RILEY’S P.O.V.


“Liam, stop. Please.”

He reluctantly removed his lips from my neck and sat up next to me on my bed.

“You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

I sighed and rested my hands in my lap, nervously picking at my fingers.

“I’m trying not to be. It’s just... I’m sorry, this shouldn’t be happening while you’re here.”

He grinned and leaned over, kissing my cheekbone softly.

“There’s no right time for shit like this to happen. Just look at it as ‘I’m here to help you’ instead
of ‘I want all of your attention’. Even if both are true.”

I smiled and felt tears burn my eyes. A mixture of sadness and appreciation swept over my emotions, tangling and bursting out in soft sobs laced with short scoffs.

“I don’t know why I’m so upset. Maybe I should call Piper or maybe Marie, their mom. I don’t know what to do, Liam. I’m scared he’ll do something stupid.”

He rested his hand on my thigh and I felt my body relax a bit immediately.

“Breathe. Maybe you should talk to him before alerting his family.”

I thought about it and he was probably right. The last thing I would want in a situation like that would be for my family to run to my aid. My family.

“I’ll talk to him. Don’t forget, we’re going to see my parents tomorrow... If you still want to go.”

I didn’t want to go. He had insisted and it was going to be extremely awkward; especially since I hadn’t seen them in months.

“Of course, I do. Go talk to him and I’ll wait for you right here.”

I left a single kiss on his lips and scooted off of the bed in my pajama shorts and tank top. I was so glad to be out of that tight costume. I looked behind me from the doorway and winked at Liam in his sweats laying on my covers. It almost made me rethink comforting Cory, but I knew it was necessary. I approached his room quietly, hearing mumbling behind the door. It was nothing I could make out and I knocked lightly on the door.

“Who is it?”

He sounded a bit uneasy, as I would have expected.

“It’s me.”

I heard scrambling and a few curses before the door swung open. Cory was standing there in a t-shirt and basketball shorts. His head was hung low, but he eventually made eye contact and I could see the redness covering his eyes.

“What do you need?”

He spoke matter-of-factly and I could tell he didn’t really want a chat. He just needed one.

“I just wanted to talk.”

He stood still for a moment, mulling it over in his mind. He swayed a bit in the doorway and I could tell he wasn’t sober. Finally, he stepped aside, holding the door and motioning his arm toward his bedroom. I walked in and sat on the edge of his bed, trying to make it seem as casual and relaxed as possible. He made his way over and sat next to me, about a foot away.

“What’d you want to talk about?”

He hiccuped and reached back, pulling a flask from his nightstand and taking a swig. I snatched it out of his hand and closed it, setting it lightly on the floor. When I returned to sitting, he was closer than before, his hand resting on the mattress behind my back.

“Cory, what are you-“

He cut me off by crashing his lips into mine sloppily, the taste of whiskey filling my mouth immediately. I pushed him away and stood up, appalled.

“What the hell!”

He had the nerve to sound surprised.

“Cory, I came in here to talk to you because I’m worried about you. I think you-“

He stood up abruptly and balled his fists at his sides, tensing his entire body.

“You think I what, Riley? You think I need help? I don’t need anyone’s fucking help; especially not yours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

My voice was raised as I crossed my arms, angrier than I thought I’d be. I expected to be sad, not furious.

“It means that after you coming to my rescue tonight, no one will ever take me seriously at this school! I was happy being a nothing. A nobody. Now, I’m a helpless bitch like I was in high school.”

“Cory, I’m sorry! I didn’t think it through! I’ve wanted to tackle her for ages, it just happened to work out tonight since she hurt someone I care about.”

“But, why? Why do you care? You don’t. You used me to get rid of your virginity and now that you’re comfortable enough to sleep with Liam, I’m nothing to you. I may have been here all along, but I was only good enough for a night. Just leave me alone and go fuck your boyfriend.”

His voice was stern and loud. Booming, really.

“Cory, what the fuck is wrong with you? I love you; you’re one of my best friends and I could never purposely hurt you. I’m sorry you feel that way, but there’s no need to be an asshole about it!”

“I’m the asshole? I’M THE ASSHOLE?”

His face was inches from mine and the volume made me flinch. I backed up, but found myself hitting the wall instantly. Cory moved forward and gripped my hip, leaning down and kissing me again. I raised my hands to push him away, but before I could, the door swung open roughly.

“HEY! Get off of her!”

Liam.

Cory let me go and turned to face Liam, who was wearing a t-shirt and the same pants he had on in my room.

“Why are you in my room?”

“Because I heard you guys yelling. You need to leave her the hell alone.”

Cory walked toward Liam calmly, scoffing and looking straight into his eyes, obviously feeling a touch of liquid courage.

“Or what? You can’t do anything to me that I haven’t already done to myself.”

Liam looked furious. Sure, I had seen him angry, but nothing like this.

“You haven’t killed yourself.”

Cory chuckled maniacally and sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes.

“You’re right. I failed at that. But, don’t worry, it’s on my to-do list.”

I could tell that Liam was at a loss of words. The confusion on his face seemed conflicted
between being angry and sad. He relaxed a little and walked over to me.

“Just take a nap and we can all talk when you’re sober.”

“Why? Am I too honest when I’m drunk?”

“You’re too angry.”

Liam pushed me in front of him and guided me out the door. I stood facing Cory’s room as Liam turned to say something else, but Cory beat him to it.

“I have every fucking right to be angry! I don’t know who the hell you think you are, coming in
here and acting like you know any of us. You don’t! I’ve known Riley my whole life. I’ve waited for her to give me a chance and when she finally does, you have to be in the god-damn picture.”

“That’s obviously because she didn’t really want you.”

With that, Cory lunged across the room and grabbed Liam’s shirt, forcing their way into the living room. I jumped out of the way just in time as they came barreling through the door and between the couches. Cory brought his fist back, meeting it with Liam’s face with preciseness, but little force. Liam was able to wiggle free and turned around, pushing Cory away from him. Cory stepped back, trying to catch his fall, but his lack of sobriety made that impossible as he tumbled backwards onto the coffee table. The glass top shattered under his back and I stood gaping at the scene in front of me.

Liam and I were frozen in place, waiting for some movement from Cory. Finally he rolled over to face us, grimacing in pain. I ran around the couch to the other side and knelt at his side, avoiding any pieces of glass. I rested my hand on his arm, trying to give him support as he sat up. As soon as I touched him, he shook me off and swatted my hand away.

“Don’t touch me. I don’t need your fucking help.”

The back of his shirt was torn and patches of blood were easy to spot, but overall he was okay. Liam scowled and walked over to where I was sitting. He held out a hand and helped me up to my feet.

“I think you can call his mum now. He’s not staying here tonight.”

Cory smirked and stepped over the broken table as he stood up. He stumbled into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“I’m not going anywhere, Liam. I live here.”

“Like hell you do. I don’t want you bunking here anymore.”

I reached over and grabbed Liam’s hand, squeezing it softly. Even if I agreed, it wasn’t his place to kick him out.

“That’s too bad.”

Cory didn’t look our way when he spoke; he just continued to stare into the refrigerator. I wasn’t happy about Liam’s reaction, but he was at least right about getting Cory out for the night. He wasn’t thinking straight and his actions weren’t doing any good.

“Cory, you-“

I couldn’t take it; I had to stop this. They didn’t need to communicate anymore.

“Stop. Both of you. Cory, I’m calling your mom and we can take you home just for tonight. We’ll
figure this out tomorrow.”

No one said anything, so I walked into my room in hopes that Liam would follow, but instead he sat on the couch with his arms crossed as Cory pulled something out of the fridge. Hopefully food would help sober him up.

I closed my door behind me and sat on my bed, reaching for my phone. I dialed Marie’s number and prayed that she was still awake. After a few rings, a familiar voice rang happily through the receiver.

“Riley, dear! How are you?”

“I’m- I’ve been better.”

“What’s wrong? I thought you guys went to a party. Isn’t Liam there?”

She sounded concerned, but at least I didn’t wake her up; she was in a good mood.

“Yeah, we’re back home now. Some...stuff happened and Cory was upset and now he’s really
drunk and acting completely ridiculous. I hate to ask you this, but could we bring him home for the night? He keeps trying to pick fights and-“

“Oh, god. Of course, he needs to come home. Charles and I will come get him, though. We’ll
leave now.”

I could hear her ordering her husband to get up quietly and he muttered in reply. Within seconds, I heard her keys.

“Thank you, Marie.”

“I’ll see you soon, honey.”

I hung up and set my phone down behind me. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed deeply, recalling everything that had unfolded in one night. Cory was humiliated in front of about a hundred people that he’ll go to school with next semester. I attacked Rebecca which, I had to admit, still felt good. Cory said such awful things to me and kissed me, followed by an angry Liam. Cory hit him and then fell onto our coffee table, shattering it. Liam didn’t want Cory and I living in the same dorm anymore and Piper didn’t know any of this. I would have called her, but this was the last thing she needed. It would have to wait until she got back.
My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at my door. I cleared my throat and tried to respond calmly.

“Come in.”

Liam opened the door and closed it again behind him, sitting on the side of my bed right next to
me. He gathered my hands in his and brought them to his lips, softly kissing my knuckles.

“It’s going to be okay, baby.”

I nodded and felt tears sting the corners of my eyes. I wanted to believe him, but these kind of problems were always something Cory dealt with.

“Come here, don’t cry.”

I leaned forward and rested my head on his shoulder, burying my face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

“I’m sorry, Liam. This was supposed to be a time for us to get past all of this stupid drama and it’s only escalated.”

“Riley, none of this is your fault, okay?”

I glanced down at the floor. It was my fault.

“No, look at me! I mean it.”

I shift my eyes to meet his, not convinced.

“Sure, you shouldn’t have slept with him, but that’s behind us. You have to stop beating yourself up over it or else we’ll never be able to move on. All I want is for you to be happy and I feel like I can’t make that happen. I just keep finding myself falling for you and it’s like you’re pushing me away. I know that you’re not trying to, but Cory just seems to come first. I want to know if you’re as serious about us as I am.”

I didn’t know exactly what to say. He was completely wrong, but I could see how he could think
that.

“Liam, I hate that you feel that way. It’s the farthest thing from the truth. I just- Cory does mean a lot to me and I hate that I screwed up because it makes everything so complicated. Trust me, though, I don’t want you to think he’s more important than you. I feel so stupid for giving him so much attention recently; I just worry. I’m really not trying to push you away; you don’t know how glad I am that you’re here right now. You’re more than I could ever ask for.”

He smiled and hugged me again, leaving a kiss on my forehead before sitting up again.

“I think we’ve at least made some progress in communication!”

I chuckled and wiped away the few tears that had fallen.

“Absolutely.”

He took both of my hands in his again, resting them in his lap and taking a deep breath.

“Riley, I-“

A loud knock on the front door broke off his speech and we both stood up quickly. I walked ahead of him, opening the door to find the living room and kitchen areas empty. Cory’s bedroom door was closed and his light on. I approached the front door with Liam close behind. I opened it, feeling Marie’s warm embrace before I could say anything.

“I’m so glad you called me, baby.”

“Thank you for coming.”

Marie finally let me go and Liam stood there with his hands in his pockets. Charles walked in
and closed the door, hugging me and kissing the top of my head.

“Guys, this is Liam. Liam, these are Piper and Cory’s parents, Charles and Marie.”

He extended a hand, which Charles took cordially, shaking it and saying a kind ‘hello’. Marie refused his hand and pulled him into a bear hug.

“It’s great to finally meet you. Lord, the things you must think of my family. You’ve seen us at our absolute worst.”

They both chuckled and she let him go.

“I actually like both of your kids. I think Cory just had a bad night.”

“Yeah, I heard about that,” she shook her head and scanned the room, “Oh my god, did he do that?”

She pointed at the coffee table in shock.

“Umm, it was a joint effort.”

Liam scratched his head and stood firmly in place. Charles patted his shoulder and walked past us toward Cory’s room. He knocked loudly and waited less than a second before swinging it open.

“Come on, we’re taking you home.”

Cory mumbled something inaudible and sulked through the door, flask in hand. His dad snatched the flask away and held onto his arm, nudging him to the front door. Marie followed them to the door and stopped before exiting. Charles and Cory kept walking to the elevator.

“Thank you, guys. Really. We’ll have someone come clean up this mess tomorrow.”

“No, it’s fi-“

“Don’t fight me on it. Love you, Ri. Come visit soon.”

She blew a kiss and disappeared after her boys. I closed the door and leaned back against it, relieved that Cory was finally in more capable hands. Liam wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to him. I draped my arms over his shoulders and kissed his lips softly, without much enthusiasm. I was exhausted.

“Come on, let’s go to bed.”

I nodded weakly and held his hand as he pulled me toward my bedroom. Once inside, Liam pulled down the covers and I crawled in, scooting over enough for him to cuddle up next to me. He yanked his shirt off and tossed it aside before climbing in and pulling me back into his arms. We situated ourselves until we were comfortable, my head on his chest and his arm around my waist. He turned off the lamp and kissed my forehead as I felt the rise and fall of his chest.

“What were you going to say before they got here? It seemed important.”

I almost forgot, but I meant to ask him about it.

“Oh, that. Uh, it was nothing.”

I heard something in his voice that was unusual. He sounded nervous. I lifted my head up and threw my leg over his lap playfully, laying down on his chest.

“Just tell me!”

I kissed his lips softly as his hands slowly stroked my arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. I ran my fingers through his hair and deepened the kiss, parting my lips and running my tongue along his bottom lip before pulling back. He simply stared into my eyes, waiting for something else to happen.

“Tell me what you wanted to say and I’ll continue.”

He smirked and reached down, squeezing my bottom lightly, making me gasp. I kissed him again, slowly and meaningfully, waiting for him to give in. I moved my hips gently against his, whimpering into his mouth softly. He pulled back and looked longingly into my eyes.

“I love you, Riley.”

Notes

FINALLY UPDATED! I am so sorry, guys. PLEASE forgive me. <3 The semester is almost over, so during December, I will be updating A LOT! :D It's just been hectic, but it's starting to slow down again :)

So, what did you think?
Would you have been angry at Cory or felt sorry for him? Should Liam be able to tell him to leave like that? Do you think Riley will say she loves Liam back?

I promise to update ASAP xx Shouldn't be too long, but I'm still writing my two other stories, so check them out if you haven't already! ;)