Chapter 6

Gravel crunched as the tires slowed to a stop in front of the Gates mansion.

The ride home had been an awkward one to say the least. Riley had been uncharacteristically quiet as he kept his eyes glued to the road. Abigail and Ben shot each other anxious glances, but made no comment. It strangely felt like they were walking on egg shells. However, as they drove further and further away from the museum, the tension in Riley's shoulders eased and soon he was back to making wise remarks and cracking jokes. Ben wasn't fooled though. As Riley and Abigail hurled good-natured banter back and forth, he could tell that his friend's laughter was somewhat strained. Even his smile, usually happy and carefree, seemed somewhat forced. Ben made a mental note to pull Riley aside and have a talk with him the next chance he had.

Ben and Abigail both exited the car, bags in hand. After their little adventure at Mt. Rushmore, the two of them decided to give their relationship another chance. For the life of him, Riley couldn't understand it. Was he the only one who remembered that both of them had been willing to sacrifice the other for the sake of an old piece of paper? In his opinion, that should have been a pretty big sign that commitment was out of the question. Then again, if anyone could make it work Riley knew it was Ben.

"Why don't you spend the night with us, Riley?" Abigail asked. "We could use the extra brain power."

Something flashed through Riley's eyes. However, before Ben could make out exactly what it was, Riley plastered a smile on his face. "Sorry guys, but as much as I would love to spend the night going through some other guy's diary, I'll have to pass. Believe it or not, I do have a life you know. Said life includes, but is not limited to, catching up on the," he looked down at his watch, " four hours of sleep I have left."

"Come on, Riley. These men spent months out in the wild with no technology. That means no GPS, no computer, no video games, nothing. You could really learn something!" Abigail joked.

"I'll tell you what," he said after a moments consideration. "I'm pretty sure I have a brochure from the museum around here somewhere. I'll read that and get back to you." Not giving either of them a chance to reply, he threw the car back into drive and sped off.

Abigail put her hands on her hips and looked like she was going to say something, but simply shrugged before turning and making her way inside.

Ben stayed behind a moment longer, staring past the cloud of dust left behind and into the night where his friend's tail lights had disappeared. He continued to replay the flash of emotion Riley had tried so desperately to cover up. In that split second Riley looked slightly haunted, tortured even. The moment Riley had slid into the driver's seat, Ben knew something was wrong. For some reason, Ben felt as if a rift had grown between them. Riley was keeping something from him, he just didn't know what. Why couldn't Riley trust him? They had trusted each other for years. What had changed? Heart twisting, Ben suddenly felt very lonely.

With a sigh Ben turned and followed Abigail into the mansion. He really wished that Riley had stayed.

The trip home was a blur. Before he knew it, Riley pulled into his parking space and shut off the engine. Getting out, Riley stumbled, feeling as if he had hit a wall. His body felt like it was made of lead. Shuffling up to the second floor of his apartment complex, he fished out his keys, unlocked the door, and shouldered it open. The dark, arid room that welcomed him was nothing new. It wasn't like there was ever anyone waiting for him.

Not even bothering to turn on a light, Riley made a beeline for his room. Throwing his gear in the corner and his keys onto his bedside table, he quickly changed and flopped down onto his mattress. A cold draft blew in from his open window, but Riley was too tired to get up and close it. Instead, he wrapped himself up in his blankets and stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take him.

After several minutes of silence, Riley shouted in frustration and threw his pillow at the far wall. "Damn it!" He turned onto his side and curled into a tight ball, head grasped in his hands. He was exhausted, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was that arrogant smirk, that little scorpion, and that poisonous snake. All he could hear was Masson's pointed jeers as he took every one of Riley's flaws and threw it in his face. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget that this night had ever happened. He had somehow gotten it all under control on the way to drop Ben and Abigail off. He had all his emotion in check. That was until Abigail had asked him to spend the night with them. Riley almost lost it. Masson's face flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help the wave insecurity that followed. What would he be able to do? There was no hacking involved, no technological aspect he could work. Surely they wouldn't need his input, and he sure as hell wasn't going to sit in the corner doing nothing. Riley really hoped he hadn't let any of that slip through the cracks, before driving off.

Seeing as he wasn't going to be getting any sleep any time soon, Riley rolled out of bed, gathered his pillow and a blanket, and moved to the living room. Stretching himself out on the couch, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. After spending the next ten minutes flipping through channels, Riley found nothing to watch. Turing on his PS3, he popped in Call of Duty.

Riley sighed as he won his fifth round in a row. Maybe he should have taken Abigail up on her offer. Riley snorted bitterly as he pictured Ben and Abigail going through the journal, tossing theories and possibilities back and forth while Riley was left to bring them coffee and water. He shut down the system, and stared out his window as he made his way back to his bedroom. The sun was just starting to peek out over the horizon.

As Riley turned onto his stomach in one last attempt at sleep, one final thought occurred to him. Maybe he wouldn't have been of much help, but it would have been far better than wondering tiredly around his apartment. It sure would have been a lot less lonely Riley thought somberly as he finally slipped into a restless sleep.

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