Tales of the Underground: Blinded - 46. Pillow Talk

| Riley |

If there was anything I needed after my first week back, it’s this. Carter proved to me that we’re still on the same page. He proved that he can still keep up with me. More importantly, he reminded me he’ll never hurt me. I was the most open and vulnerable I ever could’ve been with him, and all he did was show me his love.

“Alright, I’m exhausted.” Carter announced as he fell back onto the mattress.

“No more?” I smiled, falling back next to him.

“No more.” He shook his head. “Not for another day or two at least.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed as our eyes connected. “Coach is gonna be pissed when I walk into the game tomorrow with a limp.”

Carter let out a stifled laugh as he shook his head. “You’re stupid.”

“Aren’t you the one who warned me about hurting teammates?” I continued to tease.

“Okay,” Carter began, taking the bait. “Then maybe we’ll have to stop until after the season is over.”

“No.” I quickly let out. “I mean, you wouldn’t even make it.”

“Nope.” He shrugged with a growing smile. “But I know you wouldn’t either.”

“Not if I had to see you every day.” I explained. “Cause sometimes I see you and it’s like, damn.”

A blush filled Carter’s face as he heard those words. “You’re being really sweet today.”

“I wanna be like this with you from now on.” I decided as I began to grow serious.

“Why’s that?” Carter’s smile grew.

“I just learned some shit while I was gone.” I replied, side stepping the question.

He nodded his head before placing his hand on my arm. “I love you,” He softly spoke. “and you can tell me anything.”

“You really wanna know what’s buggin me?” I groaned as he slowly nodded his head. “It’s just the doctor stressin me out.”

“How?” Carter gulped as concern quickly over took the calm in his voice.

“He just is.” I dismissed, but as I saw the worry growing I let out a deep sigh. “He wants to take out my eye.”

“Oh.” Carter exhaled, starting to calm himself down. “What do you think about that?”

“It’s bogus.” I shook my head. “I ain’t lettin him take it.”

“Even though it hurts you?” Carter asked, directing his attention to it.

“It don’t hurt me.” I rejected, but as his hand rose to my face I pulled away.

“Let me touch it then.” He instigated. “If it doesn’t hurt you’ll let me touch your face.” He teased with an outstretched hand.

“I wouldn’t let you touch my face anyway.” I laughed, trying my hardest to push him away. “Carter! Stop!” I shouted as he sat up and got the upper hand. “You a psycho!” I yelped as his hand gently felt around my face. The second he grazed the top of my left cheek I involuntarily pulled away. A quick stinging pain filled my eye before fading back into nothing.

“See.” He confidently held his head. “That hurts you.”

“Maybe you tacklin me is what hurt.” I shrugged as he slide back down into the bed.

“Maybe.” He teased. “But my money’s on the eye.”

“I still don’t want it gone.” I protested in a serious voice.

“I know you don’t, who would?” He offered, but I stayed quiet. “If it’s what’s best for your health, you should do it?”

“Even if I gotta miss some of basketball for it?” I asked, contemplating it for the first time since the doctor suggested it.

“We’ll all understand.” Carter nodded. “Maybe we can even get you one of those protective masks.”

“Like the one LeBron wore for a few games in Miami?!” I excitedly asked.

“Yeah.” He sighed, trying his hardest to hide a smile. “Just like that one.”

“Still though,” I began as I grew serious once more. “What if somethin happens?”

“What do you mean?” Carter pried with curious eyes.

“What if I agree and like, they fuck up the surgery?” I contemplated as I fell into my own head. “What if they fuck up that whole side of my face? What if they fuck up my other eye?”

“I don’t know.” Carter shook his head. “But I’ll be by your side no matter what happens.”

“You mean that?” I checked, slowly moving closer to him.

“Of course.” He nodded before laying a kiss on my head. “If you leave it, is there a threat to your good eye?”

“Who knows?” I lied as my eyes drifted.

“Riley.” He pressured in a strong voice.

“Maybe,” I shook my head. “My left eye is just all fucked up, so they don’t know exactly what could happen.”

“Well if there’s even a half a chance it could affect your sight, I would get it removed.” He warned. “Imagine never getting to see Chicago again?”

“Imagine never getting to see you again.” I added, causing him to blush. “That’s something I don’t think I can part with.”

“So you’re going to get it removed?” He provoked in a concerned voice.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Eventually Nancy is gonna make me anyway.”

Carter slowly nodded his head. “You know she probably hasn’t slept since the doctor recommended surgery?”

“Don’t remind me.” I groaned.

“You’re lucky to have her.” He insisted. “Even if I’ll have to fight her for your attention for the rest of my life.”

“Nah you won’t have to.” I dismissed, but I could tell by the look in his eyes he didn’t buy it.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He shrugged, staring deeper into my eyes. “Something else is bugging you.”

“Nah.” I lied with a shake of my head. “Just my eye.”

“Riley,” He insisted, moving closer to me. “You can talk to me.”

I swayed my mouth as my eyes fell away. “What if I freak out at the game tomorrow?” I suddenly asked.

“What do you mean?” Carter asked, picking my head back up with his hand.

“What if somethin goes wrong?” I groaned. “What if the buzzer sets me off or some shit?”

“Then you come get me right away.” He instructed. “Because I’ll be right there with you.” I slowly nodded my head, but I could tell Carter was trying his hardest to work it over in his head. “You’ve been scared of it happening all week at school, haven’t you?”

“Nah.” I tried to lie, but I could tell Carter was already on the case.

“That’s why you get so quiet!” He quickly connected the dots. “You’re trying to ignore the world around you because you’re scared something will set you off.”

“Carter, don’t be jumpin to answers,”

“No, I’m right about this.” He confidently nodded. “Aren’t I?”

“Yeah.” I conceded in a sigh.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of Riley.” He tried to support. “We all have our problems. Everyone would understand if you have an issue.”

“They’re not like mine though.” I grumbled, looking away once more.

“They don’t have to be.” He encouraged. “No one at school would think any less of you. You carried us to our first state championship in years. The kids at school love you.”

“They don’t love me, they love that I’m good at basketball.” I explained. “There’s a big difference.”

“There is a difference.” He agreed. “But it’s not as big as you think. Kids at school look up to you.”

“No one looks up to me.” I rolled my eyes. “Except maybe Tak, but something ain’t right with him anyway.”

“Don’t make fun of Tak, he’s a good kid.” Carter defended, finally reconnecting eyes with me.

“Sure, just like Chihuahuas are good dogs, until they start to bite you that is.” I warned as a smile grew on his face.

“That’s ridiculous Riley.” He giggled. “Are you telling me Tak tries to bite you?”

“Nah, I’m sayin he has no brakes.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s just go, go, go.”

“And you’re not?” He asked, beginning to stare me down.

“I’m different.” I lied with a smirk. “I’m loveable.”

“Sure you are.” He sighed, reaching back and swatting me with a pillow. He let out a breath of relief as I began to laugh along with his antics. “Feel better now?”

“Yeah.” I exhaled with a nod. “Thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” He shrugged as he whacked me with the pillow once more.

“When do I getta help you with your problems?” I probed as our eyes locked.

“When I have them.” He lied in another giggle.

“So you don’t have any problems right now?” I asked, not buying a single word of it.

“Aside from you, no.” He rejected. “But I will if we don’t get dressed soon.”

“You mean your dad wouldn’t be cool with us just layin in your bed?” I teased as my grin spread.

“Hey, if you want to get your ass kicked, be my guest.” He shrugged with a smile. “If you thought Aaron was bad,”

“Can we not bring that up?” I groaned, as I finally crawled out of bed.

“Like you didn’t enjoy that.” He rolled his eyes.

“I didn,” I insisted. “it was scary, and it outted us before I wanted to.”

“So you’re going to tell me you didn’t love when you shoved it in Aaron’s face that you have more sex than him?” He asked in a long breath.

“He knew that already.” I dismissed. “We really gotta set him up though.”

“Yeah we do.” Carter sighed as he walked closer to me. “But first let’s focus on us.”

“Yeah?” I asked with a curious gaze.

“Mhm.” He hummed. “I want you to be able to announce your sexuality from the highest point of Chicago with no shame.”

“I ain’t gay.” I lied, but the second he heard those words he took a step closer. He planted a deep kiss on my lips as one of his hands looped around and gripped my ass.

“Sure about that?” He provoked, intentionally staying as close as he could.

“When you put it like that.” I teased. I went to lean in for another kiss, but this time he turned away and walked towards his clothes. “I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you walk away.”

“That was bad.” He shook his head.

“I wasn’t tryin.” I clicked my tongue as I finally began to get dressed.

“Alright, hit me with one.” He smirked, glancing back at me.

“Screw the gym baby, I’ll give you a workout.” I winked as he looked away.

“You actually said that to girls who walked by?” He asked in an unamused voice.

“I was already sellin drugs.” I shrugged. “If you gonna go to hell you might as well have fun with it.”

“You’re not going to hell.” He rolled his eyes. “But I don’t know if I like Cy Walker all that much.”

“I don’t know if I like him all that much either.” I confessed, Carter went to say something but dropped it when he realized I was serious.

“Then we’re lucky he got left in the Southside, aren’t we Riley?” He asked with a growing smile.

“Yeah.” I nodded as we heard a car door open in his driveway.

“Shit.” Carter whispered as he scooped up both of our backpacks. “Basement, now.

I nodded and threw on my shirt as we quickly rushed out of the room, and down two flights of stairs. We both pounced onto the couch as Carter tossed me a book from my bag and grabbed one from his own. As we heard the garage door pull open we both tried our hardest to look busy.

“Carter?” A strong male voice called out.

“In here Dad.” Carter quickly replied.

“How was school?” His Dad asked as he slowly entered the room.

“Same old same old.” He shrugged with a smile. “You remember Riley.”

“Mr. Walker,” He began. “I heard rumors you were back.”

“Yeah.” I quickly rose to my feet and stretched out my hand. “It’s good to see you Mr. Williams.”

“Good to see you too.” He nodded his head.

Carter skeptically looked between the two of us before looking back down at his book. “Weird.” He remarked, loud enough for both of us to hear.

“We can’t get along?” His father asked.

“You can.” Carter nodded. “It’s still going to be weird though.”

“People mature.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So long as Riley keeps working hard, I see no reason why I can’t encourage you two dating.”

Carter shook his head and kept his eyes on the page he was pretending to read. “We got shared respect goin.” I tried to explain.

“Whatever it is, just leave me out of it.” Carter sighed. “You two are too hard headed for this to end well.”

Mr. Williams and I shared a look as Carter tried his hardest to pretend the moment wasn’t happening. Okay, there’s a good chance we’re going to run into a disagreement. He’s going to tell me to talk properly, and I’m going to call him stuck up, but we’ll get over it for Carter’s sake. Carter just has that way about him. Of making people from two different worlds get along. Of spreading something special.

--

--

The rest of our night just felt special. We left all our problems behind us, and just spent time together. It was as though time was finally standing still, as though everything would be okay. When it finally started to get late it took pressure from both our parents for Carter to take me home.

“Are we hanging out tomorrow after our game?” Carter asked as he pulled into my driveway.

“You tell me.” I smiled, slowly opening the passenger’s side door.

“I think so.” He happily nodded. “But I promised Aaron we would include him.”

I threw my head back and let out a long groan. “Why you gotta do that?”

“Because he’s my best friend.” Carter shrugged.

“I thought I was your best friend.” I instigated, turning back and looking at him.

“That’s cute.” He shrugged with a grin. “But you’re not.” I rolled my eyes and shut the car door. “You still have Noah.”

“Lucky me.” I remarked as his window opened.

“Or Trey.” He teased drawing another groan from me. “He’s not that bad.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” I warned as I heard the front door open.

“We’re going to start timing you two.” Mom warned as she took a step outside. “It’s already eleven at night.”

“Sorry Mrs. James.” Carter apologized. “I guess we just lost track of time.”

“Mhm.” She hummed as she shot him a skeptical look.

“Ma.” I groaned as she looked to me. “We don’t needa be babysat. I got all my homework done, we was just watchin T.V.”

“All of your homework?” She asked, beginning to stare me down.

“I made sure of it.” Carter added.

She nodded her head as she looked between us. “Don’t forget how to be individuals. We’re all very happy you two are dating, but we can’t have you boys getting hung up on one another.”

“We won’t.” Carter smiled as he saw how irritated I was starting to get. “Good night Riley.”

“Night.” I muttered starting to head towards the door. I paused as I waited for Nancy to pass me. “Go.” I waved on.

She locked eyes with me as she passed and walked inside. “Sorry.” I sighed turning back to him.

“It’s okay.” He smiled. “I have a feeling she was talking to my dad before we got here.”

I shook my head and took a long look at him. I don’t care how obsessed with one another we are. I’m not cutting down on him, and I know he’s not cutting down on me. “I love you.” I said, turning back and walking inside.

“I love you too!” I heard him call out as his car kicked back into gear. I couldn’t help but smile as I shut the door behind me and made my way towards the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mom called out as she patiently waited next to the bannister.

“Shower then bed.” I shrugged looking back at her.

“Me and your father need a word with you first.” She warned.

“Is this bout Carter?” I groaned once more. “I get you guys are worried, but I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“This isn’t about Carter.” She dismissed. “Although we’re all concerned about how hard you two are falling for one another.”

“We just like each other is all.” I shrugged. “I don’t see the harm in that.”

“I don’t think any of us do, we just want you two to learn independence.” She lectured. “Although you might already know that.”

“Exactly, no harm no foul.” I proudly exhaled, hoping I had put it to bed.

“You still have to learn how to be resilient on your own.” She warned. “And so does he.”

“We will.” I rolled my eyes.

“You’re hopeless for him, and he’s hopeless for you.” She observed in a serious voice. “And we’re not saying there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not something you expect to see from a sixteen and seventeen year old.”

“Well that’s us.” I shrugged. “And I ain’t changin it.”

She nodded her head and looked at me closely. “Okay.” She accepted. “But make sure you’re both learning how to stand on your own.”

“We are.” I nodded. They don’t see it, but it’s not all rainbows and butterflies between the two of us. There are days when we get into one another’s faces. Where we fight for what we as individuals believe in. We just smooth it over so well people don’t know it happened is all.

“Riley,” Dad exhaled as I entered the kitchen. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to see you again.”

“Ha. Ha.” I sarcastically let out. “It was just a few hours.”

“Eight to be exact.” He explained, making sure to bust my chops. “But that’s not what I need to talk to you about. Your mom told me what happened at the doctor’s a few days ago.”

“Yeah.” I nodded as I took a seat across from him at the kitchen table.

“What do you think?” He asked, patiently waiting for my answer.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It’s not really somethin I want to do.”

“Yeah?” He asked as I nodded my head. “If it’s the recovery or the money you’re worried about, please don’t be. We have everything we need to take care of you, and the surgery isn’t expensive.”

I nodded my head as my eyes began to drift. “Is he a good doctor?”

“One of the best in Chicago.” Dad began to explain. “We made sure of it before the first time you saw him.”

“How long am I gonna be out of it?” I asked as concern began to spread in my mind.

“I called the doctor and he said the recovery is only a few weeks.” Mom answered, taking a seat next to her husband.

I let out a deep breath as I recalled the conversation I had with Carter. “Okay,” I gulped. “I just want to put in a game or two of basketball before I’m sidelined.”

“That’s it?” Dad asked looking over to his wife then back to me. “That easy?”

“Yeah.” I exhaled. “You taught me sometimes you gotta do things you don’t wanna, right?”

“Yup.” He quickly accepted. “This is very mature of you Riley.” I nodded my head but stayed quiet as I thought it over. “Your grandmother had eye surgery a few years ago. Maybe you can talk to her about it after your game.”

“She’s comin?” I excitedly asked.

“Yup.” Dad nodded, relieved to see the smile I was hiding.

“Wait, your mom right?” I slowed down, shooting him a cautious look.

“Yup.” He laughed as Nancy let out a sigh. “We’re taking her out to dinner after too.”

“Can Carter come?” I quickly asked, but noticed them both hesitate. “He’s important to me.”

“He can come.” Walter nodded his head. “Just, don’t be overly affectionate. I don’t know if your grandma could handle that.”

“I never am.” I remarked as I rose back to my feet. “Can I go shower now?”

“Go ahead.” Dad motioned as I quickly made my way back towards the stairs. “Good night Riley.”

“Night.” I forced back as I quickly made my way up the steps.

It didn’t take me long to shower. Just enough time to really wash off and feel clean. Then again it’s nice to just have time to myself. To be somewhere where I know no one will bother me.

When I got out and made my way back to my room I noticed a small bump laying in my bed. “What’s he doin here?” I groaned as I saw Tak’s head on one of my pillows. “He wasn’t here before my shower.”

“He had a nightmare. “Aaron quietly shrugged. “He was looking for you.”

“Damn it.” I sighed, turning around and heading for the door.

“Where are you going?” Aaron asked as he leaned forward in his bed.

“Sleep in his bed.” I quickly answered. “He’s in mine.”

“Kinda defeats the purpose doesn’t it?” Aaron pressured with a serious look.

“He’s got you.” I pointed out. “Seems to work out well to me.”

“He doesn’t want me.” Aaron shrugged. “He was looking specifically for you.”

“So?” I asked, lingering near the doorway.

“So welcome to being an older brother.” Aaron instigated. “You think I wanted to share my room with you?” He asked but got silence back. “Exactly, but I gritted my teeth and did what was best for you. So now go, be a big brother.”

I let out another groan before hitting the lights and making my way back to my bed. I lightly pushed Tak over before placing a pillow between us and lying down. It was uncomfortable, and I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep, but Aaron was right. I need to step up to the plate. If he’s going to look up to me, well maybe I should start fitting that role.