Sequel: Weapons of War ›
Seven Year Ache
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
March 2003
There was a shift in the mattress that woke Riley up, she glanced the watch on the large arm that was around her middle. Quarter to nine in the morning. She yawned, stretched and upon turning to her left she found Shea laying next to her on his side, already awake.
She raised her eyebrow and sent him a crooked grin before asking, "How long have you been up?"
"Half an hour or so." He informed her.
"Really? And you've just been laying here all that time?" She asked curiously, pulling the sheets tighter around her so she could roll onto her side to face him.
He smiled, reached out and tucked a piece of her curly hair behind her ear before telling her, "I was just wondering how I got so lucky."
"Lucky?" Riley asked him.
Nodding Shea told her, "To wake up next to you."
"Yeah this is nice." She told him softly, smiling as he pressed his warm hand against her bare back.
"And last night. Last night was nice too." Shea told her, and when she smiled he asked, "And hopefully you're still…"
He didn't know how to finish that and Riley could tell so she assured him, "I'm great with it Shea. I'm 100% fine with what happened between us. Even more than fine."
"Good. I'm glad." He told her softly, kissing her forehead.
Riley smiled and looked up at him, asking him curiously, "Were you really that worried?"
"I just didn't want you to regret it or wish we hadn't… I don't want you to feel pressured or anything like that because the last thing I wanted to do was make you feel like you had to do that because you didn't." Riley let out a giggle and he raised his eyebrow. When she kept giggling he rolled his eyes and joked, "Well fine I won't be concerned with your well being."
She placed her hand on his bicep and told him, "No I love that you're concerned, really it makes me so happy that you care about those things."
"But?"
"But you ramble when you're nervous." She said, giggling again. Shea wrapped his arms around her and dug his fingers into her sides, making her wiggle around and throw her head back in laughter.
When her stomach rumbled Shea chuckled and asked, "Breakfast?"
"Yes please." Riley stated, and before they could get up they heard the front door open and close.
They froze, looking at each other in terror as Dave called up, "Ry I'm home you want breakfast?"
"I thought you said your dad was gone until Friday!" Shea exclaimed as they both jumped out of bed.
Riley scrambled to throw a pair of pyjamas on and she tossed Shea his jeans, practically hitting him in the face. Once they were both dressed they turned to face each other in a panic and Riley glanced around her bedroom. Her eyes fell on the window and she told Shea, "Out the window."
He turned his head over his shoulder, looked at the window and asked her, "Are you crazy?"
"Would you rather my dad come upstairs to see this?" Riley asked him, picking up the ripped open condom wrapper.
Shea immediately walked toward the window, throwing his jacket on he opened the window and climbed over it, hooking his feet into the wallflower wall holders. He hoped it would hold him as Riley leaned down and kissed him quickly.
She ushered him forward telling him, "Hurry up he's coming upstairs."
"I'm going I'm going." Shea told her as he slowly started climbing down the side of the house. He stopped and looked up at her, "If I fall I'm blaming you."
She rolled her eyes and said, "Don't fall. I love you."
Shea grinned as he hopped to the ground and said, "Love you too."
She closed the window quietly, shoved the condom wrapped under her blanket and opened the door to her bedroom just as her dad stopped in front of it. She smiled and commented, "You're home early."
Dave glanced around her bedroom before telling her, "Let's have breakfast and I'll explain."
Riley nodded slowly and followed him downstairs. She sat at the kitchen table and watched as he made breakfast, he wasn't talking and he seemed nervous, she wasn't used to it. Curiously she asked, "How was your trip?"
"You could have at least invited Shea down for breakfast you know." Riley choked on her mouthful of water when he said that. Dave chuckled and said, "His car was in the driveway kid."
"Oh…right." Riley said with flushed cheeks.
"What did you do make him climb out of the window?" Dave asked her, and when Riley didn't look at him or respond he let out a chuckle, shook his head in amusement and told her, "You're something else."
"I'm sorry." Riley told him.
Dave nodded as he flipped the bacon in the fry pan and asked her, "I'm glad, but you were safe right?"
"Dad." Riley said with her face red.
"I think I have the right to know that you're using protection when you're having sex in my house." Dave told her, making her sigh.
"Yes we were safe. Can we just make the food in silence now?" Riley asked, making him laugh as she slammed her head onto the table.
They ate their breakfast in silence and then once the dishes were done Dave told her, "So I want to talk to you about something."
"Dad the thing with Shea it's never gonna happen again here I promise." Riley assured him quickly.
"It will but that's not what I'm worried about." Dave told her, clearing his throat and then he told her, "I ran into your mother in Vancouver yesterday."
"And?" Riley asked, completely uninterested in this conversation her father was trying to have with her.
"And we went for dinner." He told her.
Riley looked up quickly, "Oh my god dad no."
He shook his head, "Not like that. We talked about you the whole time."
"So?"
Dave sighed and told her, "She would like to see you. But it's totally 100% up to you."
"No." Riley told him sharply, getting up and putting her cup in the dishwasher.
"Riley she's your mother, don't you want to see her?" Dave asked her curiously.
"Why would you?" Riley asked him harshly, "She left. She doesn't get to call herself that. I don't want a damn thing to do with her."
"Riley…"
"No! I have absolutely no interest in her. I'm never gonna hug her and call her mom. She didn't want to be in my life and now I don't want her in it ever." Riley exclaimed, taking off up the stairs.
Dave put his head in his hands, sighed and muttered, "I was not meant to parent a teenage girl."
Riley slammed her door shut, paced the floor of her bedroom before she picked up the phone and called Shea. One of his billets answered, and after a few seconds he was talking into the phone, "Did you get in trouble?"
"Not really. Did you?" Riley asked him curiously, sitting down on the floor at the end of her bed.
"Yeah but nothing major." Shea told her, and then asked curiously, "You okay?"
"Not really." She admitted, surprising him. Before he could respond however Riley told him, "I just want to take my mind off things."
"Can I ask what kind of things?"
"My mom." Riley told him, she knew he would want to know more. She had never spoken to Shea about her mother before, Shea only knew that she wasn't in her life because he had asked Alex, who apparently asked Lindsay.
"So what are you doing?" Riley was surprised, and so grateful that he was changing the subject without pushing the mom issue. She wasn't quite ready for that conversation with him yet.
"In my room. My dad knows by the way."
"Should I move to Mexico or….?" She laughed at him, thankful for the fact that he knew just how to make her laugh even when she just wanted to cry.
"You're fine. Honestly it didn't even seem like he cared. He cared more about why I didn't invite you down for breakfast than he did you spending the night." Riley told him with a chuckle.
Shea told her, "You have a very weird relationship with your dad you know."
"How so?" She inquired curiously.
"My dad would have grounded me for a year for that and yours was concerned with whether or not I wanted breakfast before climbing out of your window." When he told her this Riley chuckled.
"I guess it's because it's just the two of us. He had to be dad and mom and I guess we got close because of it."
Shea told her, "I know. Honestly I love that you have such a good relationship with him."
"You do?"
"Yeah I was beginning to think I was the only teenager who didn't hate their parents." Shea joked, making Riley laugh.
Finally she told him, "He ran into my mom in Vancouver."
"Oh." Shea didn't know what to say and Riley didn't blame him. She didn't even know what to say herself.
"Yeah, she wants to see me." Riley told him, biting on her cheek. When Shea didn't say anything Riley continued, "I mean the way I see it is she left, took off when I was seven so why should she get to just waltz back into my life like it never happened? Am I wrong to not want anything to do with her?"
"You're not."
"But?" Riley asked him curiously.
"But what?"
Riley told him, "You sounded like you had more to say."
"Well… I just… I don't know your situation with that, one day I hope you're comfortable enough to tell me, but Ry I don't want you to regret anything." Shea told her softly and she smiled at his words.
"I won't. Really I've done fine without her for ten years why do I need her now?" Riley asked him, at this point Shea knew she was just ranting to rant and that he needed to simply let her get it all out. So Riley continued and Shea didn't say a word, "I mean did she honestly think I'd want to be her best friend and do all that mother daughter crap you see in the movies? She left why would I want her back in my life and why would she think I would?"
"For what it's worth I'm proud of you for standing up for what you want. I know that deep down, in some place you keep hidden from me, it probably hurts… you know her never being in your life." Shea told her honestly.
"I always thought I did something wrong. That she left because of me." This was something Riley hadn't admitted to anyone out loud in her life. Not her dad, not even Lindsay.
"You couldn't possibly have done anything wrong."
"How do you know? You didn't even know me then." Riley asked him.
She could tell he was smiling when he told her, "I know you now and that's enough for me to know it couldn't have possibly been why she left. Riley you're the most kind, amazing, big hearted person I know. It's one of the things I love most about you."
She smiled, "One of?"
"Among a thousand others." He told her.
"Like what?"
He thought for a moment before telling her, "I love you because you always see the good in people even if you try very hard not to, I would know. I love you because you put others before yourself and you hate attention even when it's well deserved. I love you because you tell me when I'm playing like shit and need to pick it up. I love you because you're you and everything about you makes me happy. Mostly I love you because you love me."
"See now you're gonna make me cry and I'm not a mushy person." She muttered, wiping her cheeks. As he chuckled she told him, "Thank you, I really needed that Shea."
"I know and if I could I'd throw you into the biggest hug I could give you but you'll have to settle for I love you over the phone this time."
Riley grinned to herself and then mused out loud, "How did I get so lucky with you?"
"Yeah you really hit the lottery with me you know." He joked and she burst into laughter. The sound made him smile.
"Can you even fit your head into doors anymore? Like this is getting ridiculous." Riley joked back, laughing when he scoffed.
"I also love you because you kick my ass and deflate my ego every once in a while, as needed." Shea stated.
"You mean all the time?" Riley countered, making them both chuckle again. As they fell into silence Riley told him, "Really, thanks."
"Any time. I mean that. You can talk to me about anything whenever you need to Riley. Don't think you're bothering me because the only thing that will bother me is that you felt like you couldn't talk to me. I don't ever want you to think that."
"God you're so perfect it's actually almost annoying." Riley informed him and Shea let out a laugh.
"Sorry?"
"Never apologize for being yourself and being exactly what I need."
There was a shift in the mattress that woke Riley up, she glanced the watch on the large arm that was around her middle. Quarter to nine in the morning. She yawned, stretched and upon turning to her left she found Shea laying next to her on his side, already awake.
She raised her eyebrow and sent him a crooked grin before asking, "How long have you been up?"
"Half an hour or so." He informed her.
"Really? And you've just been laying here all that time?" She asked curiously, pulling the sheets tighter around her so she could roll onto her side to face him.
He smiled, reached out and tucked a piece of her curly hair behind her ear before telling her, "I was just wondering how I got so lucky."
"Lucky?" Riley asked him.
Nodding Shea told her, "To wake up next to you."
"Yeah this is nice." She told him softly, smiling as he pressed his warm hand against her bare back.
"And last night. Last night was nice too." Shea told her, and when she smiled he asked, "And hopefully you're still…"
He didn't know how to finish that and Riley could tell so she assured him, "I'm great with it Shea. I'm 100% fine with what happened between us. Even more than fine."
"Good. I'm glad." He told her softly, kissing her forehead.
Riley smiled and looked up at him, asking him curiously, "Were you really that worried?"
"I just didn't want you to regret it or wish we hadn't… I don't want you to feel pressured or anything like that because the last thing I wanted to do was make you feel like you had to do that because you didn't." Riley let out a giggle and he raised his eyebrow. When she kept giggling he rolled his eyes and joked, "Well fine I won't be concerned with your well being."
She placed her hand on his bicep and told him, "No I love that you're concerned, really it makes me so happy that you care about those things."
"But?"
"But you ramble when you're nervous." She said, giggling again. Shea wrapped his arms around her and dug his fingers into her sides, making her wiggle around and throw her head back in laughter.
When her stomach rumbled Shea chuckled and asked, "Breakfast?"
"Yes please." Riley stated, and before they could get up they heard the front door open and close.
They froze, looking at each other in terror as Dave called up, "Ry I'm home you want breakfast?"
"I thought you said your dad was gone until Friday!" Shea exclaimed as they both jumped out of bed.
Riley scrambled to throw a pair of pyjamas on and she tossed Shea his jeans, practically hitting him in the face. Once they were both dressed they turned to face each other in a panic and Riley glanced around her bedroom. Her eyes fell on the window and she told Shea, "Out the window."
He turned his head over his shoulder, looked at the window and asked her, "Are you crazy?"
"Would you rather my dad come upstairs to see this?" Riley asked him, picking up the ripped open condom wrapper.
Shea immediately walked toward the window, throwing his jacket on he opened the window and climbed over it, hooking his feet into the wallflower wall holders. He hoped it would hold him as Riley leaned down and kissed him quickly.
She ushered him forward telling him, "Hurry up he's coming upstairs."
"I'm going I'm going." Shea told her as he slowly started climbing down the side of the house. He stopped and looked up at her, "If I fall I'm blaming you."
She rolled her eyes and said, "Don't fall. I love you."
Shea grinned as he hopped to the ground and said, "Love you too."
She closed the window quietly, shoved the condom wrapped under her blanket and opened the door to her bedroom just as her dad stopped in front of it. She smiled and commented, "You're home early."
Dave glanced around her bedroom before telling her, "Let's have breakfast and I'll explain."
Riley nodded slowly and followed him downstairs. She sat at the kitchen table and watched as he made breakfast, he wasn't talking and he seemed nervous, she wasn't used to it. Curiously she asked, "How was your trip?"
"You could have at least invited Shea down for breakfast you know." Riley choked on her mouthful of water when he said that. Dave chuckled and said, "His car was in the driveway kid."
"Oh…right." Riley said with flushed cheeks.
"What did you do make him climb out of the window?" Dave asked her, and when Riley didn't look at him or respond he let out a chuckle, shook his head in amusement and told her, "You're something else."
"I'm sorry." Riley told him.
Dave nodded as he flipped the bacon in the fry pan and asked her, "I'm glad, but you were safe right?"
"Dad." Riley said with her face red.
"I think I have the right to know that you're using protection when you're having sex in my house." Dave told her, making her sigh.
"Yes we were safe. Can we just make the food in silence now?" Riley asked, making him laugh as she slammed her head onto the table.
They ate their breakfast in silence and then once the dishes were done Dave told her, "So I want to talk to you about something."
"Dad the thing with Shea it's never gonna happen again here I promise." Riley assured him quickly.
"It will but that's not what I'm worried about." Dave told her, clearing his throat and then he told her, "I ran into your mother in Vancouver yesterday."
"And?" Riley asked, completely uninterested in this conversation her father was trying to have with her.
"And we went for dinner." He told her.
Riley looked up quickly, "Oh my god dad no."
He shook his head, "Not like that. We talked about you the whole time."
"So?"
Dave sighed and told her, "She would like to see you. But it's totally 100% up to you."
"No." Riley told him sharply, getting up and putting her cup in the dishwasher.
"Riley she's your mother, don't you want to see her?" Dave asked her curiously.
"Why would you?" Riley asked him harshly, "She left. She doesn't get to call herself that. I don't want a damn thing to do with her."
"Riley…"
"No! I have absolutely no interest in her. I'm never gonna hug her and call her mom. She didn't want to be in my life and now I don't want her in it ever." Riley exclaimed, taking off up the stairs.
Dave put his head in his hands, sighed and muttered, "I was not meant to parent a teenage girl."
Riley slammed her door shut, paced the floor of her bedroom before she picked up the phone and called Shea. One of his billets answered, and after a few seconds he was talking into the phone, "Did you get in trouble?"
"Not really. Did you?" Riley asked him curiously, sitting down on the floor at the end of her bed.
"Yeah but nothing major." Shea told her, and then asked curiously, "You okay?"
"Not really." She admitted, surprising him. Before he could respond however Riley told him, "I just want to take my mind off things."
"Can I ask what kind of things?"
"My mom." Riley told him, she knew he would want to know more. She had never spoken to Shea about her mother before, Shea only knew that she wasn't in her life because he had asked Alex, who apparently asked Lindsay.
"So what are you doing?" Riley was surprised, and so grateful that he was changing the subject without pushing the mom issue. She wasn't quite ready for that conversation with him yet.
"In my room. My dad knows by the way."
"Should I move to Mexico or….?" She laughed at him, thankful for the fact that he knew just how to make her laugh even when she just wanted to cry.
"You're fine. Honestly it didn't even seem like he cared. He cared more about why I didn't invite you down for breakfast than he did you spending the night." Riley told him with a chuckle.
Shea told her, "You have a very weird relationship with your dad you know."
"How so?" She inquired curiously.
"My dad would have grounded me for a year for that and yours was concerned with whether or not I wanted breakfast before climbing out of your window." When he told her this Riley chuckled.
"I guess it's because it's just the two of us. He had to be dad and mom and I guess we got close because of it."
Shea told her, "I know. Honestly I love that you have such a good relationship with him."
"You do?"
"Yeah I was beginning to think I was the only teenager who didn't hate their parents." Shea joked, making Riley laugh.
Finally she told him, "He ran into my mom in Vancouver."
"Oh." Shea didn't know what to say and Riley didn't blame him. She didn't even know what to say herself.
"Yeah, she wants to see me." Riley told him, biting on her cheek. When Shea didn't say anything Riley continued, "I mean the way I see it is she left, took off when I was seven so why should she get to just waltz back into my life like it never happened? Am I wrong to not want anything to do with her?"
"You're not."
"But?" Riley asked him curiously.
"But what?"
Riley told him, "You sounded like you had more to say."
"Well… I just… I don't know your situation with that, one day I hope you're comfortable enough to tell me, but Ry I don't want you to regret anything." Shea told her softly and she smiled at his words.
"I won't. Really I've done fine without her for ten years why do I need her now?" Riley asked him, at this point Shea knew she was just ranting to rant and that he needed to simply let her get it all out. So Riley continued and Shea didn't say a word, "I mean did she honestly think I'd want to be her best friend and do all that mother daughter crap you see in the movies? She left why would I want her back in my life and why would she think I would?"
"For what it's worth I'm proud of you for standing up for what you want. I know that deep down, in some place you keep hidden from me, it probably hurts… you know her never being in your life." Shea told her honestly.
"I always thought I did something wrong. That she left because of me." This was something Riley hadn't admitted to anyone out loud in her life. Not her dad, not even Lindsay.
"You couldn't possibly have done anything wrong."
"How do you know? You didn't even know me then." Riley asked him.
She could tell he was smiling when he told her, "I know you now and that's enough for me to know it couldn't have possibly been why she left. Riley you're the most kind, amazing, big hearted person I know. It's one of the things I love most about you."
She smiled, "One of?"
"Among a thousand others." He told her.
"Like what?"
He thought for a moment before telling her, "I love you because you always see the good in people even if you try very hard not to, I would know. I love you because you put others before yourself and you hate attention even when it's well deserved. I love you because you tell me when I'm playing like shit and need to pick it up. I love you because you're you and everything about you makes me happy. Mostly I love you because you love me."
"See now you're gonna make me cry and I'm not a mushy person." She muttered, wiping her cheeks. As he chuckled she told him, "Thank you, I really needed that Shea."
"I know and if I could I'd throw you into the biggest hug I could give you but you'll have to settle for I love you over the phone this time."
Riley grinned to herself and then mused out loud, "How did I get so lucky with you?"
"Yeah you really hit the lottery with me you know." He joked and she burst into laughter. The sound made him smile.
"Can you even fit your head into doors anymore? Like this is getting ridiculous." Riley joked back, laughing when he scoffed.
"I also love you because you kick my ass and deflate my ego every once in a while, as needed." Shea stated.
"You mean all the time?" Riley countered, making them both chuckle again. As they fell into silence Riley told him, "Really, thanks."
"Any time. I mean that. You can talk to me about anything whenever you need to Riley. Don't think you're bothering me because the only thing that will bother me is that you felt like you couldn't talk to me. I don't ever want you to think that."
"God you're so perfect it's actually almost annoying." Riley informed him and Shea let out a laugh.
"Sorry?"
"Never apologize for being yourself and being exactly what I need."
♠ ♠ ♠
I'm so beyond heart eye emoji for this couple. Really(This was short, there will be another update out soon, like within the next day and a half, to make up for it)