Kenner peered into the pot filled with bubbling porridge, and sighed in delight. One amazing thing about coming to stay with his aunt was that he had the pleasure of experiencing her much acclaimed cooking skills.

   She worked at a restaurant in Jackson Ave four days a week and was nearly always busy, but whenever she made a meal, it was like Heaven and all things good graced the food. For Kenner, it was a big difference from the meals Agnes made back at his house. Something was always missing, be it spice or salt.

    "Aunt, that looks and smells nice," he noted, swinging a hand around Kathy's shoulders as he watched her stir the porridge.

   A big smile shone on Kathy's face as she stared up at Kenner, the corner of her eyes wrinkling from the huge smile. "Thank you, Kenner. It's been a while since I got a compliment from anyone sharing a house with me."

    "Great," Noble grumbled, boosting himself up to sit on the counter top. "Kenner's here, so throw shades at your children."

    Kenner chuckled and rubbed his aunt's arm appreciatively, then walked over to the counter. He studied Noble's puffy face, noticing the sleep lines along his cheeks and the way his hair stood everywhere.

    "It's ten in the morning, loser, and you're just getting up?" He asked, an amused smile playing on his face.
 
     "I know you've only been here for a week, but you should know that this isn't a normal family," Noble noted. "Besides, it's Saturday. Who cares?"

    Noble was right. In the one week that he had been living with them, he had noticed a lot of things. Since Noble was done with high school, he didn't do anything other than just sleep. His mother was always on his case to get a job, and the two times that week he'd tried to go for an interview, he'd gone late and couldn't make it.

   Drusilla was an entirely different story. Kenner couldn't count how many friends the girl had, and how many times they came over. He remembered the first time he'd seen the girls, they had clung onto and probed him intensely for the better part of an hour, before he got the opportunity to escape to his room.

   That was just two days ago.

    She was probably still asleep or texting away on her phone. He loved Dru, but she was a typical sixteen-year-old girl.

    "Okay, Noble, go wake your sister up. Breakfast's ready." Kathy turned off the stove and reached over for the plates in the cupboard above her head. "Kenner, help me set the table, please."

   Kenner nodded and immediately set off to do as he was asked, while Noble grumbled his disapproval for a few seconds, then finally went to wake Dru.

    "So, Kenner, how're you enjoying your stay here?" Kathy asked, once Noble was gone.

    An automatic smile sprung to Kenner's face. "I like staying with your guys. It feels... nice." Yes, it felt nice to not wake up to his parents yelling. It felt nice to sit in the living room with his aunt, Noble and Dru, talking about whatever the hell they wanted to talk about. It felt nice.

   "That's good to hear." Kathy placed the bowl of hot porridge in the middle of the table, and Kenner placed the last spoon he was holding in front of an empty plate.

    Why did he have a feeling that his aunt wasn't done yet?

    "Have you heard from your mother?" Right.

    He shook his head, pulling out one of the dining seats. "I haven't." He sat down. "I don't want to, though. I'm happy as I am."

   Kathy took a seat opposite him. "You still haven't spoken to your dad, either. He's been calling to check on you."

   Kenner heaved a sigh and leaned back on the seat. Maybe it had been wistful thinking to imagine that his parents would get the message when he refused to answer any of their calls and leave him alone. They made the decision to push him away, not him, and now they wouldn't let him be.

   Why didn't they understand that he was better without them?

   "Aunt Kathy, I seriously don't care anymore," he said. "My parents and anything concerning them are the last things on my mind. I don't give a damn about them."

    Kathy frowned. "Don't say that. They're your parents."

    Kenner scoffed. "Yeah, I'm so honored."

    His aunt stared at him for a moment, then a smile replaced the curious frown on her face. Kenner furrowed his brows at the amusement on her face.

   "You're upset they left you, aren't you?" She asked.

    "I'm not," Kenner answered, defensively.

    "Yes, you are. You want to hurt them like they've hurt you." When he opened his mouth to object, she held a hand up. "If you wanna prove to your parents that you can do better than they did, be responsible. Not vengeful. You might even stop them from going to war, because they are currently fighting over your custody."

   "I don't care."

   "You should. They're the best lawyers in town, do you think either of them will lose easily?"

    Why should he care what happened to them? If they really wanted to see him or know if he was alright, why hadn't they visited? No, they had their ego battle in the name of child custody to worry about him. He was only a means to an end.

   So, they could go to hell if they wanted. It wouldn't change how he felt about them.

    "Well, the good news is Dru's awake." Noble's voice interrupted Kenner's train of thoughts. "The bad news is, she's got a fever. Or should that be the other way round?"

****

   "She should be here any minute," Kenner mumbled, staring at the text message he'd just gotten from Kyra. "She's been dying to come here and meet you guys."

   Noble's expression remained blank as he stayed upside down on the couch. "She sounds cute."

   "Okay, what is it?" Kenner sat up, tossing his phone to the side. "You've been moody all day."

   Noble remained silent for a while, before pushing himself to sit up straight and stare at Kenner.

   "I'm not moody, I'm worried," he said, throwing back the cap of his Spiderman hoodie to run his fingers through his golden blonde hair. "I need some quick cash this weekend, but I'm too ashamed to ask my mom. She'll let me have it, but she'll give me the whole responsibility talk."

   Kenner scooted closer to him. "First of all, what do you need the money for? Secondly, your mother's right. You need to grow up, dude."

    "No shit, I'm starting to regret not having a job." He went silent for a while, shifting his gaze to the carpet. "I can't exactly say what I need the money for."

   Kenner's eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind. "Are you gambling?"

   "No!" Noble looked around for his mother and sister. "I just need to get outta town for a few days. There's this guy that owes me money. He figured leaving town would help him escape me."

   Kenner didn't know what to say. He'd always known that Noble was wild and daring, always pushing the limits and breaking rules. But this? He was so certain that Noble was playing money games. No wonder he wasn't bothered about college or getting a job.

   He shook his head. "I can get you three hundred now, Noble. Anything more, I can gather before next week ends."

   A thin smile worked its way to Noble's face, and he reached out to scratch his rough chin. "I appreciate, but I've got to figure it out on my own. Besides, it wouldn't be enough and I don't have the time."

   The door bell buzzed, putting an end to the disturbing conversation between Kenner and his cousin.

   "That should be Kyra," he mumbled, springing out of the seat and going to get the door. He pushed thoughts about Noble to the back of his mind, and calmed himself.

   As he reached over and opened the door, he froze. Never had he anticipated what --- who, rather, he saw at the door.

   In all her beauty, Riley Daniels stood at the doorway, her sparkling grey eyes fixed on him. With a single look, Kenner took in every single detail on her body. Her jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, surrounding her heart-shaped face. She was dressed elegantly in a short, blue dress and a pair of black, knee-high boots and a red side bag hung from her fingers.

   Her red coated lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but then she shut it and resorted to staring back at Kenner.

  Different emotions swirled in his chest as he stared at her for minutes, still wondering if she was really in front of him. As if to make sure she was real, he stretched out a hand towards her. Gently, almost cautiously, her fingers intertwined with his and a wide smile stretched across her face.

   "I can't believe you're here," Kenner whispered, then pulled her into a hug. He released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he held her close, resting his head on her shoulders.

   One minute, he was hugging her at the front door. Next one, she was sitting on his bed, a bag of wipes beside her.

   "I didn't believe it when Jason told me when we talked on video chat," she was saying. "I thought to myself that Kenner would've called me. In fact, I didn't believe that Terrence was really dead until I got here last week."

   Kenner didn't know what to say to her, but his heart broke as he stood across the room, watching her. He didn't remember what it was like to comfort her, and frankly, he was too afraid to try. He didn't want to spark up any memories of their former relationship and he didn't want to send her any mixed messages, either.

   "Everything's changed since I left." The calmness in her voice shocked him enough to glance at her. She still had tear trails down her face, but she wasn't crying anymore. "You, my friends, everything I love. It's just surreal."

   "Time does change things." Needing to get rid of the tension growing in the room, he changed the subject. "How did it feel, starring in a movie as huge as The Simpleton?"

    Riley laughed, reminding Kenner of how long it'd been since he last heard that laugh.

    Two years. And it seemed like an eternity ago.

    "Well, apart from the fact that I made a whole lot of money and gather a crowd whenever I go out, nothing's changed." She shrugged.

    "That's so cool," Kenner replied, glancing out of the window at the Ford escape parked in front of the building. "Nice car."

   "I know, right?" Her gaze on Kenner lingered longer than it should've, adding to the awkwardness in the air.

   Kenner didn't know what was running through her mind, but he was sure it had something to do with him. If Riley was anything like he remembered, she was probably thinking of getting back with him. They hadn't exactly separated, she'd just left. And he'd just moved on.

   "I wonder what it'd be like to kiss you," she said, not-so-subtly. Her head tilted to the side. "But that won't be happening, will it?"

   Kenner pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head.

   "Yeah, I heard about her. Apparently, taking my boyfriend wasn't enough. I heard she just got elected face of Primswood. My position."

   "You left, Riley." Kenner couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. "You didn't even tell me. I just woke up one morning and found out my girlfriend's on a plane to Chicago to become famous. Next thing, she's all over the news. What was I supposed to do?"

   "Of course you can't expect me to sit and wait for you," he continued. "I moved on. I found Kyra, I love her. She earned the position she has, because she's that good."

    Riley held a hand up for Kenner to stop, then got to her feet. "I didn't come here to argue, okay? Tyler mentioned you were at your cousins', I traced you here just to see you. I missed you. The last thing I wanna do is cause any problem for you."

   "Thank you." Kenner couldn't believe the calm, reasonable girl that was standing before him. The Riley he knew would've never let go easily. She really had changed.

    She reached into her bag and held out a piece of paper to him. "If you ever need me for anything, just call."

    Kenner collected the paper with her phone number scribbled roughly onto it and smiled. "I will."

   She grinned widely. "Walk me out?"

   Kenner nodded, then walked to open the door for her. After she'd reassured him that she wasn't going to cause any problem, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off him. He felt happy and couldn't wait to tell Kyra that her fear had been unprecedented. Riley wasn't going to be a problem for them.

   He stopped at the elevator door, waiting for it to get to their floor.

   "I'm really glad I got to see you again," Kenner said.

    "Yeah, me too." She turned to face him. "And just so you know... I still love you."

    Kenner felt something deflate inside him, but didn't have any time to react as the elevator doors split open. Kyra stepped out, and was about to say something to Kenner when she saw Riley.

   "Hi, Kyra," Riley greeted cheerfully, oblivious of how ridiculous she looked with her tears-smudged make up. She flung her bag over her shoulder and stepped into the elevator, leaving Kenner and Kyra looking after her.

   "Who was that?" Kyra asked, her eyes flicking to Kenner.

   He heaved a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "That's Riley Daniels."

****

Thanks for reading this chapter! I'm so glad I finally got it out. I hope it was worth your time, and if it was, don't forget to hit that star. What were your thoughts on it?

What do you think of Riley?

"I don't want to cause a problem..." do you think she's bluffing? I wanna know!

Zina xx