Chapter 9

Alex POV

Who would be knocking at my door? Probably one of the Lynch's.

"Come in!" I shouted.

I immediately regretted doing that. My head felt like it was being stabbed.

"Alex?"

"I'm in my room," I called back to who I thought was Riker.

"Alex! Are you ok!?" Said Riker.

"Yeah, I just have a really bad headache," I said.

"Did you take anything for it?" Riker asked.

"No, I didn't feel like it. My original plan was to go to bed, but as you can see, that obviously didn't happen," I said.

I realized I sounded like a jerk, just by my tone of voice.

"I'm sorry. I just don't feel well," I said.

"No. It's fine. I know how you feel," said Riker.

"Why did you come over? Did you want to take a shower?" I asked.

Almost instantly, Riker's face turned red. He was still embarrassed. It only made him look cuter to me.

"Uh, no. I actually just wanted to ask you how your wrist is. Do you want me to get you Tylenol or anything for your head? You look like you're in a lot of pain," said Riker.

"Would you mind?" I asked.

"No, it's fine," said Riker.

"It's in the bathroom closet."

Riker came back and handed me the bottle of pills. He watched me as I swallowed it. He seemed to be acting slightly strange. He had a weird expression on his face. Almost like the one yesterday when I asked Rydel if she wanted to come over.

"Thanks," I said.

Riker brought the bottle of pills back in the bathroom.

"So how's your wrist?" Riker asked.

"Well, I haven't taken off the stuff you wrapped it up with yet. I'm actually kind of scared to see it. And it hurts if I move it a certain way, or if I bump it into anything," I said.

"Ooh, that sounds… Not fun… Do you want me to unwrap it and see if there's anything I can do to make it feel better?" Riker asked.

"Um, sure, if you want to," I said.

Riker POV

"Do you want to go in your kitchen or…?"

"Uh, actually, could I just stay in bed? I'm sorry, but my head is just killing me. If moving it hurts this much, I can't imagine walking," Alex said.

"Yeah, that's totally fine," I said.

I went into her bathroom and got the first aid kit. I took Alex's arm in my hand. I gently unwrapped her wrist and cleaned it.

"How's your head now?" I asked.

"Still pretty bad, but getting better," said Alex.

"That's good. Well, I also came over to ask you if you wanted to join us for movie night tonight, but unless you feel better…"

"Yeah I don't know if that's the best idea right now. Plus I have school tomorrow."

"Well if you feel like coming over, you can," I said.

"Cool. Well thanks for checking on my wrist," she said.

"You're welcome," I said.

"Riker? Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah?"

"But I need you to answer me truthfully."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Why does everyone in your family keep checking on me? Every couple of hours, on the hour."

Wow she was smart. I was not expecting her to ask that. I didn't know what to say. I just stood there looking at the ground like an idiot.

Alex sighed.

"Riker, just go home. I'll be fine. My head is killing me. I need some time to think," said Alex.

"Alex-"

"Riker, no. Please, just go," she said.

"Alright. I'll see you later tonight maybe?" I asked.

"Probably not. I'll talk to you later, Riker." She said.

I walked out of Alex's house and back to my own. I felt like a jerk. I screwed up and now she was mad at me. She probably didn't trust me either. I can't blame her. I wouldn't want to trust me after that. She knew we were checking up on her. She probably felt like we were treating her like a little kid. I know how annoying that can be. I just felt completely helpless right now. I lost Alex's trust, and I didn't know why it upset me this much. I needed to sit down and think about everything for a while…

Alex POV

I had just told Riker to leave my house. A few days ago I would have thought I went mental if I had done that. I still thought of Riker as a celebrity, but I got to know him a little as an ordinary person. And ordinary people can be annoying and they can hurt you. I would've thought Riker would have said something. But he didn't and it hurt to know that he wouldn't tell me. I had really thought he was a different person when he fixed up my wrist last night. Different from being a rock star that didn't care about anything except fame. I knew that wasn't completely true, but still. I just didn't think he was the kind of person to lie to me. Sure, he didn't directly lie to me, but it was similar, and that's all that mattered.

My head was starting to feel better now. It had been about an hour since I had taken medication for it. I had been sitting in bed watching TV. I got up and walked into the kitchen. I made myself a sandwich for dinner. I didn't feel like cooking tonight. The sun was just starting to go down. I slipped on my flip flops and headed to the beach. I liked to sit on the docks with my feet in the water while I gathered my thoughts. And boy did I have a lot of thoughts. Riker, my parents, school, Katelyn, and so much more!

The water was very cold when I let my feet dangle in it. I didn't care all that much. I wasn't here to think about cold water. I was here to think about my life.

I was really dreading tomorrow. I would probably have to face Riker and I didn't know what he was going to say about tonight. And Katelyn told me she wanted to talk to me when she came home, which was tomorrow. I felt so stressed!

I sighed as I laid down on the dock, while my feet still hung over the edge, in the water. I covered my eyes with my hands and just laid there for probably 10 or 15 minutes.

When I opened my eyes, I saw none other than Ellington Ratliff staring at me. Great. Just another problem soon to come…

Ellington POV

I had seen Alex walking down the street and after what Riker had told me, I figured she was upset and could use someone to talk to. So, I walked down to the beach to find her. She was laying on one of the docks with her hands over her face like she was annoyed. She sat up and looked at me.

"Hey Alex," I said.

"Ellington, I know you want to talk to me about something, probably relating to what's bothering me or something, but I really don't want to talk to anyone right now," Alex said.

"Alex, why don't you want to talk?" I asked.

"Because someone sent you here to "check" on me," she said.

"Alex, just listen to me for a sec. Rydel is the one who made everyone a schedule for checking up on you. She's worried about you and she cares, that's why she's making us do this. But I didn't come down here because Rydel sent me here. I came down here because Riker told me what just happened, and you looked like someone who needed a friend to talk to. It was completely my decision and nobody even knows I'm down here. If you still don't want to talk, that's completely your choice, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here if you want to talk. I won't judge or take sides. I'll listen and try to make you feel better," I said.

Alex turned to face me. She was crying. I walked down the dock and sat next to her, putting my feet in the water beside hers.

"My life is just falling apart right now," Alex said.

Alex was breaking down. She had just completely given up on everything. All I could do was listen and hold her close to me while she cried and told me everything. She told me about her parents never caring about her, us checking up on her, and the situation with her friend which was completely ridiculous…

Eventually, after about a half hour, Alex had finished telling me everything, and calmed down. Now it was my turn.

"Alex, I know you know about us checking up on you. But you need to forgive Riker. The way he acts around you, the mood he's in after talking to you, the way he talks about you… I think he likes you. After he came home from your house earlier, he told me what had happened. Since then, he just kept pacing around our living room, mumbling things to himself. He is really upset about what happened, Alex. It's driving him insane," I said.

"You think Riker likes me?" Alex asked, her voice telling me that she didn't believe me.

"Yeah. Ever since that first night he saw you, you're the only thing he talks about. And when he saw that you had a guitar, I could tell he was in love with you. The fact that he knows he hurt you, it's killing him inside. You should see him. It's tearing him apart. And when Rydel told him that something was bothering you when she first met you, he didn't know you, and he brushed it off. But when he saw you, I don't know how to even explain it. He's just been so concerned about you," I said.

Alex was staring at me. I could tell she thought I was just making this up.

"I'll just keep repeating myself. Riker likes you, and I really think you should talk to him," I said.

Alex POV

I was leaning against Ellington, thinking over what I should say. How could Riker be in love with me? Ellington had probably just said that to make me feel better. But what if it was true…? No way.

"Ellington, I just don't know right now. I really didn't even want to talk to you. I… I just don't want to talk to anyone right now," I said.

"But eventually-"

"Yeah I know. Eventually I'll have to talk to Riker, but right now I don't."

"Ok," he said.

I got up from next to him and walked to the beach. I stood in the water and looked out over it. It was so peaceful.

"Alex?"

Ellington. What did he want now? I just wanted to be alone…

"What?"

"I just wanted to say that if you need anything while your parents aren't around, you can text me. I put my number in your phone. You left it on the dock," he said.

I took my phone from him.

"Thanks."

I started walking back up to my house. Ellington followed next to me, but didn't say anything. Hmmm…

I went to my room and watched TV until I decided to go to bed. I had a tough day ahead of me.