The Dragon Stone ↣ Riven ↢

25: I'm No Good For You

"I saw scars upon a broken-hearted lover"

Rose was currently standing in front of Riven's dorm, guessing that that was where he had gone.

She strained her ears and reached out with her magic to try to figure out if someone was inside, but it proved to be difficult as the sound of her heart beating in her chest overpowered most of the other noises.

She was nervous. Riven had walked off without saying anything and there was a 90% change of him being upset with her.

She tried to focus again and this time her ears picked up on breathing, so she hesitantly knocked on the door.

Silence. No sounds could be heard coming from inside and it didn't look like anyone was going to let her in. Still sure Riven was inside, she knocked again, but this time more urgently.

''I know you're in there, please open the door,'' Rose tried, her voice pleading.

Finally, she could hear the shuffling of feet inside, accompanied with a groan, but as nothing was happening yet, she tried to knock one more time.

Just as her knuckles were about to collide with the door, it swung open, an aggravated looking Riven on the other side.

Fortunately for Rose, his reflexes were faster than her own and he caught her hand before it could come into contact with his body. He pulled on her arm, tugging her inside and closed the door behind them in one swift motion.

''What do you think you're doing?!'' he fumed as he had her pinned against the door, trapping her in between his arms.

Rose could tell he was angry, sad and a bit lost all at the same time. It was obvious he was hurting and knowing him, he was going to try his hardest to hide it behind a mask of anger.

Figuring that out was the easy part but calming him down was probably going to be a bit more challenging.

His breathing was quick and shallow, chest rapidly rising and falling and the look in his eyes was murderous, but Rose wasn't intimidated by him. She knew it was all a facade.

She gave him a few seconds to regain his composure and took a deep breath before she spoke up. ''Riv,'' she said softly as she tried to look into his eyes, but he averted his own.

She pressed a hand against his chest, applying a bit of pressure to get him to step back and he did, though he shook his head in annoyance as he did so.

''Don't look at me like that,'' Riven said, his voice stern and distant as he walked away to take a seat on his bed.

His head was buried in his hands, his elbows leaning on his knees, and somehow this version of him alarmed her even more. It wasn't just anger holding him in a tight grip, it was also defeat.

''Like what?'' Rose asked as she followed him, taking a seat on the ground in front of him. ''Like I'm worried about you?''

''Like you fucking pity me, Rose!'' he snapped, his voice full of vexation. ''It's pathetic. It makes me feel pathetic.''

Rose had to think of what to say to him. She knew she had to thread carefully. ''You're not pathetic. You're hurting, and that's okay.''

''No, I'm fine!'' Riven retaliated.

''Except you're not,'' Rose disagreed as she let out a soft scoff. ''You were about to accept a beating for something that isn't your fault.''

She felt slightly bad for confronting him with his feelings like this, but he had been ignoring them for two weeks now and he obviously wasn't healing or coming to terms with what had happened.