As Riley walked home, a strange warmth filled him. He found himself smiling at nothing in particular and it was very peculiar to him to be doing so. He knew it had to be Aspen, her twinkling eyes and wide smiles were infectious. It wasn't until he got within sight of his house that reality came crashing back into him like a black wave.
His father's car was in the driveway. And his mother's.
The yelling could be heard twenty yards from the front door. Riley slowly moved closer and peaked in the dining room (really just a kitchenette with a murphy bed-style table) window. His father, average height but with the build and green ink covered flesh of someone who has already spent time in prison and isn't afraid of going back, had his mother cornered in the living room. She, a smallish woman with pock marked skin and brittle hair, was not realising the superior position the man had her in. She was right up in his face, yelling and crying incomprehensibly.
Riley backed away from the house. It radiated anger and smelled of destroyed lives. He turned and ran deep into the woods behind his house. He ran until his legs burned and his lungs screamed and when he finally stopped he was at the tree that he and Aspen had sat in just a few hours earlier. Riley climbed up and lay against the trunk. He didn't sleep.
The sun rose over the trees in a beautiful array of colors and washed a warm, shining light over the misty forrest. But to Riley it beat down like a hammer on his shoulders as he walked to school much too early, not entering through the front but simply climbing up to the porch and collapsing on a table. He fell into a comatose sleep.
Awaking to the sound of the heavy cafeteria doors opening, Riley saw a girl in a dark leather jacket and black jeans walk up to him, smiling. He didn't recognize her until she was on the other side of the table. Aspen waved and smiled brightly, contrasting with the dark colors of her clothing. Riley raised a hand in answer to the wave and resented the questions he knew were coming. It wasn't that he didn't want her there, in fact he wanted her to sit beside him and smile away the night. He wished he could sleep and know she would be smiling at him when he woke up.
