Chapter 25 (Riley's POV):

I was sitting in the floor, next to Emily's bed, just like before. I waited anxously for her to come back to the cabin, since I didn't want to leave her alone again. I avoided Nate's eyes, because I don't think I could handle another one of our conversations, after everything that had happened that day.

"You know you have nothing to worry about, don't you?" he asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"You can't assure that... Just because Sean's in jail, it doesn't mean Emily's safe." I explained. I knew I was exaggerating, but I didn't want any other boys touching Emily.

"What about Kyle?"

"What about Kyle?"

"Are you going to keep him away from Emily too?" he said, surprising me. Ever since we were 'okay', I hadn't really thought about it. The truth is he hurt Emily, but he stood up for her. That's gotta count for something, right?

"I don't know... But, to be honest, I don't think I need to do anything about it. Emily isn't very happy with him lately..."

"He slept with Gwen, he can't expect Emily to forgive him just like that..."

"The point is I don't think he's like Sean. He might actually be... Decent." I admitted, without believing I had just said that. Nate looked surprised too.

"Okay... What just happened here? Now, you're the one who thinks Emily should be with Kyle?" he joked. I smiled. "Have you thought about asking Emily what she wants?"

"No, and I don't plan on doing it either. You've seen how she is: she puts everybody else before her and she never thinks about herself. She didn't even want me to go to the bar!"

"And she was right about that! You only cared about Emily, you didn't even think that something might've happened to you."

"Well, of course I cared about Emily! She's my little sister and she wasn't capable of defending herself from that jerk! That's where I come in."

"And what assures you that you would be able to defend yourself from Sean?"

"I know him, I know exactly how to defend myself."

"You don't have to, that's what I'm here for." he joked, putting his arms around me, protectively. I laughed. I didn't know how I could laugh after what happened. Nate really is the only one capable of cheering me up...

"She's gone for a while..." I noticed, in a concerned voice. Nate stared at me, also concerned.

"Do you want me to go look with you?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No need. She's probably at the soccer field."

"Aren't you afraid of going by yourself?" he questioned, in a voice even more concerned than before.

"No." I answered, like it was a totally normal thing. He sighed.

"Okay, I'm afraid of you going by yourself." he admitted, making me laugh again. This proctective side of his was funny. I have always been the protective and never the protected. I admit it's a nice feeling to have someone worry about me like that. Specially Nate...!

"You have nothing to be afraid of, I can't take care of myself."

"Riley-"

"Nate, I'm not even leaving the camp."

"Still... Promise me you'll be careful."

"I'll be careful." I guaranteed, smiling.

"I'm going to get some sleep. Call me if you need anything, I'm serious." he said, hugging me. I smiled again and he kissed me, walking away afterwards.

I decided to walk slowly, since I needed to clear my mind. I felt really bad for letting things get to that point... I've been trying to protect Emily this whole time, and, suddenly, Sean showed up and tried to rape her...! I felt my body being filled with anger and I tried to relax. Nate was right, Sean was in jail, I had nothing to worry about. I mean... I had nothing to worry about, when it comes to him... I just had to worry about every other guy on the planet...

As I arrived to the field, I saw Emily sleeping under the benches. I smiled. She probably stayed there because I was talking with Nate. I sat next to her, staring at her calm and innocent expression... I was afraid of waking her up. Waking her to a reality full of pain and misery.

"Riley...?" she mumbled, opening her eyes.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Sorta... What were you doing?"

"Watching you sleep. Did you work things out with Kyle?"

"Did you work things out with Nate?" she asked, making me smile. I hated when she answered my question with another question, but it was still funny.

"I asked first. And Nate and I don't have anything to work out."

"So the whole 'Alicia issue' is finished?"

"As far as I know, yes. I think that what's going on right now is bigger than Alicia..." I explained, looking at her sad expression. "Can you answer me now?"

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"How about the truth?"

"The truth is I love him and he loves me, but this isn't going to work out."

"Why not?"

"'Why not'?! Riley, he praticly handed me over to his best friend, didn't let me explain something he caused on his own and slept with his ex! Don't you think that's enough?!"

"But he changed. He broke up with Gwen and he almost killed Sean for you! He saved you, Emily."

"Humn..." she mumbled, not very convinced.

"I mean it. You know I don't give a lot of compliments, but Kyle might be good for you. He redeemed himself."

"Yeah, only on your point of view..."

"Don't you think you should give him a chance?"

"I gave him a chance and he blew it. You were right: boys only mean trouble." she said, resting her head on my shoulder. I sighed. That was going to be harder than I thought.

"Emily-"

"Can we just change the subject, please?"

"Okay, let's change the subject, then. Nate says I'm freaking with this whole thing about Sean, and that I should ask you what you want to do about it."
"You're asking for my opinion?" she asked, shocked. I laughed. The truth is I always underestimated Emily and I never gave her a chance to make any kind of important decisions.

"I just think it's best if you tell me what you think, before I decide everything and then screw up. So... What do you want?"

"I want you to act normally with me and leave the whole 'Kyle' issue."

"Well... About acting normally, I won't promise anything, but I'll try... Now, about Kyle-"

"Riley, has it crossed your mind that I might not want to be with him?"

"Yeah, and then I laughed because it was completely stupid! You're crazy about him and, even though I don't want to admit it, he's crazy about you too! Do you think you can stop being so stubborn and forgive him, so you guys can go on with your lives, happily and all that stuff?" I commented, making her frown. I realized she didn't want to give in. "Ems, I know Kyle hurt you. But he's sorry and he wants to settle things with you."

"Well, I don't want to settle things with him. Can we just drop it?"

"Fine, let's go to the cabin." I said, preparing to get up. Emily, however, remained still. "What? You're not coming?"

"I want to stay here. Is that okay?" she asked. I sighed. How could I say 'no'?

"Okay." I nodded, sitting next to her. She smiled and placed her head on my shoulder.

"Good night, Ri." She mumbled, closing her eyes

"Good night, Ems." I said, thinking about Kyle again. Tomorrow, I would try again. They just had to be together!