When they finish eating, they leave and wander back through the city, heading towards their street. Neither says anything as it begins to sprinkle, just enjoying the peacefulness of each other's company. Both simply get lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Lucas stops under an oak tree and looks at Riley. She still walks a few steps before noticing he is no longer beside her and turns and walks back to him. She looks at him questioningly, silently asking why he stopped.
"Can I ask you a question? You in no way have to answer it, I just can't stop thinking about it." Riley nods, motioning for him to ask away. "What did your dad mean when he said 'not again'? You don't have to answer, it's just... has something like that happened before?"
Riley looks at him sadly and he has his answer. She looks at the ground and he can hear her sniffle, and he doesn't believe it's from the cold. He reaches forward and hugs her, taking her completely by surprise. The only person to hug her in the last three years was her little brother, Auggie. After the incident, she began to flinch when someone touched her, so she is shocked with how comfortable she feels with Lucas. She slowly settles into the embrace, her arms between their chests and her head under his chin.
Riley steps back and looks away, wiping away a stray tear. "I'm sorry. You don't have to comfort me. I doubt you want to hear my sob story."
"Riley, I don't think that's a sob story. I think you need to tell someone about it before it overwhelms you." He looks at her sincerely and she almost tells him. "Riley, please tell me."
She finally cracks. "I'll tell you tonight if you come to the bay window in my room after ten. If I'm telling you, I want to be able to kick you out if it gets to be too much."
"Deal." They head their separate ways towards their respective houses. Riley walks upstairs to her room, glancing at her clock before grabbing her book to read. Three hours until she tells her deepest secrets to a boy she hardly knows. For some reason though, she feels like she can trust Lucas. She doesn't know what it is about him, but there is something warm that draws her in and makes her open up. She doesn't know whether that should make her happy or scare her. She reads a few chapters before looking up again. 8:00. Two more hours.
Am I ready for this?