Riley- I stare at them in disbelief. As soon as I collect my self i walk over there on the verge of tears. "James! What the hell are you doing?" I say to him. My voice trembling and my hands shaking. Amanda takes her lips off of his and scoffs at the sight of me. James doesn't say a word. "Aww smarty pants actually thought what you had was real?" Amanda says to me. "James, I thought, I." I try to speak but I can't. "You thought he loved you? Pathetic." Amanda finished as she drags him by the hand and they walk away. Everyone's staring at me. I wipe a tear away before running to the bathroom. The bathrooms thankfully empty. I run into a stall and sit on the toilet sobbing. I reach into my backpack and grab my phone. Tear drops falling on the screen as I text Emily.
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After a while I hear the door open. "Riley? Are you in here?" My sisters voice says. I get up and open the stall door. "Ri what happened?" She asks as soon as she sees my face. "James, and-and Amanda" I manage to spit out while sobbing. I can barely breath. "Oh Riley." Emily says wrapping her arms around me and stroking my hair. "It's ok." She says trying to comfort me. But no one can. Only James. The thought of him, his touch, his voice. But he doesn't love me and he never did. Just wanted to get in my pants I guess. I feel so stupid. How could I think he loved me. He's the quarterback on the football team. He's a player. He dates a girl, breaks her heart, and moves onto the next. I thought what we had was real. But I was wrong. Everyone told me about his reputation. But I just ignored it. "Come on I'll drive you home, I've already missed most of first period." Emily says after a while of me crying in her arms. I nod and pick up my stuff. "My sister isn't feeling to well, is it ok if I drive her home real quick?" Emily asks the staff member standing by the gate to the school. She looks at me, analyzes my red puffy eyes and nods. We walk to Emily's car and drive back home. "Text me if you need anything else ok? I'll be home around 3." Em tells me before leaving to return back to school.
Amanda- "Hey I saw what happened." Hunter says as he gets in my car after school. "The acting was impeccable." He compliments. "Thank you thank you." I say as I start the car and start driving home. Our parents got married a couple weeks ago, so now we're officially step siblings. "Riley was a mess, I'm pretty sure she went home after." I tell him. "Yeah I'm thinking of talking to her at lunch tomorrow. I mean she can't skip everyday, she's gonna have to come back eventually." I nod my head in agreement. I know what I'm doing is really low, but I have an image to protect. Dating the quarterback is exactly what I need to get the reputation I deserve.
James- Today was tough. I went up to Amanda and agreed to do what she wanted so that she wouldn't show the pictures to anyone. I couldn't let her show the pictures to anyone. She can't stand her mom, and the guy she lives with. But seeing her face. Not being able to run over and hug her and kiss her and say that I'm sorry. Say that I don't mean any of it. That I love her and no one else. It was torture.
I know she left early because she wasn't in math or physics. I just kept staring at her deserted desk. Remembering all the times I would stare at her in that desk. And think "I am the luckiest man alive. That she is my girlfriend." But I can't do that anymore.
I got the usual question from my mom, "how was school honey?" I faked enthusiasm and told her it was good. I walked up to my room and put my backpack on the ground began to sit on my bed. That's when I see Riley from the window. I study her face. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying. She's wiping her eyes with the sleeve of one of my hoodies. I watch her for a while. Until she breaks out into cries again. I watch her hands go up to the j necklace I gave her for Christmas. "Don't do it." I think. She rips it off and throws it in the trash can beside her desk, and curls up on the bed. Next thing I know I feel a tear fall from my eye. She hasn't taken the necklace off since I gave it to her. But she just did. It was dead. And so was her love for me. I had ruined it.
