Fighting for Her

Riley was by no means frightened, just furious. Her face tightened as she stared at Ryan standing in the doorway. She squeezed her hands into fists just thinking about him being there. Jack eyed his sister, noticing her tension.

"Why are you here?" She nearly spat the words out, looking at him in disgust. His perfectly pleated khaki pants and cashmere sweater made her wonder what she saw in him to begin with.

"Riley," her mother chimed in, "I took the liberty to call him myself last night. You can't throw away a five year relationship just like that." She snapped her fingers in the air and smiled.

"Mom..." Riley treaded cautiously, not wanting to cause an uproar in front of her entire family. She took a deep breath and continued. "It really isn't any of your business."

"Well Ryan already explained what happened." She spoke matter-of-factly.

Riley stared at Ryan in disbelief. "You did?" She raised an eyebrow and watched him cautiously.

What is he playing at? She thought.

"Now come into the living room so we can talk about it together." Her mother linked an elbow with Ryan and ushered him into the lavish room.

"Are you okay?" Jack spoke low, putting a supportive hand on his sister's back.

She rubbed her forehead in frustration and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She walked into the room and sat on the plush white sofa, making sure she took the farthest seat from Ryan.

"Elizabeth, maybe you should just drop this." Riley's father spoke from the hallway.

"Oh hush, Henry." She shooed him away with a flick of her wrist.

Jack stood behind Riley, keeping his eyes on Ryan.

"Well?" Riley spoke first, wanting it to be over. She had no idea what her mom was going to say, especially after Ryan supposedly told her what happened between them.

"Riley-" Ryan started, but Riley quickly interrupted him.

"No. You don't get to speak." She pointed a shaky finger at him. He slouched back in his seat and let out a loud breath.

"Riley. Stop being so rude. Is that something you learned from that boy?" Her mother's face grew stern.

"What boy?" Riley slid to the edge of her seat, placing her palms on her knees.

"That boxer boy who you cheated on Ryan with?" Her mother raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

Riley was speechless. Ryan lied to her mother. Of course he did.

"Riley, we all go through rough patches in life. I'm worried that you might be taking this a little too far." Her mother twisted her pearl necklace around her fingers.

"Taking what too far?!" Riley tried to keep her composure. She gripped the edge of the cushion for some sort of relief.

"This silly affair of yours." Her mother scoffed at the thought.

"I'm not having an affair because I don't have a boyfriend!" Riley stood up and shouted at her mother. Her temper was flaring and it didn't look like it was going down any time soon.

"Riley Mae. Sit down and talk about this like an adult." Her mother didn't raise her voice, she merely spoke with strong intent.

Riley laughed out of frustration. She couldn't believe what was happening.

"Mom, maybe they need to work this out on their own." Jack spoke up and walked over to his mother. "Let's give them some privacy."

"Don't bother." Riley stormed out of the living room and ran up to her bedroom. She stuffed her bag with the items she had taken out the day before. She grabbed her phone to call Tommy but it was snatched quickly out of her hand and thrown onto the floor. She whipped her head around and came face to face with Ryan.

"Really? You're going to do this now? With my whole family downstairs?" She brought her face up to his, no longer afraid. Just pissed off.

"Riley." He placed his hands on her shoulders but she slapped his hands away.

"Don't." She shook her head and grabbed her bag. She walked toward the door stopping to pick up her phone.

"Riley please. Just listen to me." His voice was desperate. She stopped before she reached the doorknob and let out a loud huff.

"Why Ryan? What could you possibly have to say to me?" Reluctantly, she turned around and stared at him.

"I'm sorry." He took a step forward, testing how close she would let him get. She stayed still, her eyes blazing.

"You're sorry?" Her lips twitched into a smile, followed by a sudden frown. She pushed his shoulders, sending him stumbling back a bit. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." She kept her voice low, but strong.

"Riley, I'm serious. I wasn't thinking. I just want you back, please." He ignored the push and kept pleading with her.

Her face softened a bit, and she brought her eyes down. "You want me back?" She looked back up at him with a smile.

He smiled, shocked that she would cave so easily. "I do babe, more than anything." He watched as she walked slowly toward him.

"I can't believe it," She put her arms around him. "I can't believe you would actually take me back." Her voice was rough. "And after everything I did to you." She felt him tense under her.

"What?" He leaned his head back but was greeted with a swift knee to the groin. He let out a sharp groan and fell to the floor.

"You truly are an idiot if you actually thought that I would get back with you after what you did." Riley walked to the door, only to stop. She wasn't done.

She stomped towards him and slapped him across the face. Feeling satisfied, she ran down the stairs and out the door.

________________________________________________

Jack must have called her over a dozen times before she finally picked up.

"What Jack?" She breathed into the phone, instantly regretting the tone she took with him.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" He blurted into the phone, his voice frantic.

"I'm on my way back home." Riley checked the time. She would be home in two hours and was looking forward to putting some distance between her and the drama.

"Okay good, I'll just talk to you when you get here then." There was a pause before she spoke.

"Jack. I'm going home. To Pittsburgh. My home." She spoke softly and decided to come out with it. "He hit me, Jack. That's why we broke up." Her voice wasn't as shaky as she thought it would be.

Her brother was quiet for a second, then let out a sigh. "That fuck."

"Don't tell Mom please. It'll make her crazy."

"Are you kidding Ri? Of course I'm going to tell Mom! And Dad!" His voice was frantic again. "That shit is lucky he already left."

"Jack. You can't say anything. When Tommy found out he kind of went a little crazy and kicked Ryan's ass and the last thing I want is for this to come back to him." She bit the inside of her cheek anxiously.

"So there was someone else then?" He wasn't judging, just asking. He suddenly realized this was the most he had talked to his sister in a long time. "Who is he?"

"Tommy is... He, well. He's amazing." She felt herself smiling and Jack could hear it through the phone.

"So he kicked his ass, huh?"

"Yeah." She didn't want to tell him that Tommy slammed Ryan's face into a glass window.

"Well I like him already." They both laughed together and Jack continued. "Okay well call me when you get home. I'll tell Mom you left because she was driving you nuts. That's pretty believable right?"

Riley chuckled. "Thanks Jack. Love you."

"Love you too, Ri."

__________________________________

Tommy counted his clap press-ups as he worked out in the basement. He turned his father's church invitation down, opting to get some extra work out time in instead.

"One. Two. Three. Four. One. Two. Three. Four."

A loud beep from the corner of the room stopped him from finishing his final rep. He grabbed his phone and smiled when he saw Riley's name on the screen.

What do you want for Christmas?

He smiled, and quickly wrote back.

You.

He barely heard the doorbell from the basement and by the time he got up to the door, it had rang a second time.

He opened the door and raised his eyebrows when he saw Riley smiling at him.

"I was hoping you would say that."