?
It’d been a week, and the new and improved Riley almost seemed like a figment of my imagination. He had reverted back to the same dickhead he was before, but he kept his distance. He didn’t insult me; he didn’t approach me. He avoided me all together, which was what I had wanted since I was thirteen, since he became ruthless.
Despite my pain and anger, I wanted the best for him. I hoped he would turn it around for good one day; but it would be without my help. I’d wasted enough time and thoughts on him. He had brought me to an emotional low so many times, and that was over.He would no longer have that power over me.
Today was Rodrigo’s day off. No clients were scheduled to come to the farm. William and his wife were in Florida on a business trip. I was utterly alone, it was peaceful, and I was enjoying myself.
I could work naked if I wanted to. I wouldn’t, though; I was pretty sure the main house had cameras out front, and I didn’t know how good the zoom was. If Riley had access to them, well, I’d end up on porn websites across the internet.
I connected my phone to the speakers much earlier than usual. The horses weren’t going to tell on me. They might prefer it over my constant anger-filled grumbling.
I put on a heavy rock playlist with a lot of angst.
I started mucking and screaming to the music and then more mucking. I threw my arms into the motion, treating it like a workout rather than work. It was a physical outlet for the emotional pressure I was experiencing.
I was done with three stalls before I noticed that Riley was there in the stall behind me, mucking his usual stalls. We made eye contact, and then I went right back to mucking. I pretended he wasn’t there.
As far as I was concerned, Riley Reys was dead to me. Whoever was mucking the stalls across the hall was a stranger. I had no way of knowing who he really was, not when he was capable of flipping back and forth between personalities. Not a word was spoken as we cleaned the stalls, and there was no dancing as we brought the horses in. The dancing was a treat that I shared with someone who I was mentoring and saw effort from. I wouldn’t share it with this stranger in an asshole’s body.
When my shorter to-do list was done, I left. I didn’t say goodbye; I just walked straight back to the trailer. I knew he stood there and watched me walk away. I could always feel Riley’s eyes on me like a sixth sense. With my back to him, I felt the hairs on my arms rise.
Riley didn’t even bother to ask me about how Tigger’s leg was. He either didn’t have the balls to speak to me yet, he was partially respecting my wishes, or he didn’t care. I would be honestly surprised if he was respecting my wishes at all. Nothing I wanted had ever mattered to him, like friends or a life.
The next day, Rodrigo called out; he and his wife both had the flu, brought home from school by his daughter. I wished him well and told him to take as long as he needed. I wasn’t his boss, but I wasn’t going to mention it to William. He would do the same for me, not that I ever went anywhere to get sick.
I repeated the same playlist while I worked, and once again Riley showed up and worked alongside me without a word. I made sure to slam doors and throw things, to send the message that I didn’t appreciate his presence. I would rather do all the work by myself. We brought the horses in without dancing, and then I retired to my trailer.
His eyes were on me again as I walked away from him. I could really hold a grudge; it came from fifteen years of anger. I hoped that he regretted getting in that car drunk the other night. While I wouldn’t rat him out to his father like he had thought, I would punish him in a way William couldn’t.
Riley needed me, and I would not be there for him, just like he wasn’t there for me when my parents died, despite our differences. A good person would do that, despite some hard feelings; but I had already established that Riley Reys was not a good person.
I was still angry when I got a text for Melanie. She was the one girl friend I had, and Riley had no sway over that relationship, although she was dating one of Riley’s friends.
Melanie: We are going to the river today. Do you want to go?
Me: No.
Melanie: I haven’t seen you in a year and you live ten farms away…
Me: Fine.
Melanie: You know the spot. I will meet you there at two! I am excited to see you!
Me: See you then.
I wasn’t excited. I just wanted to stay in my trailer. I wanted to avoid everyone while I worked through whatever Riley had worked up inside me. It wasn’t normal to hold onto this kind of rage, but I just couldn’t let it go.
Was it the insult that he would still drive drunk, knowing just the basics of my parents’ untimely end? Did he think no one would care if he was gone? Did he do all of this to spite me for something I didn’t do?
It was just like him to overreact and endanger his own life.
At one thirty, I threw on my red bikini and my daisy duke shorts and a crop top on top. I grabbed my hat and sunglasses, placing them on my head. I stuck my feet into my boots. My keys were in my hand along with my towel and a small cooler of beer.
I felt Riley’s eyes on me as I walked from my trailer to my truck parked on the driveway. I didn’t turn around to look. I didn’t acknowledge that he was stalking me like a creep. I rolled down my windows, turned my music up, and drove a reasonable speed down the driveway.
I didn’t even let him know that I was leaving the farm. I would be back with enough time to bring the rest of the horses in and give them their evening meal. I wasn’t chained here like a prisoner.
Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting on an inner tube in a calm, shallow part of the river. When standing in the water, it comes up to my hips. I had a beer in my hand and my feet were propped up. Melanie was catching me up on her past year, while her boyfriend and his friends started up the grill.
