The Night We Met

Chapter 37

Riley's POV:

It was six in the evening now and I was still yet to hear from James. I know for a fact they'd arrived since I'm currently scrolling through Instagram and just saw a post from Luke of the four of them, so I'm sure they're just settling into the city or visiting the convention area.

Sat on my bed with my back to the headrest, I continued to scroll through my socials, checking notifications and having a look at a few recent posts before the door opened to reveal Thalia. I looked up and smiled at her softly as she closed the door behind her before heading over to join me on the bed with an iced coffee in her hand.

"Before you ask, I was going to get you one but I wasn't sure if you were here or at James's," she tells me, making me smirk a little.

"Yeah, just make sure you don't get droplets of that all over my bedsheets otherwise it'll be you who will be changing them," I tell her. She looks down at where a little spillage had already occurred so then she takes one more sip before placing the plastic cup down on the nearest bedside drawer, causing me to roll my eyes. 

"What's going on, Ri? You seem down," she tells me, moving around on the bed so that she was beside me. I turn off my phone and sigh as she's wraps her arm over my two shoulders and strokes my arm lightly, pulling me down to rest my head on her shoulder as I shut my eyes. "Trouble in paradise?" she asks but I shake my head.

"Today was the day James and the band left for Montreal," I tell her. "They left this afternoon. I still haven't heard from him though. And, I mean . . . I know that nothing's going to happen - he loves me, I love him - but I can't shake this feeling inside of me that something will drive us apart. Either Aiden will do something to me or Madelyn will try it again with James-"

"Madelyn?" she inquires, making me sigh.

"James's ex. She's a costume designer for the band and she's going along with them to sort out their outfits and all that," I say while biting my lip. Saying it aloud only purifies my point and Thalia seems to agree since she doesn't say anything either, just keeps her mouth open slightly as she takes in everything. "Please say something, Thal," I mumble.

"Well, for starters," she begins with a knowing expression, "the girls and I won't let Aiden do anything to you, Ri. And with Madelyn . . . I haven't met the girl but I think I've heard her name a couple times. Wasn't she the one who broke up with James?" she asks and I nod my head. "If she's the one who ended the relationship then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. And as for the feeling inside of you . . . you've just got to trust James, Riley."

"I do trust him. I trust him with my life. It's Madelyn who I don't trust. They were even sitting next to each other on the coach."

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw them," I respond snippily, getting her to exhale once again. I bite my lip and lift my head from off of her shoulder to look at her properly. "Do you think I'm being paranoid?" I ask.

"No," she answers, rubbing my shoulder a little. "I just think you're getting a little lost in that head of yours. It's okay to worry, Riley, but what it's not okay to do is to sit in bed all day, overthinking things and waiting for a word from James. He's out there having fun, doing what he loves, and though he might not be with you, he's still going for it. You need to do the same," she says. 

I sit with my legs cuddled to my chest as I lean my head back against my headrest before I watch as Thalia's eyes navigate around the room. Eventually they land on the windowsill where I had placed James's gift, so she smiles and then stands up, leaving my presence. "What's this?" she asks.

She heads over to go and grab it before carefully bringing it over to the bed. Sitting down opposite me with her legs crossed, she positions it in between us and I smile, watching as she takes the lid off.