Lucas parked the truck helping Charlie out and watched as he ran towards Cletus holding up his bag of cookies. Lucas chuckled closing the door and head inside only to stop in his tracks when he hears Riley and Zay's conversation.
He be lying if he said her words didn't hurt him. That they felt like someone took a knife and jammed it in his heart repeatedly while being punched in the stomach at the same time.
He cleared his throat seeing Zay give him that look again while Riley only glances his way not really showing any emotion to what he overheard. "I just came in to get some steaks. Charlie was going to help me grill."
He makes for the fridge grabbing them and heads out to the grill. "Dude she didn't mean it okay?" Zay tells him as he comes outside and watches him clench and unclench his hands. "Yes she did Zay. I lost her the moment I kissed Maya. I don't think I can redeem myself in her eyes."
He goes to punch the wall but stops short resting his head against it. Zay pats his back and leans on the wall. "Show her the house." Lucas looked at him and Zay smiles. "Why would I show her my house?" He asks going back to the grill.
Zay chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "Dude are you honestly going to tell me you didn't fix up that old dump for her, Noah?" Lucas shook his head trying to make sense of what he was talking about.
"Zay I built up that place for myself no one else." Zay pushed off the wall laughing. "So you wanted a big library like beast gave belle in beauty and the beast?" He nodded cleaning off the grill.
"You wanted the garden in the back and the room that looks like a perfect office for working on the next series in your books? Huh Noah?" Zay nudge him and Lucas shook his head. "Yeah I did and why do you keep calling me Noah?"
Zay shook his head narrowing his eyes at Lucas playing dumb. "Really Luke that's how you want to play this?" He leans against the grill as Lucas continues cleaning it. "You know who Noah is because that's you and Riley is Allie. You guys are this generations notebook."
Lucas shook his head at Zay as he clean the grill off. "Dude that's ridiculous we are not Noah and Allie. Besides both sides loved each other and war kind of separated them and her mom too." Zay smiled wide at Lucas who claimed he didn't know why he was calling him Noah.
"Dude listen to yourself that was then I'm talking about now." Lucas continues shaking his head at him. "What about now? I'm sure Noah wouldn't have kissed Allie's best friend and then start dating her?"
Zay nods and would have to explain it to him. "Dude I said you were this generation couple back then sure Noah wouldn't have done that but you did. And just like Noah don't give up without a fight." Lucas chuckled looking at the grill and then at Zay.
"Remind me to tell Vanessa no more romance book clubs it's changing you." Zay glared at him as Lucas starts laughing. "The books didn't change me." He puts his hand on Lucas shoulder making him look at him. "Love did." He walks back into the house leaving Lucas with his thoughts.
Riley sat on the front porch with her laptop and a cup of coffee refreshing her email for what felt like the thousandth time. She was waiting to hear back from her uncle Eric about what was happening and if they were going to take her to court. She hit refresh once more and seen a new email from him asking her to call him.
She closes her laptop and looks down at her shaking hands. She tried to tell herself if it was really bad news he would have put call admittedly but she closed her eyes and knew it was bad either way. She gets up walking to the barn to call so the twins wouldn't hear. She took a deep breath and sat on the bale of hay and called him.
Lucas walked on the porch stretching and sees Riley's laptop and a cold cup of coffee by the rocking chair. He looks around and doesn't see her till he hears what sounds like grunts mixed with crying from the barn.
He walks over and sees Riley wiping her eyes and beating up a bale of hay with a gardening hoe. "Riley! Riley!" Lucas shouts grabbing the hoe midswing and putting it down. He turns Riley to him and sees her hands are shaking and blistering from how she was holding the wooden handle.
"Here sit down." He tells her grabbing the first aid kit they kept in the barn for accidents. Riley sat down wiping at her face as Lucas sat next to her taking her hands in his and starts cleaning them. "Want to tell me why you're destroying the horses food?" He asks jokingly.
She doesn't respond just sit there while he cleans her hands not even moving when he wipes them with a alcohol wipe. He wraps them up and holds them feeling her hands still shaking underneath his. "Riley what's going on?" He asks pushing his luck and cupping her cheek.
She flinches and moves away shaking out her hands. He stands looking at her moving towards her. "Riley what is going on with you?" She shakes her head backing up from him. "Nothing I'm fine. Okay."
Lucas shook his head putting his hands on his hips. "The hell you are Riley I know something is wrong with you. So just tell me? You don't just beat up a bale of hay for no reason."
Riley looked at him like he lost his mind and scoffed. "You want to know what's wrong with me Lucas?" He nods his head waiting for an answer. "You. You are my problem." He watches as she clenched and unclench her hands that he could see were still noticeable shaking.
"Me? I'm the problem? All I'm trying to do is figure out what is wrong with you and help but you won't let me." Riley rubbed her head wishing this whole morning was a dream but standing there with Lucas in the barn proved to her it really was a nightmare.
"Maybe I don't want your help. Did you ever think of that? Maybe I don't need you to swoop in on your white horse and save me!" She shouts looking him in the eye. At the mention of the white horse Lucas thinks she was upset about what happened in the past still.
"White horse huh? Riley what will it take for you to forgive me for kissing Maya?" She looked at him with wide eyes and that confirmed it for him. "Unbelievable! You seriously think I'm upset with what happened years ago? Grow up Lucas I'm not stuck in the past."
"Then why are you here huh? Why come back to Texas or here to this ranch if you aren't stuck in the past?" He asks letting his anger get the best of him when he knew he shouldn't but he couldn't take it anymore.
Riley looked down shaking her head not believing what was coming out of Lucas mouth right now. "I come back here because it's my safe place and Pappy Joe has become like family to me." Lucas walked closer to her letting his anger take control of the argument.
"Well why hide it from me then huh? Why show up when I leave for the summer and not when I'm home? That has to mean something?" Riley scoffed looking up at him trying not to let her anger get the better of her unlike him.
"Lucas it's not about you what part of that don't you understand?" He backs up shaking his head at her. "Oh I understand perfectly." He tells her folding his arms across his chest. "Just like always you want to.." he starts to say but cut off by Riley's shouts of frustration.
The tears were streaming down her face and her anger at Lucas and what was happening start to bubble to the surface which she didn't want. "No you don't understand Lucas. You still think my whole world revolves around you and something that happened years ago." She wiped at her face seeing the anger in Lucas eyes soften a bit.
"I have other things in my life that I'm dealing with and it doesn't include you and your incessant need to make it about you." Lucas looked at her and felt his heart clench for her and wanted to apologize but his anger won in the end.
"Then why are you here huh? Why the hell are you here?" He shouts throwing his hands in the air. Riley looked at him with a look he's never seen before and he was sure she was going to hit him. "Your right. Why am I here?" She wiped her eyes and walked out the barn.
Lucas took a walk after that walking towards his house and then sat down on the hill overlooking the ranch. He laid back on the hill watching the clouds pass by. He started closing his eyes when he hears a door slam open and the sound of Zay's voice.
He sits up and sees Riley opening her trunk and putting suitcases in while Zay is trying to stop her. He gets up and practically runs down the hill towards them. "What's going on?" He asks breathing heavily and looking at them.
"Come on cotton candy face don't do this." Zay pleads ignoring Lucas who was watching everything. "Zay I've made up my mind so leave it alone." She tells him slamming her trunk and walking back in the house. The twins come out with their little suitcases holding Cletus hand.
Lucas walked over and kneel in front of them. "Hey Rosie posey, doc what's going on?" Usually when he talked to them they would start talking about everything and anything that had happen but they stood there not looking his way.
Riley comes out with Pappy Joe who the twins run to after hugging Cletus. He helps them get in their seats and says something to Riley before she gives him a small smile and hugs him getting in the car and leaving.
"Pappy Joe what's going on? Where are they going?" Lucas asked watching as Cletus and him get in the truck and leave. "What is going on?" Lucas asked out loud throwing his hands up as he watches the truck leave. "What's going on is that you're a dumbass." Zay tells him leaning on the porch.
Lucas glared at him walking up towards him. "You gonna leave too without an explanation?" Zay shook his head folding his arms across his chest. "No. As much as I want to someone has to be on your side and hopefully knock some sense into you."
He shook his head walking back into the house with Zay following him. "Zay what are you talking about why did Riley leave?" Zay looked at him like he had grown another head. "Dude you seriously don't know?" Lucas shook his head pouring himself some coffee. "Wow! Man either you have no clue what you say when you hulk out or you really lose your mind around Riley?"
He sat down at the table with Zay who he felt like wasn't making any sense to him. "Zay what the hell are you talking about?" Zay couldn't help laughing at the fact Lucas was going insane right in front of him. "You basically told Riley to leave doofus."
Lucas dropped his cup letting it fall on the floor. "What I didn't say that?" He shouts grabbing the broom and cleaning up the broken glass. "Lucas I've always suspected it but you just confirmed it for me right now." Zay tells him tapping the table. "Confirmed what?" Zay shook his head leaning back in his chair.
"That you may well in fact be stupid." Lucas gives him a look. "No I'm serious dude. Not for the simple fact you actually thought dating Maya back senior year was the smart choice after you told Riley you loved her and wouldn't do that but for the simple fact you don't see what you did wrong today."
Lucas goes to say something but Zay holds up his hand and continues. "Yeah I know you're going to say you did nothing wrong or you didn't even mean what you said but you said it. You made what was happening to Riley about yourself."
Zay didn't know to much but from what he overheard Riley telling Pappy Joe her life was spiraling and she didn't know if she could stop it. He knew why Riley was so adamant about not wanting to deal with Lucas. And he felt bad for even trying to get them back together.
"Zay what do you know?" Lucas asked seeing him getting caught up in his thoughts. He shakes his head and looks at him again. "Nothing. Look man I know I didn't help the situation by trying to push you two together but you have to own up to the mistakes you made." He looked at the clock on the wall and gets up.
"I got to go I promised Vanessa I FaceTime with her and Bianca. But think about what I said Luke." He pats his shoulder as he leaves. Lucas watched as he walked away and thought about the fight he got into with Riley shaking his head at how stupid he was for not seeing it and letting his anger take over.
He walks outside punching the wall and realizing that he may have just destroyed what ever there was between him and Riley for good.