Time Bomb

Staring at his phone, Jack sighed and sat it down on the table in front of him, earning him a hard scowl from Alex. Alex had just about had enough with this sullen and blue Jack that had arrived home from Vancouver only a week ago. Alex hadn’t been there to know exactly what went down, but he didn’t have to be there to know whatever Riley had said really depressed Jack and had almost turned him into a bitter hermit. Jack had told his best friend that the girl had told him to get out, go home and send her things back to her. If that wasn’t a break up, what was?

The last couple of nights, Alex had been hanging out with Jack, trying to cheer him up in any way possible. They had watched all of his favourite movies, they’d eaten all of his favourite foods, Alex had even managed to drag him to a Raven’s game, and nothing seemed to work. The pair was currently parked in Jack’s living room, Alex playing a video game while Jack aimlessly stared at his phone like it was some kind of magic device.

Pausing the game, Alex leaned back in the lazy boy, kicking his feet up and clearing his throat. Not bothering to pay his friend any attention, Jack picked up the sleek black phone once again, before sitting it back down.

“Fucking grow some balls and just call her!”Alex blurted out.

He was sick of this moping routine, if Jack didn’t call Riley soon or get over her then Alex was going to be forced to take matters into his own hands and nobody would like that.

“She broke up with me, why would I call her?”Jack asked sadly.

“You want to, so do it.”Alex encouraged. “So what, she told you to get out. Fuck it man, call her and tell her what a bitch she’s being, it might help you get over this.”

“Riley is not a bitch!” Jack quickly defended his voice cold and harsh toward Alex.

“She dumped you, did she not? Told you to leave and send her shit back. If she wasn’t a bitch, she’d have let you down easier my friend.” Alex replied with a careless shrug.

Riley wasn’t a bitch, Alex knew this, she was simply...confused... was the word Cassadee had used when she’d explained things to Alex. Cassadee had called Riley to check up on her, when the other girl had burst into a fit of tears, pouring her heart out. Alex had been informed that Riley was miserable, although she didn’t come right out and say she missed Jack or that she’d made a huge mistake, Cassadee said it had been strongly implied.

Jack hadn’t been given this information; Alex felt he was too fragile. Knowing that Riley was miserable would only upset Jack more. If he called her, she’d put on a brave face and so would he, they would likely talk about small things. The conversation would be awkward and hopefully by the time they ended the call, they’d know they needed one another. It was wishful thinking on Alex’s part, because Jack was never going to call the girl.

“Would you fuck off? She is not a bitch; she had every right to chuck my ass.” Jack stated firmly. “I hid things from her, I fucked this up. I deserved to have her hate me and then send me packing.”

Alex’s face softened, he really hated seeing his best buddy beat himself up like this. It wasn’t Jack’s fault, nor was it Riley’s. Things got tough and they had both cracked, it could happen to anybody.

“Dude, call her, you need to call her!”Alex continued to encourage.

“And say what?” Jack asked feeling desperate. “Tell her good bye?”

He wanted to pick up the phone and call Riley, but what if she wouldn’t answer? What if she did answer and then hung up? Being hung up on would be far worse than her not answering. Nervously running his fingers through his hair, Jack thought about all of the possible outcomes from a single phone call.

“Tell her what you just told me? Tell her the British are coming. Tell her you had pizza for dinner and jerked off to a photo of her. I don’t know? Fucking call her.” Alex said, standing up he grabbed Jack’s phone from its resting place on the table and handed it to his friend. “This is six to one, half a dozen to the other. You’re both stubborn assholes, now fix this!”

Jack Barakat was not a shy guy, far from it by his nature, yet making this phone call was the hardest thing he had ever attempted in his life. What did he say when or if Riley answered? His entire ability to speak, function and think went out the window on this one.

Ending his call with Riley, Matt tucked his phone back into his pocket and returned to the small studio room where he and Josh had been working. She had called to tell him Jack had called her, not that she had bothered to pick up and talk to the guy. The call had rattled her a little, leaving her with a few questions and hating herself for not answering. Matt suggested she call him back, Riley insisted she couldn’t do that and needed somebody to come take her mind off of things.

Lately Matt had been spending more and more time hanging out with Riley, keeping her company when she got lonely. This had reminded her just how lonely and messed up she was; right now she needed a friend. Grabbing his favourite guitar, Matt opened up the case and laid the instrument in.

“And where are you going?” Josh suspiciously eyed the guitar player.

“Look, man, I have to go.” Matt said carefully placing his guitar in its case and zipping it “Riley needs some help.”

Josh didn’t have to know that she had called, begging Matt to come and rescue her because Jack had called. Riley was also a good reason for Josh to let Matt walk out early.

“Can I ask you something?” Josh asked, toying with a few buttons on the control panel.

“Shoot.” Matt answered, shouldering his guitar case and straightening up.

“Why the sudden interest in Riley again? It’s not my business, but she just hit a rough patch with Jack and whatever is going on with them, you do know it’s a bit soon to be moving in on her.” Josh mused at the situation.

It seemed like every time he talked to Matt or Riley lately, the two were together. He may be wrong, but it was almost certain that as soon as Matt left the studio, he’d be hanging out with Riley for the rest of the day even after he was done helping her with whatever it was she needed help with. Josh was slightly frustrated by the situation, he had repeatedly told Matt not to get involved, to stay away.

“You’re right; it’s not your business.” Matt answered with a stern look. “We’re friends. I’m allowed to hang out with my friends when they’re going through some tough times. She just needs a friend.”

“Right, a friend.” Josh echoed.

Matt nodded. “She’s my friend, we’ve always been friends. Why so defensive now?”

Josh shrugged. “You hear things is all? I know she and Jack are on the out, but...” he paused, folding his arms over his chest. “It doesn’t mean you get to swoop in and get what you want.”

“What? Are you saying you think I’d take advantage of the poor girl? Josh, Riley is heartbroken over this and she’s so fucked up over it. She needs a friend, I am her friend. I can’t even believe we’re having this conversation.” Matt huffed.

This was insane!

How dare Josh accuse him of this! Yeah, so maybe it wasn’t a far cry from past events, but Matt would never take advantage of Riley, again, ever. She was upset and needed somebody to help her sort herself out, the last thing Matt wanted to do was confuse or hurt her or anybody else. If things worked the way Matt wanted them to, then before the end of the day he’d have Riley on the phone with Jack, working out their problem.

“Would you be this concerned if Mike or Ian were the ones hanging out there? Huh? Would you be here grilling them and telling them to stay away?” Matt posed his debate wisely.

“I know she’s confused and you know as well as I do, Riley doesn’t always use logic.” Josh added carefully. “Just don’t do anything that anyone could regret.”

Matt scoffed. “Yeah, because Kevvy and I hanging out, ordering dinner with her is going to be such a huge regret.”

“Matt.” Josh practically shouted at his friend. “Just, don’t let things get fucked up between you.”

“Whatever, I’m out of here.” Matt muttered, stalking out of the studio and toward his car.

It was official; Josh Ramsay had lost his damn mind. Who was he to think that Matt was going to let Riley do something stupid? He had made that mistake once and it wasn’t one that Matt was thrilled to make again. Stashing his guitar safely in the back seat of his ca, Matt slammed the door and groaned. Why did he get the feeling this wasn’t about the present?

Pulling up to Riley’s house, Matt rubbed his hands over his face and blew out a breath.

“You going to be okay?” Kevvy asked curiously from the passenger’s seat.

“I’ll live.” Matt answered with a grumpy tone.

He was still pissed off at Josh. Kevvy had heard all about the chat that the two band mates had gone through. It was insanity, Josh needed to lighten up and Matt needed to stop being a hiding place, if you were to ask Kevvy’s opinion. Since Matt currently had paid for dinner, Kevvy wasn’t going to say a damn word on the situation. The overzealous blond would sit back and wisely wait for his turn to throw in his opinion.

Opening his door, Kevvy glanced back at Matt. “You coming in?”

“Yeah, I’ll grab dinner and be right in.” Matt answered with a nod, grabbing his keys and opening his own door.

Watching Kevvy disappear into the house, Matt shook his head and grabbed the take out bags from the back seat. This was crazy, he was here to make Riley feel better and to let her vent. Riley didn’t have feelings beyond friendship for Matt and Matt didn’t have feelings beyond friendship for Riley. It was simple, to the point. Matt was somebody she trusted, somebody she could confide in. He enjoyed being that person, Matt loved being able to help her whenever she needed him.

Past mistakes were just that now, mistakes. They had made a really huge mistake and it was done. They could never take it back, Matt would live with the guilt for the rest of his life, as long as they were friends he’d put it aside and deal with it. Finally getting inside, Matt made it straight into the kitchen dropping off the bags. Shrugging off his jacket, he placed it on the back of a chair beside Kevvy’s and headed for the living room.

Kevvy sat on the couch with Riley, his arms were wrapped around her and the soft sounds of sobs came from her body. Matt sighed, sitting on the other side of her.

“Did Jack calling you depress you that much?” Matt asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

“I should have answered, I fucked up.” Riley whispered between sobs. “After Jack called, I got another call. It was an unknown number and I let it go.”

“So, did he block the number and call again?” Kevvy asked, handing her a Kleenex.

“No.” Riley burst into a fit of uncontrollable tears. “It...it was the hospital. My mom had emergency surgery for her lung and...” she paused. “I didn’t answer, my mom’s gone.”