Growing Pains ~ NSLAM book 2

Chapter 5: Broken knuckles

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading!!
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Simon stared at the door in front of him. He had been staring at it for the past couple of minutes trying to talk himself into either knocking or leaving.  This really wasn't his thing. Comforting heartbroken girls hadn't really been on the list of things he was expecting when it came to college. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He swallowed hard and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in." A quiet voice called. Simon turned the knob and poked his head inside. The sight made him wince.

Riley was sitting on her bed, her back against the headboard as she had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her laptop was sitting open on her lap. She looked up at him and had tear stains marking her cheeks, her eyes red.

"Are you sure you really want me to?" Simon asked her gently. Riley gave him a half smile, obviously forced.

"That depends. On whose orders are you here on? Maya or Farkle?" Simon walked the rest of the way through the door and shut it behind him.

"I ran into Maya earlier. She told me what happened." He answered. Riley nodded her head.

"You can stay then." She told him before looking back down at her laptop.

"You on bad terms with Farkle now?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. Riley sighed and shook her head.

"No. I just know how much he hates being put in the middle of things. I think if he was forced to choose, he would choose me. But he and Lucas are really close, I don't want to ruin that." Riley told him. Simon shifted slightly as he took off his jacket and threw it down on Maya's bed. Then, he sat down slowly on the edge. 

"I'm sorry I gave you bad advice yesterday." Riley shook her head.

"It wasn't bad advice. Just given at the wrong time." She stated. "But I don't blame you. You couldn't have known what Lucas would be doing at that moment. And I shouldn't have barged in as I did." Riley told him. She leaned her head against her headboard. Simon cleared his throat.

"Well, I can't help but like I'm a little responsible." He stated as he held his fingers up and put little space between them as he demonstrated the 'little' part. Riley gave a dry chuckle.

"Well if you want to make it up to me, you could help me barricade the door. Find a wizard who can cast a spell on it so that nobody can over get in here again. That way I can bury myself in this room and never have to see anyone again." Simon gave her a half smirk.

"Never see anyone or never see Lucas?" He asked rhetorically. Riley looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"I think you already know the answer to that." She said quietly. And Simon did. And he knew how she felt. The embarrassment, the anger, the hurt. He remembered it all too well. He shook his head to try and get those thoughts out of his head.

"I'm not the best at this sort of thing." He spoke out loud. "You know, giving the whole 'he's an idiot and you're better off without him' speech." Riley cracked a smile. "Logically, you were the one that broke up with him." The smile on her face turned into a glare. Simon threw his hands up in defense. "But I get it, really I do." Riley sighed and looked away from him.

"I know that hiding away from him isn't going to help," Riley said. "But I just don't feel like I can face him right now. It's so hard for me to think that he would just give up on us so easily."

Simon pursed his lips together. He felt like he was put in a position where he could see both sides of the argument. In Lucas's eyes, they were done. She had called everything off between them and was ready to move on. So technically, he really didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to move on from her.