If I'm there

NINE

we had a few days off tour which put us in Scranton.
Which inevitably meant that Chris had a house full of adults that were practically children and two literal children for Labor Day weekend. 
there had been a lack of spare rooms in the house, but since Noah and I had Mia and Riley to worry about, we got the guest bedroom.
Laney, being Laney, took her own room which left jolly, Justin, folio and Vinny sharing air mattresses  in the living room floor.  ryan and Riley, took the sectional. that would turn out to be a grave mistake.
Leaving , Ricky  and Nic, to take the basement couches.

Since Ricky and Nic were sharing the couches, they had later made an appearance upstairs after trying to carve out a quiet corner for themselves amid the chaos upstairs. "Do you think they'll ever run out of energy?" Nic whispered to Ricky, who just shrugged and gave a delayed answer.
"no, but I'd love to know where it's coming from dude."

Back in the kitchen, Chris was attempting to maintain some semblance of order. "Alright, folks, we need some ground rules here," he declared.
"Vinny. Laney. Bedroom door open." Chris stared into Vinny's soul, capturing a scoff from laney.
"How old  am I? Fifteen?" she throws her hands in the air.
"I said what I said. Other than that, everyone else, make yourself at home." he turns away walking to the living room going to plop on the couch. I watched Riley bring her knees to her chest with her headphones in, not bothering to socialize with anyone in the house.
She'd been quiet the last few days, ever since I yelled at her for being delusional and just an ass hole.
She deserved it, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel bad about it.

My eyes left Riley going over to Vinny and folio looking at absolute dumb shit, as they always did. I walked down the narrow hallway with Mia accompanying me as usual. To the bright blue guest room.
"Hey." I greet Noah, who's been stretched across the bed. I grab the diaper bag from the floor laying Mia on her back.
"She's like fighting Mini octopus." Noah laughs trying to keep her still.
"So.. you and Riley gonna talk about the fight.. or...??" Noah takes Mia sitting up on the bed. 

"You know, we probably should talk to her, Lillian. She's been so quiet since the fight."

I  nodded, my  expression tinged with regret. "Yeah, you're right. I just... I lost my temper, Noah. I know she was being difficult, but I shouldn't have yelled at her like that."

Noah gently placed Mia in her crib, his eyes filled with understanding. "I get it, Lil. It's been tough on all of us, but Riley's been through a lot. We need to be patient and supportive."

My shoulders slumped as I  sat down on the edge of the bed, my guilt weighing heavily on me.  "I know, and I love her. She's my  sister. I just hate seeing her shut down like this. But god I don't know what to do?"
As they were deep in their conversation, the door to the guest bedroom creaked open, and there stood Riley, her gaze fixed on the floor. She refused to make eye contact, let alone speak to Lillian.

"Noah, can you take me to the store?" She tapped her left foot across the hardwood.
"We won't be going out for a little bit.." she gave me a look.
"I can take you." I blurted without even thinking.
Riley mumbled, barely audible, "Yeah, whatever."

My heart sank as I  realized the extent of the damage their argument had caused.
She was hurt. I hurt her.
we'd quietly got into the car, driving to the nearest store.

"Riley, I want to apologize for how I reacted earlier," I said, my voice sincere. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I just want what's best for you." I blurted

Riley's eyes welled up with tears, and she blinked them back. "I'm sorry too, Lillian . I know I've been difficult lately. It's been rough.. adjusting."
"that's literally what I'm here for.. Ri. I'm here for everything. I want you to trust me."
I sigh.
"I do trust you.. lil." she pulls into the parking lot.
"I guess those driving lessons with Vinny have paid off huh?" I laugh
"I've practically taught myself." she unbuckles letting the seat belt slowly slide back to its place.
"so what did you NEED to come to the store for?"  I closed the door of the Kia optima.
". I'm sick of being bored  so , I'm giving myself something to do, while I have to sit at chris' house and watch all of those men plus laney be stupid." She says with a straight face.
"Valid..." I chucked.

As we stepped out of the car, I followed Riley towards the store entrance. The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm, orange glow across the parking lot. We picked up a few items, filling our cart with snacks and drinks  to keep us occupied during the evening at Chris' house.
I noticed as she threw a sketch book, pencils and other art supplies into the cart too.
The way back was quick, not much talking occurred between the both of us.
as we walked through the brown stained glass door, we were met by a pile of men in the floor, Ricky, who of course, had his camera filming the whole thing.
"WHAT IS GOING ON" i cackle
"your husband bet my boyfriend a twenty and two budlights that they could take nick and Justin in a fight" laney snorted.
"Where is my child?" I scanned the room.
Laney had gestured over to Chris who'd started loudly snoring. I walked around the couch to find both Mia and Chris sleeping amongst the ruckus.
my lips turned up ever so slightly.
"Ricky , " I motioned for him to point the camera over to the pair.

Ricky quickly adjusted his camera to capture the scene of Mia and Chris peacefully asleep amidst the chaos. The room was filled with the sounds of cheering and jeering as the men wrestled on the floor, while I stood there with a hint of amusement tugging at the corners of my lips.

"Looks like we've got quite the crime scene here," I said, a mischievous glint in my eyes. "let's not let them have all the fun." With a sly grin, I walked over to where the men were tussling, grabbed a pillow from the nearby couch, and playfully smacked folio on the head. Laughter erupted in the room as a pillow fight broke out, turning the chaotic scene into one of joy. So much so, I didn't notice that my sister had left the room.