Out To Get Her

30| I Never Lied To You

"RILEY, WAIT UP!"

He doesn't slow in his haste to get out the door. The thought of him thinking that she had orchestrated all this makes Alex feel sick, her palpitating heart and shaky hands tell her that much. Alex knows she can't let Riley get out of that door without her at least being able to tell him the truth.

"Riley!"

She huffs and throws her hands in the air before setting off in a sprint and catching up to him, almost slipping in the sticky trail left in his wake, in her haste. She yanks on his soaked arm, bringing him to a halt.

"It wasn't me," she searches his eyes, pleading with him to see how earnest she is, "I swear it wasn't me. I had no idea this was going to happen."

He laughs bitterly, "As if I'd believe that."

"I swear," Alex pleads with her eyes. He has to believe her.

Her heart sinks as his hard expression doesn't change.

"You played me like a fucking fiddle, didn't you? Little miss innocent who can do no wrong... Well you can do wrong, and I suppose I'm just now realizing it."

"I- Riley, I swear I am telling you the truth. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what went down in there, but I had nothing to do with it."

He wrenches his wrist out of her hold. Alex's arm falls limply to her side.

"You had everything to do with it, I know you did. I just can't believe I let myself be fooled by someone like you."

He says 'you' like something you'd scrape off the bottom of your shoe, and it cuts through Alex like glass.

"You," she curses herself as her voice shakes, "You don't mean that."

"Oh, let me guess. You get to decide what I mean and don't mean too?" He waves his arms, frantically bowing before her, "Low and behold, everyone, it's the queen of fucking everything!"

Blood rushes her cheeks, a humiliated flush, "Riley, stop. Please calm down. I get that you're hurting-"

"Me? I'm fine. You're not though, by the pathetic look on your face. Just run back to Dean and do what you do best. Hurt everyone around you."

Like she had hurt Liam...

The shutters go down over her eyes, "Just go, Riley. That's what you do best, isn't it?"

She could swear that hurt flashes across his face, but it is gone in an instant, so she isn't sure if she imagined it. A sneer twists his features. A horrible, awful sneer that he's never directed at her before. It cuts her through like a blade.

"I do believe I will. I can't stand the sight of you anymore, you're just a fucking liar like everyone else."

'I never lied to you, Riley, not once,' She thinks.

But all she says is, "Whatever you say."

He leaves then, in a shirt and slacks, with no jacket in the middle of winter, striding down the street, soaked to the bone. Something in Alex splinters as she watches his receding form. She wants to go after him, but she hears his voice in her head, 'Just run back to Dean and do what you do best. Hurt everyone around you.'

Riley has no idea what those words really mean to her, how they've shattered her in the past. How they—a variation— were the last words her brother had said to her before the accident.

She doesn't go after him.

~*~

"Do we really have to do grocery shopping right now? We should go tomorrow instead. Please, I'm exhausted."

"Nope," Alex's mother raises an eyebrow at Alex as she slowly slips off of her bed, upside down, "I'm going now, and you're helping."

Alex allows herself to fall to the carpet with a thump, "Fine."

Hauling herself back to her feet, she plucks her phone from her messed up duvet and follows her mom down to the front door.

"Go fetch the eggs," Alex's mom instructs twenty minutes later, as the pair walk through the doors into a blast of cool air.

Alex wanders the isles until she finds the eggs and pulls a box from the shelf. After checking that none of them are broken, she turns to make her way to the frozen section. Only, as she turns, she slams into someone, leaving the carton to fall helplessly to the ground. The eggs are definitely broken now.

Grimacing, Alex raises her eyes to the stranger's, "I'm so sorry!"

"No problem at all!" The woman smiles kindly and helps Alex pick up the mess.

She returns to her mother's unimpressed look as she places both the broken eggs and a new carton inside the cart. A weak, sheepish smile is the only explanation she can bring herself to offer. Luckily, her mom doesn't question her, and rather turns to pluck a tub of peanut butter off the shelf instead.

Ever since the disastrous events of the award ceremony, Alex had been walking around in a kind of daze. The hurt that she felt after those words that Riley said made returning to her seat in the gym like walking on broken glass. But she managed. She pulled herself together enough to support her best friend and patiently wait for the mess to be cleaned up. The initial shock had worn off while Alex had been outside with Riley, so things were pretty efficiently handled. The janitor got a round of applause for his efforts. Then the rest of the trophies were handed out and everyone was dismissed. Sadly, Dylan didn't receive anything, but the guys all did a group hug at the end that Alex found to be extremely adorable.

"You ready to go?" Alex's mom turns to her as she finishes up in the spice section, breaking Alex out of her thoughts.

She quirks an eyebrow when Alex doesn't immediately respond, making Alex hurry to nod sharply, hanging her head when she trails after her mom to the tills.

"Okay, what's wrong with you? You've been weird since the other night." Alex chokes on air as her mom swivels toward her in the car.

"Uh..."

"And don't say nothing," she tuts disapprovingly, "I know something's up with you. What happened?"

"Can I wait till we get home?"

Alex's mom smiles warmly at her, a gentle hand brushing a strand of hair out of Alex's face. "Of course. Give me a minute, and I'll be right back, okay?"

"Uh, okay?"

Alex stares in surprise as her mother gets out of the car and speed walks back to the entrance of the store.

After a few minutes of Alex twiddling her thumbs and sighing through her hands, a carton of Belgian chocolate ice cream is being shoved into them and her mother's bright smile is lighting up the car yet again.

"You can tell me everything over ice cream and a movie," she says, as she reverses the car.

Alex stares down at the fancy script on the lid as her fingers begin to numb. "Okay."

As the car merges with others out onto the main road, Alex peers at her mother, bags under her eyes and all. "Thank you."

A twitch of her mother's lips tugging up into a smile is the only response she gets.