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Because fate has always been brutal to me; vicious in ways that I’ve long lost trust in everything and everyone. When something strangely good happens to me, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it always does.
Everything good that occurs is followed by something dreadfully unpleasant.
But Riley…
There’s something about her that calls to me.
It’s the longing in her eyes; it speaks to me because I see my own reflection in them. A yearning for something that we don’t quite understand.
So, I stand there, watching her in the coffee shop as she orders her morning coffee. Making sure to stay out of her sight because I don’t want her to think I’m a creepy stalker.
I know my size can be frightening, but I never want to give Riley a reason to fear me.
She grabs her coffee and walks out, hefting her backpack over her shoulders. Riley has earphones in, and she’s scrolling through her phone.
And because I’m watching her, I notice it before she does.
The bicycle coming toward her.
Riley is right in the middle of the sidewalk, and I lurch forward. Trying to pull her back to safety. But it happens so quickly and I’m too far away to reach her in time.
“Watch out!” I call out, my blood roaring in my ears.
Riley looks up, and her eyes widen in alarm. Her reflex is fast, and she jerks back, just in time to escape being hit by the bike. But the motion has her teetering over her feet. She has her coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, and I know she can’t stabilize herself.
Riley loses her balance, and I wince as she crashes hard onto the sidewalk.
“Fuck.” I rush to her, as the rider doesn’t even bother to stop and see if she’s alright. “Watch where you’re going,” I bellow after him, anger pumping through my veins.
She could have seriously been hurt.
I squat down next to Riley. “Shit, are you okay?”
Her coffee is spilled all over the sidewalk, and on her blazer. Riley looks down at the mess in mortification and doesn’t meet my eyes. “Y-yeah,” she stutters.
“You’ve scratched up your knee.” Her black leggings are torn around the knees, and I can see the bloody scrapes. There’s bits and pieces of gravel stuck in her skin.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt,” she says, her voice soft and weary.
Lies.
Riley winces when she tries to stand up, releasing a hiss of pain under her breath.
“Way to go, Riley. Clumsy and stupid,” she mutters to herself, quiet enough I almost miss it. I grab her elbow and help her to her feet. She wobbles a bit before finding her footing.
“You’re not stupid,” I refute defensively, almost like she’s insulting me not herself.
“Huh?”
I bend down to grab her backpack. “You called yourself stupid. That’s not true.”
Riley blinks, her mouth parting in surprise. “Oh.”
“The bike wasn’t supposed to be on the sidewalk,” I tell her softly. “The rider should have known better and should have slowed down when he saw you in his path.”
Riley stares at me mutely, blinking up through her thick lashes. I give her a smile, hoping to put her at ease before she goes back to avoiding me again. I take the empty coffee cup from her and drop it into the trash bin next to us. “Wait for me here? Just two minutes, okay?”
She’s still staring…wordlessly.
