Chapter 14

The Next Day…

Alex POV

What a beautiful day… To be sick… I woke up feeling awful. It felt like I had gallons of snot compressed into my head. I could barely breathe, my head hurt, and I had a sore throat. I've never gotten sick in the summer before. I guess there's a first time for everything…

My parents were gone already. They were at the town hall at work. As I got up to get some medication, I groaned from the intense pain in my head.

After about 30 minutes of sitting still and doing nothing, I started to feel slightly better from the pills I had taken. I still felt pretty bad though. I made myself a bagel for breakfast, and sat down in the kitchen to eat it.

Today was going to be a bad day… But not just because I got sick…

Riker POV

"Pass me the orange juice!" Rocky said, louder than he should have since I was barely awake.

"Shhh! Rocky! I'm 2 feet away from you!" I shouted back.

"So how are things with you and Alex?" Ellington asked.

"Not very good. She was hanging out with this guy, Brenden yesterday. I kind of… Overreacted and got a tiny bit jealous. I thought she might have left me for him."

"So what happened?"

"Alex was mad because she couldn't believe I thought she might have been cheating on me. And I know she would never do that, but… I just… I don't know…"

"So are you guys still a couple?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe if I give her some time, things can get back to how they were."

"Well you're not doing anything tonight, so why don't you take her out to dinner or something?"

"No. I'm actually going to go to a party I think."

"A party? Where? For who?"

"I met this guy at a gas station I stopped at-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. You're going to a party for some guy you met at a gas station?"

"Well… He said he'd heard our music, and he knew who I was. He invited me to come to his party tonight. It's for his birthday. He said that it'd be awesome if I came, and it would make his birthday special. He also told me to invite you guys."

"I'm not going to some party for a guy you met at a gas station," said Ellington.

"I'm not either," said Rocky.

"Yeah, and I don't think Ross, Rydel, or Ryland are going to want to go either. Riker, I really don't think you should go to this party."

"Why not? It might be the best party I ever go to."

"Or it might be the worst. You should just stay here, and not risk it."

"I can do whatever I want. I'm 18."

"Riker-"

"I'm going to that party!"

"Fine. But if something bad happens, don't say I didn't warn you."

Alex POV

Ugh. It had been about an hour now since I had woken up. I could breathe a little better, but I still felt awful. To make it even worse, it was really hot outside. Hot, sunny, and humid. Great…

All of a sudden, my phone started ringing. I answered it, trying not to sound too terribly sick.

"Hello?"

"Alex? This is Ross."

"Hey Ross."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm sick. What were you calling for?"

"Well Rocky just told me about some party Riker's going to tonight. I wanted to see if you could talk him out of it."

"I don't think so Ross. He and I aren't really… On good terms at the moment… I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Are you sure you're ok though?"

"Yeah. I'm just sick."

"What's wrong?"

"My head hurts, my throat hurts, and I can't breathe very well."

"Do you need anything?"

"I don't think so, but thanks."

"Are you sure? I could come over and help you with stuff."

Was this because he cared, or because he likes me? Hmmm. Well either way, it'd be better having him here than being alone all day. Why not?

"Ok, thanks Ross."

"No problem. I'll be there in 5 minutes."

"Ok. Bye."

Well this would be interesting…

Later…

Riker POV

"Stop trying to talk me out of it, Rocky!"

"Riker, it's not a good idea!"

"Well then you don't have to go."

"I'm not! And you shouldn't either."

"No. You know what? I'm going to that party. I'm going to prove you wrong. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Riker-"

"If I'm not back by noon tomorrow, then, you can start worrying. But guess what? Nothing. Is going. TO HAPPEN!"

Alex POV

"Do you need anything else?" Ross asked.

"Yeah. Can you shut the sun off?"

"Well no. But I'll get a fan. I know. It's really hot today. I'll be right back."

"Thanks Ross."

Well I wasn't feeling much better since this morning. But having Ross here was definitely better than being alone.

"Ok. I got the fan. Now, do you want to talk about what's going on with you and Riker?"

"Well, I don't know. Did he tell you anything?"

"Yeah. Last night when he came home, he told me a little."

"Yeah… I don't know. You know, I really thought it was going to be the end for us when he wouldn't text me back, and I hardly ever saw him. But then things started going good again. Now… I don't know. Maybe it is the end for us."

"Do you still love him though?"

"Well yeah, but… We just keep having problems. Summer just started, and so far, it's going horribly! Now what's all this about him going to a party?"

"He met some guy who apparently was a fan of his. He invited him to his birthday party tonight. We just don't think it's a good idea for him to go, but since he's 18, he can do whatever he wants."

"Yeah… I see… Well, if it blows up in his face, that's his problem. I'm tired of him making mistakes. It's so frustrating."

"So you're not going to talk him out of going?"

"No. If he wants to go, I'll let him go."

Ross sighed.

"I'm sorry Ross. I'm just mad at him, and I'm sick, and it's hot. I don't have the energy to fight with him right now."

"It's ok. I understand."

"What time is his party at?"

"It starts at 9:30. Riker said he'd be home by noon tomorrow. That's the part I don't like. I don't like the thought of him partying all night long at the house of some guy he just met."

"Do you have his address?"

"Yeah. Riker wrote it down for mom."

"Well if anything does happen, we could always just go get him."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sure everything will be fine Ross."

Later…

Alex POV

Ross was nice enough to bring me over some of the dinner his mom had made. My parents had come home early and saw Ross here. However, my dad could obviously see I was sick. And since Ross was about 2 years younger than me, and he was taking care of me, my dad let him stay. He just didn't want to have to deal with his sick daughter. Whatever… I'm used to it…

"So Rocky just texted me. Riker left for the party."

"Great for him…"

"Do you think he'll be ok?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Ross."

"Ok… Well it's getting kind of late. It's almost 10:00. I think I'm going to head home."

"Ok. Thanks for taking care of me today."

"You're welcome."

"Bye Ross."

"Bye Alex."

12:30 AM

Alex POV

Ok, I'll admit it. I was a little worried. I'd been sitting at my window, waiting for Riker to come home, and he wasn't. It was getting later and later. I don't know why he would stay there until the next morning. That would be ridiculous.

By the time it was 1:00, I was freaking out. I had tried texting him. 17 times! He wasn't responding to any of them. I snuck out the front door, and went across the street.

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

"Rocky, Riker won't answer any of my texts. I need the address of the party."

"Ok, let me get it."

"Thanks."

"Call me if anything's wrong, ok?"

"I will. Thanks Rocky."

I jumped in my car, and headed to the place of the party.

Something told me what I was about to find, wouldn't be good.