Chapter Thirteen

Monica was cleaning up the last of the mess leftover from last night's sleepover, secretly wondering to herself if the popcorn kernels would ever come out of the carpet. She tried not to have a panic attack thinking about it.

Still, even though it would take a month to make her living room presentable again, she was glad they'd done it. Not only did she think it made Riley feel a little more comfortable about being here, but Monica felt as though they did some good, helping her with things her own mother wouldn't do. Monica couldn't help but admit she was proud of herself, proud of the other girls. She couldn't wait to hear how Riley's day had gone.

Just then, the telephone rang. Wondering who it could be, Monica grabbed the cordless and answered.

"Hello, is this, uh, Monica Gheller?" A voice on the other end asked. Monica puckered her brow.

"Yes." She replied.

"We have you listed as Riley Morgan's guardian, is that correct information?" Whoever it was sounded confused. Kids came from all kinds of weird situations nowadays, how could this be any weirder?

"Yeah, I'm her cousin, who is this?" Monica asked.

"I'm from Riley's school. I'm wondering where Riley is this morning. She never showed up for first period." The lady replied.

Monica felt her heart skip a beat as she played the words over in her head again. She never showed up for first period. Riley was skipping school? Or worse, had something happened.

Monica tried to catch her breath, find her voice.

"Uh, are you sure? I sent her off this morning, I saw her leave." She explained, trying desperately to sound like a good person, because of course she would know where Riley was, what kind of guardian didn't know these things.

"Yes, Miss Gheller, she's not here, I had her homeroom teacher confirm." The voice explained, obviously unimpressed. Monica took a breath and took herself to calm down. It would be okay.

She thanked the receptionist or whoever she was, promised she would have Riley to school tomorrow, and hung up the phone. Thousands of possibilities ran through her mind - she was kidnapped, she got lost, she took the wrong bus, she ran away from home, she got hit by a car, or worse, she was truly the rebellious teenager her mother had made her out to be, and everything Monica had seen so far had been a show.

Sighing, and hoping that wasn't truth, Monica picked up the phone and called each of her five friends, whether they were home or at work, and explained the situation, begging them to be on the lookout during their day, because Riley could really be anywhere.

Finally, grabbing her wallet and keys, Monica left the apartment and called a cab. First, she would trace the bus route, then she would look around the school, check the parks...well, she didn't have it all planned out, but she had to at least look.

Monica had been all over the place, spending quite a bit of money on cab fare, travelling to the school, tracing the bus route, going to a nearby park, and places she thought Riley might go, but what did she have to go on? She had spent all of two days with her cousin, it wasn't as though she had enough information to know where her key hangouts would be.

She couldn't help but wonder if Riley would call her mother, but Monica greatly doubted it. Riley hadn't really said anything positive about her mother since she'd arrive.

Finally coming back to her street, Monica decided she would grab a cup of coffee and head back up to her apartment to call everyone. Hopefully, at least one of her friends had seen Riley. Monica was really starting to worry.

She headed into Central Perk and ordered a coffee from Gunther. As she waited, she took in her surroundings, out of habit - she usually found at least one of her 5 friends here, and even though she knew they were all busy today, she couldn't help but look.

She was glad she did, for there on the couch that was usually occupied by her group of friends, sat Riley, sadly tapping at the foam in her macchiato.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Monica walked over and sat next to Riley. Riley looked up and immediately looked even more upset. Riley sighed and went back to poking at the foam.

"Riley, where have you been? I've been worried all morning! Your school called and said you weren't there. I've been looking everywhere. I...I couldn't help but imagine the worst, I mean, I don't know, I have no way of getting a hold of you, I didn't know, and, I felt so helpless! Where were you?" Monica asked in a bit of a panic. She knew she was probably overreacting, but her heart was still hammering and her skin was still clammy from sweat.

Riley never looked up, she just bit her lip and replied silently.

"I was here, drinking coffee." She tapped the side of her mug. "This is my third."

"Did it occur to you that you live right upstairs? You know, you could have come home. Or at least told me why you decided to skip school." Monica tried to remain calm, and she was thankful Riley wasn't freaking out, but she had no idea how to handle a truant teenager. Monica never skipped school, never. She'd always been a keener.

"I know, I know I could've come upstairs, I just...I just needed to be alone, you know, think about things." Riley was so quiet, and she never looked up, but a closer look from Monica showed some streaks down her face. Riley had been crying.

Now things were different. She hadn't skipped school for nothing, she wasn't with any friends, she was here, alone, and obviously upset about something. Monica deduced rather quickly that something must have happened between her leaving the apartment this morning and her first period class.

Monica nudged over a little.

"What happened?" She asked, making sure she lowered her voice a little, trying to sound more concerned than upset.

Riley took a few minutes of silence and Monica let it stay silent. She didn't want to push her, but she didn't want to just leave either. Riley needed to know Monica supported her, cared about her, wanted to help her, but she would never push her. Besides, it wasn't like she knew how.

Riley finally sniffled and confided it all to Monica, about her meeting with Erin this morning, about Brett and Riley's decision to try and flirt, and how horribly it had gone. Monica listened with a pang of guilt stabbing at her. This was her fault, hers and the girls. They had pushed Riley too far, pressured her into meeting someone and it resulted in Riley being humiliated in front of the kids at school. That was it, Monica vowed that moment, there would be no more pressuring Riley into things she wasn't ready for. Yes, Riley had tried to argue against it, but they pushed and this was on them.

Monica took a breath and forced herself to face her cousin.

"Riley, I'm sorry. The girls and I, we never should have pressured you into the things we did. We put far too much of an emphasis on this stuff, and it wasn't fair, and now you're upset. This is my fault, I'm sorry." She said. Riley just shook her head.

"No, this isn't your fault. It's mine. I'm independent, you know? You were just offering advice. I'm the one who decided to act on it. I shouldn't have done it, though. I should have known better than to just pick some random idiot!" Riley sighed loudly, and then looked up at Monica. "I hope it's okay, Monica, but really, I don't think I'm ready for this, the boy stuff I mean. I know it's important and all, but...well you know, I just moved here, and I guess I'm adjusting and...well, I just don't think I'm at a point in my life where I want to think about boys, at least, not all the time."

Monica smiled.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, and again, I'm really sorry for pressuring you. I will try not to do it anymore. I'll talk to the others too." She apologized. Riley breathed out and then shrugged casually.

"No big deal." She gave a small smile. Monica smiled back, feeling relief and progress all at once.

"Alright, well, I'm glad you told me what happened, and I'm glad you're okay, but hey. I want to be your friend, cousin, whatever, but I have to be in charge too, which sucks, because I hate it." Monica said, getting a bit of a laugh from Riley. "But can you do me a favor? You know, if you decide you want to skip school again, can you at least call so I know where you are?"

Riley laughed.

"I promise."

And together, the two cousins finished their coffee before heading up and phoning the five friends to make sure they knew Riley was alright.