Between this story and my books, I've been writing a lot lately! Huzzah.
The Lovely Daaaarlings!
Dragon of Twilight: It most definitely did. They'll just have to do what they can with it! ANGST FOR THE WIN. Kukukuku…
PixieStixys: PREPARE FOR THE BATTLE. Hehe, why thank you! I think most of the story's readers like that more than the actual story. xD
IceFire Dragon Alchemist73: OH YEAH.
Yumixjaganshi: Mwahaha! I'm so evil. Hm… That's a good idea.
Bloody Bonez Alchemist XD: Yay, I did mah job! xD
AirMage99: Edo is back at last! Why thank you. X3
Katsekala: Haha! MORTAL COMBAT: STATE ALCHEMIST EDITION! Booyah.
Rabid Cream Puffs: Aw, that's alright. Least you're feeling better(Right?)!
I KNOW, RIGHT? 8D
Happy Early Birthday, teehee!
How very right of you.(Insert infamous Cheshire Cat grin here) Hehehehe…
WOW! Thank you! X3
Fmagurl123: Thanks! I'm glad it kept you in suspense. And it wasn't blown off, no. He broke the bones inside her arm. And here's your update, my dear!
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I've never owned FullMetal Alchemist. I never will, either. Sigh…
But I do own Riley, along with any new content not in FullMetal Alchemist. Sigh…
Chapter Thirty-Four:
The Cycle of Blackburn
Part Two
Blackburn and I stared each other down as we stood across from one another. Hard glares were on our faces as we stood tall. His jacket was ripped in areas, blood along it as he had an arm over his stomach. I was dirty, my clothes a bit torn, as my arm hung limp. The air around us was tense. From the look of the others' faces, they thought we were planning our attacks and strategies.
We weren't.
We were hiding our pain and resisting the urge to break down before the fight even started.
"It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it huuurts…!" I screamed in my head. But I ignored the pain in my arm as I readied my hands. Blackburn did the same, and we ran toward each other. I reached forward to grab at his torso, but he stepped backwards and inched to my side, grabbing at me. I ran forward causing his hand to just brush against my hair. Spinning around to face him, I noticed that what hair he had gotten in contact it became hard and brittle. "Did he just give me split ends…?!" I thought to myself angrily before glaring up at him.
He could break my arm. He could stab my master. He could injure Ed. He could brainwash two kids into trying to kill us. He could hold me hostage.
But no way in any level of hell there may be, was he going to damage my hair.
Growling, I ran toward him with a new found fury. I elbowed at his stomach and he grabbed my arm, throwing it high into the air. Upon seeing his knee nearing my stomach, I placed my foot on it and pushed myself upward. In the air, I let out a yell as I kicked him square in the jaw. He flew backwards but flipped to catch himself. Running back to me, he swung his fist at my neck. I slapped it away from me and grabbed his arm, swinging him around and toward the ground. Mid-air, he grabbed me by the neck and chin as his foot caught his fall, slowing him down enough so he could turn over and slam me into the ground.
I winced as I felt his palm shove into my neck, and the impact from the ground. He didn't have a tight grasp on my neck, but for some reason I began to feel as though I was choking. My neck started to become numb and cold. Quickly I grabbed his hand, trying to pry it from me, but I was light-headed and started to see black spots. From behind us, I could hear Ed shouting at Al to let him go. "Damn it…," I thought before weakly raising my leg. I shoved my foot into his stomach and used my other foot to kick his chest. His grip was let go for a second and the feeling instantly went away. Before he could grab me again and start over, I clapped and grabbed his forearm. I twisted it in between my hands which made him fall on the ground beside me. Quickly, I pushed myself up from his arm and squeezed his forearm.
But then I stopped.
My hand shook just as it reached its hot point. I wanted to blow him up, but I couldn't. Not yet… He looked up at me with a glare. "Well? Aren't you going to kill me?" He spoke out.
"What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?" I asked him firmly, "I know those were samples. Just red water… How'd you know about it?"
"I was given them," He finally replied.
Given? I fell quiet as I tried to think back on what I knew. The homunculi at Lab Five came to mind, along with the red water they had. "…Homunculi," I growled down at him.
He smirked again; God, I was hating that smirk. "You have your mother's intelligence," He said, throwing me off track at first. "His name was Envy," He said casually.
I should've known it was that bastard. When I began to see mini "flashbacks" of Maes' murder, I scowled. "What do you know about Envy?" I exclaimed. The Elric brothers, who couldn't hear our prior conversation, gasped slightly.
Blackburn chuckled, "He supplied red water for me. Said he had obtained the ingredients from a Doctor Tim Marcoh – know him?" My eyes widened. Subconsciously, my hand let go of his arm. Smirking, he grabbed my collar and had me shoved into a tree. He chuckled, "You studied under him, correct? Yes, I know. I know more about you than you think, Sulfur Alchemist…"
His hand began to mold again and his bone-sword started to stem from his palm. Glaring, I grabbed the blade and slammed my leg into Blackburn's side. Before he could react, I flipped him over my foot and grabbed his neck. "You're done, Blackburn…," I growled.
"You can't kill me," He said.
In all honesty, I didn't know if I could. I glanced to Gregory, who nodded at me with a soft look. A look that said, "You have to do it." And I did.
When I didn't reply, he smirked and slipped out the pouch he had. My hands stinging badly, I hissed at the surprise. With me off guard, he slammed his arm into the side of my face. I flew to the ground beside him and he stood. Opening the pouch, he said as he dropped the stones into his hand, "You're much stronger than I gave you credit for… But that won't last long."
The stones landed in his hands and he crushed them, absorbing them into his hands. He shot his hands at me, but I rolled away and stumbled to my feet, my hands clenched to avoid contact. Who knew what kind of reaction there would be. He rushed at me, sending his fist at me again. I ducked, swinging my foot at his legs. He jumped over me so I rested my weight to my left hand and pushed up to kick his chin. He grabbed my leg and as he came down, he pulled me toward his fist. Seeing he was aiming for my chest, I twisted my torso back, but my right, broken arm lagged behind. My eyes widened as I tried to stop what was going to happen.
"No…!"
…With Ed…
(Woo.)
The hands on the clock on the wall ticked loudly, interrupting the silence in the room. Ed sat in a chair against the wall, glaring down at the ground. Winry was watching him from around the corner in worry. They had brought Riley back almost five hours prior and yet, Ed hadn't moved from that chair. He insisted they leave him be; Gregory's wounds needed Winry and Hannah's attention, and Riley needed someone to be there when she woke. Winry wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault. She knew that's what he was thinking. Sighing, she shook her head as she left to Gregory's hotel room. The Elric continued glaring at the ground, thinking back to what had happened…
Ed's eyes widened but he quickly shut them, blocking his face from the sudden light and sound of the explosion. Al used his body to shield the two people with him, only regretting that Riley wasn't in between them all. The entire area was filled with white light and intense heat, before slowly dying down.
Before Al could move, Ed shoved his head around his brother's body. Lisa and Mark were peering from bushes in anxiety. Riley was on the ground beside a tree, passed out and banged up. Ed's breath hitched in his throat as his chest tightened dramatically, "Riley!" Pushing himself up from the ground, he ran over to her quickly as he feared the worst.
Al rushed to the children, asking them how they were as Gregory stood up. He looked around the area with narrowed eyes; where was Radley? Surely he wasn't thrown farther than Riley was. Unsure of this, Gregory set off past the trees, looking for said man as the children shouted in protest to Al's questions.
On the other end of the area, Ed had kneeled down next to Riley and was checking for a pulse. He let out the long breath he was holding when he felt one. Brushing hair away from her face, he tried to make sure no skin was burnt. "Damn it…," He growled under his breath, "I'm so sorry, Riley…" Standing, he repositioned himself on Riley's left side, picking her up gently as to not further hurt her. As he stood and Al got the kids over to him, Gregory made his way back into the area.
"Brother?" Hearing the boy's voice, Ed looked up at him blankly. "…I thought it would be a good time to give you this," Al said softly, opening the latch of his armor and taking out a beaten up box.
Al held the box out for Ed to take, and he did so. "What is this, Al?" He questioned, looking at the box he now held in his lap.
"A birthday present…," Al paused, unsure of whether or not it was the right time, "From Riley. She gave it to me when Hannah found out she was a State Alchemist. I figured now was the best time, while Riley's still…" Ed narrowed his eyes up at his brother warningly. He didn't like what was about to be said. He denied the implications behind it. Al took notice instantly and reworded himself, "While we're not dealing with enemies."
Ed's brows furrowed down at the box and Al left as he debated over opening it. In a way, opening it agreed with Al – that he should open it before Riley… He shook his head. That wouldn't happen. With a sigh, the blond reached to the box and grabbed the edge of the paper. He began to pull it away slowly, still unsure of whether or not he really wanted to see it yet. The box opened and seeing what was behind the wrappings, Ed couldn't help but have a twitch of the brow.
Now in Ed's lap was a milk carton.
Sighing, he flipped the carton to its side when he noticed writing on it. 'You better like this, Ed. I had to ask Armstrong and Maes for help!' Ed read off. He turned the carton upward and opened the lid. A small and round laminated flipbook was inside it. Ed reached his fingers into the carton and slipped the flipbook out of it. Laying the carton and wrapping on his jacket beside him, he began to look through the flipbook, which turned out to be a photo album. Many photographs were things Ed was surprised to see, things Riley must have snapped when no one was looking. Some were of Al and Winry, some were of Ed.
One photo of a sleeping Ed caused a second twitch. 'She just added that to bug me,' He thought. He was right. The last photo wasn't a photo but a drawing. It was a lightly sketched picture, and it wiped any expression off of Ed.
The drawing was Al, but not one of an armor or a little boy. It was of Al in flesh and blood, looking to be about fourteen. It wasn't the best picture in the world, but Ed could definitely tell it was Al. A small grin appeared on Ed's face. It was nice to see, despite looking like a drawing done by a nine year old.
Remembering what had happened to the person who had given him the flipbook and why he had been sitting there for so long, his grin turned to a scowl. He gripped the flipbook tighter as he looked over his shoulder at the door to Riley's room silently.
…Back to Riley…
My sight was blinded. My ears were ringing badly. All I could remember was hearing the Elrics and Gregory shout my name while children shouted for someone else. But other than that, it was like everything was dead.
What the hell…?
Oh yeah. Blackburn… The stones in his hand… Marcoh… The explosion.
Gasping for air, I shot up from my laying position and snapped my eyes open. "A wall…?" I thought to myself upon seeing a picture across from me, hanging on the white wall. I looked around and saw the hotel room Hannah had gotten. Feeling the pain in my arm, I hissed and grabbed at it. "Son of a bitch…," I growled out.
Hearing the door open, I looked over to see Winry. Her eyes widened and she looked out the room quickly. "You guys, Riley's awake!" She shouted before rushing into the room and reaching my side. "Are you alright?"
With a groan, I shook my head. "I don't even think food's gonna make this one better."
She smiled slightly, "I hope that's mostly a joke. You really scared us, you know…"
I opened my mouth to reply but Hannah ran in and ambushed me first. She grabbed me tightly, crying. I hissed a bit and she immediately backed off. "I'm sorry!" She apologized quickly. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Snorting, I mumbled, "In the loosest use of the word, I am." I looked up passed her and saw Gregory standing there. His shirt was off, as well as his jacket, showing the bandage over his shoulder. "Hey. What happened after the explosion?" I asked.
Gregory stood by the door. "After we were able to see clearly again, Alphonse and Edward went to check on you and the children. I looked for Blackburn. The children are in the hospital, but they should be fine. Edward brought you here where Winry and Hannah took care of you after I did what I could on your arm."
"And Blackburn…?" I asked, unsure whether or not I wanted to hear the answer.
He sighed, "He was gone. I couldn't find a trace of him."
Great. A murderer was on the loose. "But don't even think of going after him again!" Hannah said, frowning. "I called Roy to tell him what happened and he said he would be sending officers after him. Don't worry about that."
I grinned a bit. Was she concerned about my bravery or stupidity? Loud footsteps brought me from my thoughts and we all looked to the door to see Al sliding into the doorway. "You're awake…!" He said as though he was choking up with tears.
Shortly after, Ed came sliding in as well and slammed against Al's armor from not stopping in time. He looked over at me with a smile, "Riley…"
I smirked, waving slightly. "Hey guys," Was my simple response.
They rushed over to my side as Gregory sat at the table. "Riley, we heard you ask Blackburn about Envy," Al mentioned carefully, like he was stepping on eggshells.
The question wiped my smirk off. "Yeah. He said Envy was supplying him with red water, and…" I trailed off as I remembered what he said about Marcoh. I went quiet a moment before looking back up, "I need to make a phone call!" I began to slip out of the bed, when Ed grabbed my collar, glaring at me. I glared back, "Let me go, twerp."
He didn't budge. For once, he seemed to be more insistent than I was. "You're injured, Riley. You're not going anywhere," He said, shaking his head.
"This is important!" I whined.
Sensing a fight about to start, Hannah waved her arms, "Okay, that's enough you two…! Riley, go make a phone call, but be quick and careful, alright?" I nodded and stuck my tongue out at Ed; I won. Before I could tease Ed about it, Hannah spoke up again, "But I'm coming with you."
"What? But that-" Hannah glared at me so I sighed and hung my head in defeat. Ed took this as his cue to smirk; I lost.
. . .
"Hello?"
"It's me," I said, holding the phone with my left hand. It felt weird. How the hell had Ed managed to do so much with his left hand after he got auto-mail? Jeez…
Tuning back into the conversation, I heard Roy reply, "Riley. How are you feeling?"
I shrugged a bit(like he could see it…) "Like I've been exploded," I responded casually. Roy sighed at this, and I could almost imagine him shaking his head. "I need to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Do you know where Marcoh is?" Silence followed. My brows furrowed, "Mustang?"
He sighed, "That was information only for the Furher's assistant."
Unfortunately for me, I didn't notice the "was" part of that. "Oh… Well, is there any way I can talk to him about something? I mean, he is my teacher after all."
Roy didn't respond at first. I was started to get irritated, when he sighed. "He was found dead, Riley."
My eyes widened at this. I could feel my arms start to shake. "Riley?" Hannah mumbled, noticing my sudden change in expression.
I ignored her as I spoke into the phone. "When?" I growled out.
"Shortly after you found Hughes."
"And you didn't tell me this then?" I shouted into the phone.
Roy sighed. "Think it about it for a moment, Riley. You were already hurt enough about Hughes. Did you really need to know about Marcoh then too?"
I fell silent; he was right. Maes was still a fresh wound, honestly, and it was pretty horrible learning about Marcoh. If I found out then… Who knows. "…Thanks," I mumbled blankly into the phone. Roy was about to speak up again, but I had hung up.
"Riley? What's wrong?" Hannah asked, growing nervously impatient.
"…Marcoh's dead."
Her eyes widened. After all, we both were close to him. "…W-Why?" She whispered out. I was about to reply, when someone caught my eye over Hannah's shoulder. My face became hard. Seeing my expression, Hannah turned around to see what I saw and gasped, stepping back.
"What the hell do you want?" I asked, walking in front of Hannah as he walked toward us.
Envy smirked. "I heard you killed Blackburn and decided to check it out for myself," He replied casually as he placed a hand on his hip(Looking gayer than ever.)
I could feel my hands stinging as my anger rose. Not just my anger though, my adrenaline. The currently biggest enemy I had was standing right in front of me; Just waiting to be blown into pieces. I may have had trouble with killing Blackburn, but with Envy, I would not. "Leave," I growled out.
Walking toward us, he stopped beside me. He smirked and glanced over at me, "How was Maes' funeral?" I snapped. I swung my arm at his face but he managed to grab it just seconds before it hit. "Now, now, Riley… Don't want to get unwanted attention, do we?" He asked before shoving his knee into my stomach. "Besides, you don't want to fight me in this pathetic state."
"Bastard…," I growled, kneeled over from the blow.
Hannah placed an arm on my back as Envy walked away. Sighing, she looked down at me, "Are you alright?" Her voice was slightly shaky, showing just how fearful she was of Envy.
"Fine," I grumbled as I stood straight. "Let's go…"
. . .
"We need to tell Ed," Hannah whined out as we walked closer to the hotel door.
I sighed, stopping to turn around to my friend. "No, Hannah. We don't. If we tell him about that, we'll have to tell him about Marcoh, which will lead to telling him about Maes," I explained dully.
Hannah frowned. "And we can't tell him about Maes because?" She asked desperately.
"Because then he'll go on a rampage to kill Envy," I mumbled before turning back to the door, "And that's my job." As I twisted the doorknob, I asked, "Now let's stop talking about Maes, alright?" Hannah sighed as I opened the door.
Ed and Al looked over when we walked in and as I sat down, Hannah groaned and blurted out, "We ran into Envy!" Way to go, Hannah.
Silence filled the room as Ed looked at me with surprise and anger. "What? What happened?" He asked.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Nothing happened. We just exchanged some words, that's all… It's not a big deal," I said as I downsized the problem.
Ed could tell that was what I was doing. With a sigh, he frowned, "Riley, it is a big deal. What if he attacked you two?"
"He wouldn't cause a scene in a public place like that," I replied. He didn't believe me, but shook his head, not wanting to argue about this. Envy was a sore topic for us all.
Gregory stood from his spot at the table. "Why don't we talk, Riley?" I fell quiet but nodded and stood. We both exited the room and he looked down at me. Examining the look on my face, he sighed. "What was the call you had to make about, Riley?"
"…," I frowned, "I needed to talk to Marcoh." His brows furrowed in confusion before I added, "He's been killed. Most likely by Envy."
His eyes widened at first, but he quickly regained his posture; something taught at the Rebellion Army. "I… I see. I'll alert the dojo of the news when I get back." I nodded at this and he placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and he said, "Don't worry. You'll get your revenge one day." With a long sigh, I nodded at this and he stepped backward as he opened the door. The others were waiting patiently. He nodded at them, "I shall be going now. Pleasure meeting you all."
They all bided their goodbyes and he walked away.
. . .
"Good morning!"
The day had started with Hannah grabbing food for everyone, and me sitting in bed. Just like I had the day before, and the day before that.
I was upset.
Marcoh and Maes were both dead, and instead of moving on, I had to sit around for a few days. We could have gone to the Ishbalin Refugee Camp, but what with my current injuries, Ed and Al wanted to stay until I was fully recovered. After hours of arguing about how my arm would take too long to wait for and how we should wait just a few days for my body to gain its strength back, I finally won. Even though I was unhappy I still had to wait around, I won and that was all that truly mattered.
Hannah walked in with a tray of food and I sighed, grumbling about how she had me bed-ridden for the past two days as I cleaned Maes' blades. Or, well, tried to anyway. She rolled her eyes as she as she sat down on the end of my bed, "Get over it. You're supposed to be healing these few days, not roaming the town and causing trouble."
Winry nodded from the table. "She's right, Riley. The more you rest right now, the more you'll recover," She explained, causing me to give her a, 'What the hell are you on?' stare. She had been oddly friendly with me lately and it was getting weirder by the minute.
But I ignored the two as I shook my head. "That doesn't mean I have to lay around all day… I don't have the patience for this," I complained as I snatched the toast from my plate. I munched on it while Hannah and Winry talked about God knows what.
The door open and we saw the Elric brothers walk in, Ed looking like he just woke up. Hannah grinned, motioning to the food. "I thought you'd come here first," She said to them.
Ed rushed over to grab some food, alert at last as Al looked over at me. "How are you feeling?"
"Bored," I sputtered out instantly. And I was. Sitting in bed for so long was hell. In a way, I was mad at Ed and Al for being rational and making me rest; but at the same time, I thought it was kind of nice of them to wait around for me. It wasn't like we were stuck together or anything. Then again, maybe we were, considering Ed now had the military on my ass as well.
Al chuckled faintly as Ed swallowed his bite. "So are we. We're thinking about leaving tomorrow. You up for it?" He asked.
I nodded quickly, "Yes! I want to get out of here already…" He nodded and we continued to eat.
"But, guys…," Winry trailed off, suddenly frowning. We looked over at her in curiosity and she asked, "What about Blackburn?"
Hannah sighed as Ed shook his head. "That isn't our business anymore…," Ed grumbled, "As much as I want to find Blackburn, we need to get to the camp. And like Mustang said, he's got officers looking for him which gives us even more reason to leave as soon as possible."
I nodded in agreement. "Ed's right. We have other things to worry about. If we ever run into him again, we'll handle it then."
Silence was taking over the room, so Hannah grabbed the tray and stood. "I'll be right back," She said lightheartedly as she left the room to put the tray away.
Winry left to shower, so Al looked over at me. "Do you need anything?" He asked.
I grinned, "No thanks Al. I'm fine." He nodded and headed out to go back to their room. Ed paused to look at me, making sure I was okay, before following his brother. "Ed," I said quickly. He stopped and turned. Sighing, I glanced over at him. Finally, I mumbled, "Thanks… I owe you one." That felt awkward.
He blinked, falling silent. Glancing to the door ahead of him, he shook his head. "No, you don't… It was my fault anyway," He grumbled out.
My eyes narrowed. What the hell was that kid thinking? "What? Ed, what's going on?" I asked, sighing.
"…I let you fight him alone. I didn't bother stepping in when I should have and I apologize for that." Ed was about to continue when a shoe was rammed into the back of his head. Eyed widened, he stumbled forward and jerked around. "What was that for?" He shouted, rubbing his head.
I glared. "Of all the things you could apologize for, it's that? Whatever you've been eating is bad, you moron…," I said bluntly, laying down as I placed my unbroken hand behind my head. "Now take a 'thank you' like a man and let me sleep in peace. God…"
He blinked several times, eyes wide as he stared me down. "…" Brows furrowed, he began to regain his composure. A small smirk lined his mouth as he glanced downward. "Thanks Riley…" I 'ignored' him, laying there still. He turned to the door and left, hopefully back to normal.
Being alone in the room, I resisted a yawn that rose to my throat. Relaxing, I closed my eyes. The mental image of a dead Marcoh hit me like a bag of bricks. My eyes snapped open in shock and I gasped quickly. Trying to control my breathing, I scowled; that wasn't what I needed. With a small huff of frustration, I rolled onto my left side and closed my eyes. Forcing them to stay shut, it only took me a few minutes to actually fall asleep.
"Gregory. What is it?" Marcoh asked.
He stood at the doctor's doorstep with me in tow, grabbing his pants leg tightly. Marcoh seemed stressed and tense; with little sleep. Gregory sighed. "Kevin and Clairessant have been killed, Marcoh," He said simply. Marcoh's eyes widened at this. Before he could respond, Gregory pushed me a forward a bit. Marcoh looked down at me in surprise. "You are her godfather now that Radley isn't around."
With a heavy sigh, Marcoh bent down to one knee to look me in the eye. "So you're Riley…," He said. Shyly, I nodded. He gave me a soft smile and said, "My name is Tim Marcoh."
. . .
I was sitting at one of the tables in the Military cafeteria, when Maes rushed over. "Riley! Are you free tonight?" He asked, sitting down across from me.
Looking up from my food, I raised a brow dully. "…Isn't that illegal, Hughes?"
His brow twitched slightly as his expression turned deadpan. "I wanted you to babysit…," He replied dully.
"…Oh. So now I'm all of a sudden not good enough for you?" I asked, 'offended' as I began ranting about how insensitive he was. He sighed, shaking his head as he got up from the table and left, ignoring the fact I was half-yelling. Finally, I shut up and smirked. That was how you got out of babysitting.
Jerking awake, my eyes widened. I trembled slightly as I sweated and shook my head quickly, trying to forget about it. What the hell was with me? I was able to forget about Maes(Well, not 'forget'. More like, 'not think about'), so why did Marcoh send me over the edge? Slowly sitting up, I looked over to the other beds to see Hannah and Winry asleep, and I could see the moon outside the window. Was it really that late?
Thinking about the dream, my breath became hitched again. Damn it. I controlled my breathing as I went into the bathroom to wet a napkin. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I sighed. I shoved the napkin into my face when I realized I was crying. Damn it. Opening the door, I looked outside the bathroom to see Hannah and Winry were still asleep. So much for confiding in them. So, I decided to go to the best person to go to. Someone I knew would be awake, and someone I liked. I cared about. Someone I trusted.
Al.
I silently and slowly left our room before crossing the hall. Reaching Ed and Al's door, I paused and knocked. It was silence for a few seconds, before hearing a muffled, "Come in," reply.
Sighing in relief, I walked in and shut the door behind me. I blinked when I saw Ed looking over from his spot on the bed, his hands behind his head. Damn it. He was still awake. "Riley?" He asked curiously, sitting up in his bed to face me. I stood there stiff, debating over whether or not to say something. Personally I just wanted to leave. "…What's wrong?" He asked, furrowing his brows. I looked downward to the floor, scoffing.
I turned to leave, but just as I grabbed the doorknob, I stopped when Maes' face flashed through my head. I winced a bit, but then began remembering Marcoh as well. My body resorted to trembling again as I covered my mouth to avoid the cry about to come out. "Riley?" Ed asked, more demanding and concerned this time. It was inevitable. I knew I needed to break down. We would be leaving town tomorrow, and once we did, I wouldn't have time to.
Shaking my head, I turned and ran toward him. "R-Riley?" He exclaimed as I landed myself on the bed, my good arm tightly wrapped his torso, my broken arm hanging around it, as I cried. My hand clenched around him and I could feel him tense up almost immediately. Confused and probably terrified, he placed a hand on my back but barely moved as I continued crying.
This was going to be awkward in the morning.
Almost six thousand words. I think it's one of my longest chapters!
Be Responsible. Don't Flame and Drive! Rawr.