Monday, August 5th, 2013
I wasn't sure if or how I was supposed to try to comfort Riley. She was, quite obviously, distraught. Sobs ripped through her body, her chest heaving, breaths coming irregularly. She had her head in her hands, shaking it back and forth and muttering "No no no no no" between bouts of wails and moans.
My instinctual reaction was to wrap her up in a hug, stroke her hair, and tell her everything was going to be okay...but I held myself back. I didn't think that I was the right person to do that for her right now. Maybe I was being overly cautious, but given everything between us, I was concerned that inserting myself into that role could lead to even more confusion in our relationship, especially given Riley's recent admission that she was also still a little messed up by what had happened between us. Our whole affair had revolved around the decisions that Thomas had made and the lies he had told. Now that the truth had been revealed I was afraid that things could get very...messy. So I just sat there, watching Riley weep.
The door opened and Tori peeked her head in. Her eyes went wide when she saw Riley's hunched form shaking with sobs.
Help me,
I mouthed to Tori.
She shook her head and slowly pulled her head out of the room before closing the door behind her. Coward.
I guess it's up to me.
I steeled myself and took a deep breath. "Riley," I said, reaching out to pat her shoulder. "I'm sorry, is there anyth-"
The door opened once more, and this time Becca and Melissa marched into the room, followed by Tori.
Oh, thank god.
Becca immediately wrapped Riley in a hug. "Oh, honey, honey, it's okay," she said. "Ryan, there's a box of tissues in my classroom, can you go grab it?"
"Yeah, of course," I said, hurrying out of the room, the sound of Riley's crying disappearing as the heavy door slammed shut behind me.
Well, that was worse than I expected
. I walked across the hall to Becca's classroom and found the box of tissues on her desk. I was glad she was there to help comfort Riley. It was clear that I was not the right person to handle that task.
I felt bad for her. Obviously she needed to know—everyone I'd talked to had agreed—but maybe there was a better way for me to tell her? Too late for that now.
As I walked back to my classroom I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I went inside and handed the box of tissues to Becca before pulling my phone out. There was a text from an unknown number.
Hey stud, sorry I didn't text earlier, been a busy day at work. We should meet up again sometime. -Tiffany
Of fucking course she texts me
now
,
I thought.
I really wish you would have texted me just ten minutes earlier.
Why's that?
I just told Riley that I found out that Thomas is cheating on her. Was hoping I could talk to you first, but I couldn't wait any longer.
Of fucking course he is, that slimy piece of shit. Are you with Riley right now? How is she?
She's currently a crying mess. Some of the other teachers are comforting her.
My phone starting ringing. A call from Tiffany. "Hello?"
"Let me talk to Riley."
Riley was wiping her eyes with the tissues, Becca still hugging her. I tapped Riley on the shoulder. "Hey, Riley. Tiffany is on the phone for you."
She grabbed the phone out of my hand and pressed it to her ear. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Nuh-huh. Uh-huh." She laughed at something Tiffany said. "Uh-huh. Okay. I love you too." Riley hung up the phone and handed it back to me. "Thanks, Ryan."
"Yeah, no problem."
Riley stood up, dabbing her eyes again with a tissue. "I...I'll let you have your classroom back," she said. "Becca, would you mind coming with me?"
"Of course, honey," the older teacher said.
The two of them walked to the door, but Riley stopped before leaving. "Thank you for letting me know, Ryan. I really appreciate it," she said.
I nodded. "You're welcome. I'm sorry this is happening. I wish I had thought of a better way to tell you."
"I don't think there's a good way to hear it," she said, before giving me a nod and leaving the room.
It was silent for what felt like a minute before Tori spoke up. "So...that went well," she said.
Melissa laughed. "If she's anything like me, she's going to be really sad for a while, before she becomes really, really angry."
"Then she goes out to buy a blindfold and some handcuffs," I said.
"I'm happy to give her some ideas if she wants to get back at him somehow. I had more than a few."
"Well, I was just about ready to get out of here before Riley showed up. You two heading out?"
"Yeah, we were just about to leave as well," Tori said.
I finished gathering up my things and led the girls out the door, locking it behind us. "Thanks for grabbing reinforcements, Tor. I thought you were just abandoning me."
"You looked lost, and I definitely didn't want to deal with that by myself. I'm glad Becca was still here," she said.
"Do either of you have morning duties tomorrow?" I asked.
They both nodded. "I have the drop-off line, and T has buses," Melissa said. "What about you?"
"No mornings for me, doing the afternoon pick-up line though."
We walked out into the parking lot, which had emptied out a lot by now. Our cars were only a few spaces apart. "Big day tomorrow," Tori said. "We'll see you then. Have a good night, Ryan."
"Goodnight, ladies. See you tomorrow."
I swung by the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things so I could make myself some decent lunches to bring to the school. There was no way I could afford to eat out for lunch every day.
Once I was home I put away the groceries before crashing on the couch. I turned on ESPN just to have some noise in the apartment. Telling Riley about Thomas had been emotionally draining—and I'd barely had to do anything in the aftermath. Thank God for Becca.
I pulled out my phone and poked around a bit, looking up some possible ideas for where to take Cece on Friday. Dinner shouldn't be too hard, but I wanted something to do afterwards, assuming it went well. Nothing over the top, but a first date should be fun and memorable, right? A simple dinner together wasn't going to cut it.
