LOGINRIVERI couldn't sleep that night; my mind kept on wandering to my father. I had promised him that he could trust me, and now I was lying again. I opened the door and slipped out, trying my best not to wake my dad and Aunt G. I tiptoed to the kitchen, determined to work my mind to tiredness so I could fall asleep quicker. I open the fridge and begin to reorganise, wiping down every surface with a wet rag. It had been a while; I had to try out my mind and body so I could fall asleep. A door creaked open; I froze at the sound. I turned to see Taylor holding the face of his phone. I guess I was not as quiet as I thought I was being. He hurried to me as soon as our eyes met. “Sweetheart? What are you doing here?” He asked, setting down his phone and pulling me to him. “Organising the fridge” “Because you have something on your mind?” “No, I don’t…” “I know you, River; you are hiding something from me. Remember, we said no secrets whatsoever. Whatever it is, we can get through it to
RIVERI should be happy this was what I wanted, but that email sitting in my phone with a timer was nerve-wracking. Everything seemed to be going so perfectly and now it felt like I was tossed in a torturous abyss. Why I thought it was going to be extreme torture to live with Taylor: I had filed for a change of room or roommate too many times and now that I was getting used to being in his space, I had to decide on staying here. What if the accommodations office thinks I am being ridiculous? If I told my father about this, he would say this was God in action and ask me to move at once. If I told Taylor I feared that the victory I had would be short-lived. The ride to the restaurant was unusually quiet, but I liked it that way. It gave me time to think over what I should be doing now. “So this is where students like you have dates?” Aunt G wiggled her eyebrows as we sat at our assigned dates. Taylor, who was sipping on his water, began coughing, drops of water sputtering from his
RIVER“We will talk about this with clear eyes in the morning,” Dad declared. Taylor went into his room and he told Gianna to keep a close eye on me. “Act like her aunt and not a friend.” I tossed and turned all night. He was not easy to let go of things like that. I knew he would most likely bring it up or try to reason with me. It was the first time I confessed to not wanting pharmacy. I had never even thought of what I might want because, as far back as I could remember, I had been training to become a pharmacist just like my mom. “Your mom would love it.” I had been craving the love of my mother for so long. I never knew her yet I wanted her to love. “You know your mom would have loved you regardless of what you studied,” Aunt G said so suddenly, as if she had been reading my mind. I turned to her; her head was flat on the pillow as she faced the ceiling. Her eyes shut tightly as her fingers lay over the blanket. “Do you think so?”“I know so,” she nodded. “I know she would
TAYLOR“Mr Wilson, I just want to say…” “Only speak when you are spoken to, boy!” He cut me off with a cutting gaze. I tried not to show how nervous I was around him. I always hated meeting parents of the girls I had dated before now, but with River, I wanted her father to see me; I needed him to think I was good for his daughter. Maybe not necessarily the best thing, but I was hoping he would see past the exterior and accept me. “The nerve of that girl, hiding such a secret from her own father.” He dropped the flashlight he was gripping onto the desk; it slammed against it in a loud bang. I gulped and drew back a bit. “And you, Mr Bad Boy. You took advantage of my daughter, knowing she is naive and new to trying to live in the same house and date her?” “No, sir, I didn’t do anything like that.” “River isn’t one of your pets to play with.” He had already made up his mind about me without waiting to hear anything about me. To him, I was probably just some parasite hanging onto
RIVERI pressed my face into Taylor’s leather jacket as his hands wrapped around me. “I missed you so much,” I murmured into his chest, not wanting to let go. This was more comforting than being stuck with my father, who expected so much from me. “Same here, sweetheart.” His hand pulled my hair away from my face as he gently caressed it, staring at me. He kissed me gently and pulled away before I could savour the moment. “River?” I froze at the sound of my name and the voice calling out to me. Our path was suddenly flooded with light from a flashlight. I was sure that my father was asleep before I sneaked out. He was even snoring, and I was careful. I gripped the sides of Taylor’s jacket, and he looked down at me. We were both frozen in place, but then a smile climbed his face. He didn't need to say a word for me to know what he was planning. “No, Taylor, if we make a run for it now, we can save it,” I said through gritted teeth, not trying to get myself exposed. Right now, he
TAYLOR. “And can I ask why you have to crash here this weekend?” Hendrix asked with a frown on his face. His house had been chosen because he had a spare room, and I didn't want to go home. My mom was going to hound me about River, and I was not sure if I was ready to face that yet, not with the tension of River’s father accepting me as a suitable boy to date his daughter. “I have told you this a million times.” “And I keep asking because it makes no sense,” Hendrix replied. “You both are adults who can do whatever you want with your life and free time.” “Yes, but she is a good girl.” “Which is weird even for you. Bad boy Tyalor reverts and becomes a good boy to please his new girlfriend, River Wilson.” Hendrix had put two and two together and figured out that we were together. I made him promise not to blurt that out, not until River was ready for the act to be out of the bag. He rolled his eyes and murmured. “Everything with you guys these days is complicated.” “Whatever.” I







