Lily showed up the moment school ended, spotting Riley sitting silently on the clinic bed, staring at her trembling hands.
"What's up with her?" Lily muttered under her breath, her fake concern twisting into a frown. She walked closer and sat beside her sister. "Riley, I brought your bag. No need to go back to your locker, let's get going."
Riley sat still, not saying a word or even looking at her.
Lily raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "Hey, snap out of it," she said, tapping Riley's shoulder.
Riley sighed and finally looked at her, eyes void of emotion. "Does Mom hate me that much?"
Lily was taken aback by her tone. "Of course not."
"Then why would she put peanut butter in my sandwich?" Riley muttered, looking away.
"What…" Lily paused, then smiled in realization. "She did? Why would Mom do such a thing?"
"I don't know. And she came here blaming me without even giving me a chance to explain. That makes it even more believable. Why?" Riley clenched her fists. "Does she hate me so much she'd do that to me? Am I the reason everything fell apart? Did Dad leave because of me?"
Lily flinched at the mention of their dad. She stared at Riley intently. "I think I saw Mom with a peanut butter jar this morning, but why would she do that? And no, it's not your fault."
Riley stood abruptly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "If she really wants to kill me," she said coldly, "she should just do it quickly."
Lily sat frozen, staring at the door Riley had just walked through. Her expression darkened. "I would love to," she whispered, eyes burning with anger. "But I want to see you suffer and broken. You brought this upon yourself by making me this way."
Riley walked out of the school with Lily following behind.
"Riley!" Jake called, rushing toward her. "Thank God you're alright. I wanted to come see you, but I got caught up with something."
Riley smiled faintly. "I'm all better now. Thanks for your concern."
Jake scratched his head, smiling widely. "Just be careful about what you eat, okay? I was really scared when I saw you like that."
"Oh, geez…" Lily rolled her eyes, about to drag Riley away when Liam showed up. Her eyes instantly brightened. "Hey, Liam! I thought you'd already left the school."
"I wanted to, but I decided to check if Riley was okay and leave with my friend," he said.
Lily's lips twitched. "You did? Well, Riley's all good now," she replied with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm better now," Riley added.
"Ha, the students in this school are mean," Liam said with a frown. "We literally asked for help, but they just laughed or ignored us. Do they dislike you that much?"
Lily sighed. "Yeah, they do. My sister's gone through so much because of them. They don't bully her anymore, but they still mock and insult her. I'm seriously tired of it."
"I agree. They were worse back then. Riley never did anything to deserve it," Jake said, shaking his head.
Riley chuckled. "I don't really care about things like that anymore. Let's not talk about it."
Liam gave her a long, unreadable look. "Anyway, I should go. My friend's waiting. See you tomorrow."
Lily quickly grabbed his arm. "Jake's football match is tomorrow. After that, we're gonna hang out. Wanna come?"
Liam looked surprised that she'd grabbed him. "Sure… bye," he said before leaving.
Riley crossed her arms. "We never discussed anything about hanging out."
"Yeah," Jake said, confused.
"Well, it's been discussed now," Lily said, walking off.
"I've gotta go too. See you tomorrow," Riley said, turning to Jake. "And break a leg tomorrow," she added with a grin.
"I sure will," Jake said, laughing.
"Not literally, though," Riley chuckled as she walked away.
Jake smiled widely, watching her go. "I really am in love."
---
"Dude, let's go to the arcade after school. Staying home is boring," Alex said.
Liam looked straight ahead. "I've got plans tomorrow. Another day."
Alex groaned. "Seriously?!"
"Yeah. I'm hanging out with Riley, Jake, and Lily after the football match."
Alex froze. "What?! Can I come? Please!"
Liam rolled his eyes. "You weren't invited."
"Whatever. I'm coming anyway."
Liam sighed. "Hey, do people really hate Riley that much?"
"Yeah, they do. I heard them talking about her allergy reaction, they were laughing, saying she deserved it," Alex said, frowning. "But honestly, if she knows she gets that much hate for dressing like that, she should change."
"I don't think so. She can't change into something she's not," Liam said firmly.
"You're right. But if I were her, I'd still change. The hate she gets is insane."
Liam clenched his fist.
Alex stared at him. "Do you like her?"
Liam froze. "I do…" His phone started ringing, cutting him off. He frowned at the caller ID.
"What is it?" he said, answering. "I'm on my way home. I don't need a ride. Tell them I don't need one. Ugh, does he ever give up on this? I said I don't need a ride! What do you mean you can see me... "
"Who was that?" Alex asked.
A car pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down to reveal a woman in her early twenties with long red hair and a nose piercing. "Get in," she said.
"Whoa, is that your mom?" Alex asked.
Liam made a disgusted face. "No. She's my sister, who I clearly told not to pick me up."
"Oh please, just get in. Mom asked me to. We're heading to the family reunion," she said, sighing. "I had to cancel my plans for that crap."
Liam rolled his eyes. "All you ever do is party. What plans could you possibly have?"
"What's so bad about partying? It's fun," Alex said, confused.
"See? He gets it," she said, smirking. "Now get in, we're running late."
"Well, see you tomorrow," Alex said, punching Liam's arm lightly before walking away.
"What a cute friend you've got there," Amelia teased.
"Shut up," Liam muttered, getting into the car.
"Your new tutor's coming tomorrow after school. Dad said not to cause any trouble," she said as she drove.
"What? But I have plans tomorrow! Can't they start next week? I don't even need a tutor!"
"They think you do," she said flatly. "They want you to take after Dad."
"I don't want to take after him," Liam shot back. "I don't even like his job."
"Liam, they're just trying to help you. You'll understand one day," Amelia said with a sigh. "They want what's best for you."
He scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You get to party all day while they expect me to turn into Dad. Talking to you is a waste of time."
Her grip tightened on the wheel. "Just don't try anything stupid with the new tutor."
Liam didn't answer. He turned to the window, the reflection of the sunlight flickering in his eyes. "I sure will…" he mumbled under his breath.