You need someone who better understands your lifestyle and who you have more in common with."
"Mother…" Lucas started but Riley was faster. She stood up slowly, gently placed her napkin on her plate and said: "I spent this entire night listening to you insulting my parents and every other aspect of my life, including my education and the house I grew up in, that you've never even seen, by the way. And my parents are the two most wonderful people I know. They met when they were just kids and they loved each other ever since and they got married at eighteen which is why they had me at twenty. And thank god they'll never get to meet you because you are so beneath them. And I like your son. Even though I didn't want to be here because I thought it was too soon, I did, because I knew it would make him happy. And I don't like you. and not because of stupid and superficial reasons like your bank account but because I truly don't think you are very nice people and how you raised Lucas to be the wonderful man he is, I have no clue. And he deserves better that you and he deserves better than what I'm about to do." She stopped for a brief second to turn and look at Lucas.
"I am so sorry I'm doing this to you. You are sweet for standing up for me but I can't do this and I hope you don't hate me for my shortcomings. I have to go now and I think it would probably be best if we don't see each other for a while." She turned to his parents again. "So congratulation, you win."
She walked out, her heart beating even louder than before. Her eyes were burning from the tears that were starting to form. As soon as she walked out and turned the corner she heard a pair of footsteps fast approaching.
"Riley, wait, please." Lucas said a few steps behind her. He quickly caught up to her and placed his hand on her forearm as a silent plea to stop and hear him out.
"I'm so sorry Riles. Their opinion doesn't even matter. I mean, they are my parents and I know they want what they think is the best for me but they're wrong about you. You are what's best for me."
"Cucumber." Riley said quietly. Lucas was puzzled for a second and then he remembered their conversation outside the restaurant.
"Oh god Riles, no. Please don't do this."
"Please don't make this any harder. Look. I wish I was stronger, I wish I could fight for you, but your parents are right. Everything they said is going to come true. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but some day down the line and it's better like this. I don't think I can handle it in a few months or a few years. It's better if we do it now, before it gets too serious."
"But I love you. It's serious for me now." Lucas protested.
"No it's not. It can't be. You need to find someone who is right for you. And that's not me." Riley said. She could feel her tears coming and she wanted to go before he could see her cry. "I need you to let me go now."
"Riles, please…" He started, but she wouldn't listen.
"No. I spent the whole night listening and I think I heard enough. We won't work out. Your mom might be mean but she is right. You lied to me. You cornered me tonight and i did not like that. That is not the kind of relationship I want to have. And I can't have your parents hanging over our heads for the rest of my life." Riley said.
"You lied to me too." Lucas said. Riley looked at him puzzled. "You said in there that you didn't want to come tonight. I asked you more than once. I told you that you didn't have to do it and you said it was fine."
Riley nodded and waited. She knew that the second she opened her mouth to say something she would start to cry.
"Well then…" She started, her voice shaking, her eyes watery. "I guess we have one more reason to end it." She turned around and walked away but this time, Lucas didn't follow her.
